Entries for October 2012

Roel Damen (22), a master’s student of Econometrics from the Netherlands “My longest journey was to Sweden, where I spent four months as an exchange student. There is a lottery to determine who is allowed to go to which country. For really far destinations, you have to have really good grades. I didn’t think that was going to hap...

Suddenly it is midnight, your room is squeaky clean, your laundry neatly folded away and your bookshelf and/or wardrobe is perfectly organized by colour. However, you haven’t actually achieved anything substantial for the day. How did time fly so fast? Since exam week is coming up, procrastination measures are at a maximum. Most students pri...

Rodrigo Mesquita (18), a European Law School student from Brazil   Do you already have a group of friends? “Sure, since I study law, most of my friends are law students. I don’t speak Dutch, so they’re mostly international. As far as expectations go, my friends definitely exceed them. When I first visited the faculty, I was...

Last Saturday was the big day: Nancy Bocken and Hidde-Jan Lemstra, both alumni of the School of Business and Economics, got married. On Friday they hosted drinks at the Kruithuis. “We got the idea for a pre-wedding drink at the wedding of a friend”, says Lemstra. “The guests can get to know each other and it’s a good way to ...

Barbara Kuiters (22), from the Netherlands, bachelor’s graduate from the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience and director’s secretary at the same faculty, has seen 8 per cent of the world   A Ford Escort station wagon, some camping gear, a tent and a map of Europe. Three years ago Barbara Kuiters and her boyfriend at the time ...

Jules Stuyt, 19, a European Studies student at the Hogeschool Zuyd from the Netherlands   Do you already have a group of friends? “I’m still in contact with a lot of people from my Inkom group. We meet quite often to do something fun, like going to a Pub Quiz or going out for dinner. I met so many new people in the last few weeks...

Andreas Tometten (19), a student at the University College of Maastricht from Germany   Do you already have a group of friends? Did they turned out to be like you expected them? “Yes and no. I do have international friends as I expected, but I also find myself in groups of Germans more often than I thought. Let’s say I’m ju...

Director Leoni Jansen brings Out of Africa to Maastricht’s ‘Theater aan het Vrijthof’. The Safari Musical through Kenya will take place on the 26th of October only. Enjoy the African Jazz beats and ‘Benga Music’ from Mombassa and Nairobi, as well as the amazing dance performances for the price of €27. It’s t...

Torsten Bode (26), a master student International Business, Strategy and Innovation from Germany   Do you already have a group of friends? "Yes, I do. I expected it to be a little different though. From my previous university, I am used to having friends from the same studies. But in Maastricht, the different tracks mix. I like that m...

Sanne Thijssen (18), a European Public Health student from Kenya/the Netherlands   Do you already have a group of friends? "Everyone is open in my study. I keep meeting new people and getting to know them better. There are no cliques and it is pretty international, as I expected."   Are you still in contact with some of yo...

There is no denying it anymore—we have finally reached mid-autumn. This stirs up mixed feelings; to some, it means colourful leaves, pumpkin soup, TV show premieres, and curling up in bed with hot chocolate and a good book. Or rather, hundreds of pages about EU policy processes. It’s not like students at Maastricht University actually h...

Johannes Federkeil, 24, International Relations student at UCM, from Germany   The idea of going to Israel came to Johannes Federkeil several years ago. This summer he put his plan into action and spent two weeks in Israel as well as Palestine. “It was not a journey without forethought”, says the UCM student. “I’m ver...

From 12 to 14 October the sounds of Jazz, Funk, Blues, Rock'n'Roll and Worldmusic will be heard all over Maastricht. The JekerJazz Festival brings a few dozen bands to 40 different bars in the city where people can enjoy music, drinks and – to use a very fitting Dutch word – “gezellig” moments. The first performances...

Maastricht University has climbed 82 places - from 197 in 2011 to 115 this year - in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which were published today. This is the highest rise in the university’s history. So how did this come about? For one thing, the citation scores have increased “significantly”, s...

Recently, I’ve taken up a new hobby—the banjo. My friends and family have given me quizzical looks or smiling nods, hardly surprised at my eccentricities. I’m okay with that though, because next to sitting in the library for hours reading about the supremacy of EU law over national law and such, I need something entirely different...

Kevin Paulussen (21), first-year Biomedical Sciences student from the Netherlands “I have always been fond of travelling, but I could never combine boxing with being away for a whole year,” says Kevin Paulussen. He is a first-year Biomedical Sciences student with a Top Sport status, boxing at a high level alongside his studies.  &...

Last Friday, the staff of the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience moved from Universiteitssingel 40 to Oxfordlaan 55, just a few metres away. Boxes, plants and other office gear were all brought to the new Psychology building, where the Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre houses a high and an ultra-high field MRI scanner of 3 and 7 Tesla. In a few mon...

Over a hundred women and a few brave men hear the loudspeakers say “Hey, sexy lady!”, while they dance at the ‘Zumba Party Hearty’ in Randwyck Sports Centre on Thursday evening. The theme of this special Zumba lesson (Zumba is a fitness programme based on Latin American dance) is cardiovascular diseases. Red balloons hang ne...

This weekend – 5, 6 and 7 October – Maastricht will host the annual Dutch Dance Days. The programme paints a broad picture of what’s going on in the Dutch dance scene, whether it’s classical ballet, hip hop or modern dance. In addition to dance performances, the event includes exhibitions, workshops and dance-relat...