Now@UM

Now@UM

47th Dies Natalis

  • On Friday 27 January 2023, Maastricht University celebrated its 47th Dies Natalis in the Sint Janskerk in Maastricht. From the Minderbroedersberg, the cortege, led by the beadle, marched to the Sint Janskerk. 

    -- photos Philip Driessen --

  • The cortège en route to the Sint Janskerk.

  • Rector magnifcus Prof Pamela Habibović spoke about the importance of interdisciplinarity in science and technological innovation in her speech 'Bold yet prudent: technological innovation and society'.

  • Prof Cyrus Mody (FASoS) spoke about the importance of technological innovation in science in his keynote lecture 'The Four Sciences'. 

  • The honorary doctorate was awarded online to Prof Robert S. Langer for his exceptional work. He is known for his discoveries in tissue engineering and drug delivery.

  • UM President Rianne Letschert presented this year's special Tans medal to Mayor Annemarie Penn-te Strake.
     

  • This year, the Wynand Wijnen Education Award was presented to the entire education community in recognition of their tireless efforts and in particular during the past corona years. Donna Carroll and Martijn Boussé symbolically accepted the award.

  • Every year, during the Dies Natalis, the best master's and bachelor's theses are awarded. They awarded students receive €500, a certificate and a small token of appreciation from our rector magnificus.

  • The annual Dissertation Prize went to Marie Labussière (FASoS) for her thesis: 'Native-born but not yet citizen: Citizenship and educational outcomes of children of immigrants in the Netherlands.’

  • Jazz and pop singer Wouter Hamel and guitarist Rory Ronde provided wonderful musical interludes.

In the spotlight

Awards

Highest UM award for Maastricht mayor Penn-te Strake

The mayor of Maastricht, Annemarie Penn-te Strake, received the Tans Medal, Maastricht University’s award for people who have made a major contribution to the university’s development. UM president Rianne Letschert presented the medal to the mayor during the celebration of the university’s 47th anniversary.

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Economics

Halfway to 2030: Dutch organisations becoming more engaged with Sustainable Development Goals

Since the 2015 adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 deadline, the first Dutch national SDG Barometer study shows that there is a lot to be optimistic about. 

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UM news

More in UM news

Featured

More in Featured

UM in the press

More in UM in the press

Students going the extra mile

More in Students going the extra mile

Events

  • BOD november 2021
    11 Feb
    Highlight, study information

    Bachelor's Open Day

    Find out more about one of the most international universities in Europe, experience our unique approach to teaching and immerse yourself in your programme of choice.

    Read more
  • MOD banner
    18 Mar
    study information, Highlight

    Master’s Open Day

    We hope to welcome you on campus at our next Master's Open Day and give you a good impression of what studying at Maastricht University is all about.

    Read more
  • Teach-Meet Evaluation Practices
    22 Mar
    Highlight, staff training

    Teach-Meet: How to evaluate our educational practice?

    During this Teach-Meet, we will reflect on our culture of education evaluation and offer good practices for evaluation methods in different contexts of learning at UM.

    Read more
More events

What happens inside people?

New NUTRIM Clinical Research Unit officially opened

On January 25 the NUTRIM Clinical Research Unit (CRU) at Maastricht UMC+ officially opened. At the new facility researchers are comprehensively mapping people with chronic and/or oncological diseases. They measure metabolism, body composition and physical activity in order to better understand what happens in the body of people who are sick, and ultimately to be able to treat them better. As part of the official opening professor and oncological surgeon Steven Olde Damink and PhD candidate Nicole Hildebrand share the research they are doing at the NUTRIM CRU on weight loss in cancer.

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CRU

Video: Brightlands Next Ten

Dit jaar bestaat de Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen tien jaar. Tien jaar innovatie. Tien jaar werken aan wereldwijde uitdagingen op het gebied van materialen, biomedische innovaties en duurzame processen. Tien jaar bouwen aan een levendige gemeenschap zoals we dat op elke campus zouden willen.

Ga met ons terug in de tijd en bekijk de mijlpalen van de campus in deze video.

Featured

Staff & faculty

War in Ukraine - info and support

We are shocked and deeply saddened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We are supporting our students and staff from the region and welcome any aid initiatives launched from within our community. Maastricht University is trying to contribute all it can.

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Economics

Will AI systems make your job obsolete?

We have seen a lot of industry disruptions caused by AI-generated content in recent months. The most notable of these disruptions came from OpenAI. First with DALL·E 2, an AI system that can create realistic images and art based on a given text, and more recently with ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a language model designed to generate human-like text responses to prompts. 

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Economics

Is a later primary school exit test better for migrant children?

Barriers, such as a lack of Dutch language skills or limited knowledge on Dutch institutions, can hamper the integration process. A major channel for integration is education. It can, among others, improve chances to receive higher incomes and help to build networks.

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Theme: UM & ...

UM & Europe

Maastricht University is the European university of the Netherlands. Plenty of reasons for to launch a several stories, news items and to publish an overview of all of our 'UM and Europe' information.

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UM & sustainability

Sustainability has long been a core value of Maastricht University, and it will be increasingly important in the near future. On this page you can read news, stories, press releases, and more.

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UM & wellbeing

Maastricht University devotes a great deal of attention to the wellbeing of its students and staff. Read more about 'UM & wellbeing' news, stories, press releases, videos and background information.

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UMagazine

The UMagazine provides insight into the most important developments and achievements in education and research at Maastricht University. Three times a year, in February, June and October, a printed UMagazine is issued.

This October edition includes a portrait of Mariëlle Heijltjes, the brand-new dean of SBE. And how to get children to eat healthily? Teaching toddlers and pre-schoolers a healthy diet is not easy. But children are not preordained to dislike vegetables, say PhD candidates Anouk van den Brand and Britt van Belkom. The key to success: persist and reward.

Furthermore, Daan Westra, assistant professor Management of Healthcare Institutions, and Karin Faber, director of patient care at Maastricht UMC+, look back on the COVID pandemic. Is healthcare equipped for a new corona wave?

Disquiet among parents and educational institutions is growing. Nadia Hutten investigated this phenomenon during her PhD, supervised by Professor Jan Ramaekers. How dangerous is this type of ‘microdosing’? And does it actually enhance students’ performance?

This time, Soulkitchen offers a peek into the kitchen of Yvonne Henckens, professor of Clinical Chemistry. "I prefer to make everything myself: bread, cheese, mayonnaise. I want to know how it works, in that I remain a chemist." As icing on the cake, she met her new partner through her food blog 'Ontroerend lekker'.

  The next issue of the UMagazine will appear on 22 February 2023.

You can download the latest edition of the UMagazine (PDF) here.

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