Entries for December 2017
Grenoble- you have been good. But now it is time to leave behind the breathtaking Alpine scenery and return to my beloved, flat Maastricht which I have learned to appreciate in manners, I did not image I ever would.
Four months, to the day, I have lived in Grenoble- a beautiful city in the heart of the Alps. Over the past 16 weeks, I have been a...
EUROPE. It looks as if British students and researchers - for the time being - may continue to participate in European programmes such as Erasmus+ and Horizon2020 after the Brexit.
Sitting in the train, I listen calmly to the first tones of Beethoven’s 5th symphony: da-da-da-dum! Calm is not quite the right word though. It’s loud and very dramatic. As it should be. This symphony has helped me through the roughest times. I can get lost in the power of the first part, the softness of the second movement, the hope of...
MAASTRICHT. A year ago, 19.3 per cent of all professors in the Netherlands was female. A rise of 1.2 per cent compared to 2015, according to the Female Professors Monitor that was presented last Tuesday. Conclusion: if developments continue at this pace, a balanced division between male and female professors will not be reached until 2051.
MAASTRICHT. Professor Frans Leeuw's position at Maastricht University could probably come under pressure after reports that he is guilty of violating scientific integrity. This was in his position at the Ministry of Justice. Neither law faculty dean Smits, nor rector Letschert intend to undertake any steps at the moment: they are waiting for th...
MAASTRICHT. Next year, Maastricht University intends to spend 3.9 million more than it will receive. This is according to plan and has everything to do with investments in educational innovation, research facilities and the improvement of the employability and supervision of students. The extra expenses will be paid from the reserves.
MAASTRICHT. The ‘German Run’ at the university library is under control. Where, in the past, people were squashed or trampled on, students are now given access in a controlled manner during the exam period.
MAASTRICHT. Visitors to the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, should know exactly where they need to be, says director James Calleja, because taxi drivers won't be able to find it. This unfamiliarity of European agencies - independent institutes that do research, advise the E...
MAASTRICHT. Early on Thursday morning, two vans park in front of the administration building on the Minderbroedersberg. Brimming with (fake) pinewood branches, baubles and rope lights. First, a large frame comes out: green metal rings that form the basis of what will turn out to be an eight-metre-high Christmas tree in the hall. With a crew of five...
THE NETHERLANDS. The quality of life in the Netherlands has shown improvement over the past 25 years, with crime rates falling, life expectancy increasing, people having more money to spend and educational standards improving, according to a major new report.
Greed. I have a shoe tic: I have twelve pairs of running shoes, three pairs of cycling shoes and another ten or so pairs of ‘normal’ shoes. Obviously you can only wear one pair at a time, but I change them depending on the type of training I’m doing: I have shoes for endurance running, shoes for speed training, race shoes. They&rs...
THE NETHERLANDS. Primary schools across the Netherlands are closed on Tuesday as tens of thousands of teachers go on strike for more pay and improved working conditions.
A concept that is quite unfamiliar to me (and I assume to most other students in Maastricht) is that you receive study credits for participating in a university sports class. While I knew from the onset of my exchange that Maastricht University would not recognize the credits, I nevertheless wanted to make use of this unique offer.
Grenoble is s...
THE NETHERLANDS. Weather forecasters are warning of more disruption on the roads and railways on Monday afternoon as a fresh band of snow sweeps in from the south.
"Sometimes changes in the lives of others can truly be made behind closed doors, in a lab, on a bench with just a pipet in hand and a revolutionary idea in head."
The first decisions one takes when aiming for medical school, begin well before you get a white coat and stethoscope around the neck. For me, my passion developed during high...
Whenever I draft recommendation letters and offer career advice to students asking for them, I am confronted by a sense of unease. This feeling emerges from the fact that as students prepare for the next stage of their lives (and the uncertainty that comes with it), too many of them fall into the trap of assessing their employability and self-worth...
MAASTRICHT/THE NETHERLANDS. Engineers and IT experts are sitting pretty: in the coming years they will easily find employment. But the outlook on the labour market for psychologists and university lecturers has also improved.
MAASTRICHT. With the departure of the Science Program to Tapijn in September 2019, their building on Kapoenstraat 2, to the rear of the Faculty of Law, will become vacant and most likely taken over by the jurists. “We are at the stage of showing serious interest,” was the reaction given by Marlies van Dongen, director of the law faculty...
NETHERLANDS/MAASTRICHT. Engineers and IT experts are sitting pretty: in the coming years they will easily find employment. But the outlook on the labour market for psychologists and university lecturers has also improved.
MAASTRICHT. With the arrival of Amsterdam lawyer Annelies van der Pauw (57) as the new chairperson of the Supervisory Board, another powerful woman has been appointed to the top of the Maastricht university board.
After the controversial referendum, the declaration of independence, the harsh reaction from the Spanish government, and the ‘flight’ of dismissed Catalan president Puigdemont to Belgium, the Catalans will return to the polling stations on 21 December to elect new regional representatives. How are Catalan students and staff at the UM vi...
MAASTRICHT. Mozzarella, salami and pesto – this is what’s on the special Maastricht Science Programme sandwich (notice the similar abbreviation) for sale at Bread&More, a sandwich shop close to the MSP building at the Kapoenstraat. Customers pay the normal price of 4 euros for the sandwich; the MSP charity committee has arranged tha...
Being an international university is not only about the number of foreign students. Research and education at UM need to be steeped in all things international as well. It is time for a viable internationalization strategy, writes Lies Wesseling, Director of the Centre for Gender and Diversity.
Greed. I’m not greedy; I don’t need to have the best of the best. The only thing I can think of is my shoe addiction. I always want to wear sneakers in my free time. For a long time it was Adidas, but now I mainly buy Asics. As a keeper I wear normal handball shoes. You can buy special keeper’s shoes, but they&rs...
MAASTRICHT/THE NETHERLANDS. Employers in the Netherlands will have a hard time filling vacancies in healthcare, IT, technology and teaching over the next few years, according to a new report on the Dutch labour market by researchers at Maastricht University.
When I told my friends that I joined Club Oeno - a wine association at Sciences Po Grenoble, I was accused of participating only for good-quality wine. Little did they know that, in reality, I joined for the cheese and the olives that are served with it.
Club Oeno is a student association run by students for students. Members, as well as non-mem...
THE NETHERLANDS. Police union ACP has come under fire for revealing at the weekend that the cost of supervising a demonstration against Zwarte Piet in the Frisian town of Dokkum ran into the hundreds of euros.