Students

My colleague Juan Francisco Palacios Temprano has a large family in Asturias, Northern Spain. This region boasts a rich tradition of making cured meats from a famous Spanish breed of pig. Every winter, when the weather is forecast to be cold and dry, the men in the family slaughter a pig after having spent more than six months raising it with love ...

Doga Kordel (19) from Istanbul is going to study International Business. He chose Maastricht because he wanted to study in Europe and he didn’t want to make it too expensive. However, the most important reason is that he wants to learn a new language, after learning French and English in high school. He also got accepted in Tilburg, but he di...

Mrinal Gupta (19) is a soccer player, but he’s thinking about  joining Saurus this year. His Inkom mentors got him really excited about rowing, he tells during the Sports Event at the Griend on Thursday. He came all the way from New Delhi to go study in Maastricht. Well, not all the way from India, because for the last two years he and h...

“This is, like, classism or something?” Some students can talk more knowledgeable about the art in the Bonnefanten Museum than others, but talk about it they do. It’s Night at the Museum on the third day of the Inkom and all around the Bonnefanten exhibition halls, you can hear chatter about compositions, light, the use of colour ...

As she stands in front of the wall, ready to be photographed, Italian Lisa Scanu (18) tells about the tattoo under her left collarbone. The word zussen – Dutch for sisters – remembers her of her time in Costa Rica. It sounds crazy: a Dutch word for an Italian girl as a memory of her stay in a country where Spanish is the predominant lan...

Actually, German Katharina Meyes-Landrut (18) is still not completely sure what to study. That’s why she chose University College. “I like that you can figure out what you want to do along the way. In Germany there is nothing really like this.” Maastricht is not new to her, although it had been a long time since her last visit. &l...

“Relaxed” is how Maxim Scholma (17) from Alphen aan de Rijn describes his Inkom up until now. The biomedical sciences student particularly enjoyed the Ozon Festival on Tuesday. “I tried out all those games they had, I especially liked the one where you got a bungee jump cord around your waist and had to pull as hard as possible.&r...

Sure, journalism still has her interest, but German Marijke Eissing (19) chose European Studies instead. The reason? Her gap year in which she worked as a volunteer in Dublin with homeless people. When she came across the European Commission’s project European Voluntary Service, she decided to leave her family for twelve months to dedicate he...

Sitting on a bench in the garden of her faculty – the School of Business and Economics – newbie Aleksandra Stasyté is waiting for the keynote speech of a motivational speaker who spent 1637 days in a Moroccan jail while innocent. Within an hour, he will have the floor. This so-called ‘College Tour’ has the interest of the 19...

Jannick Neudert (24) from Germany, master International Business: “What I like about Maastricht? I arrived this morning and parked my car not far from SBE. I had to walk through parks to reach the faculty, I like the green atmosphere. I want to switch to a bicycle as soon as possible. I will get the key of my room the first of September. It&r...

“I have only been once in Maastricht before. I like it. It’s a pretty city; I like the architecture, the size.” Florian Bergs (24) from Germany, is a master student Human Decision Science.  He chose Maastricht because of the program, but that’s not the only reason. “I did my bachelors in the United States (Charlot...

For 18-year-old Amber Rerimassie, Maastricht is already a familiar place. She lives in the nearby city of Heerlen, she tells during the Welcome to Maastricht market. “That’s why I’ll keep living with my parents for now. It’s only thirty minutes by train. When I get the feeling that I’m missing out on the real student l...

MAASTRICHT. A colourful oasis in an endless plain of mud. That is how one could describe the Tapijn Garden, the way it stands out in the corner of the churned-up barracks grounds. The “city vegetable garden” itself looks very well cared for, except perhaps for the section where everything is growing together. “That looks like a me...

Once a year, Indonesian students from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany come together to play badminton – the most popular sport in their home country. At this year’s Maastricht Cup - last Saturday - fifty players competed for the prizes – while other visitors enjoyed the bazaar with authentic Indonesian food that’s ...

Celebrating feminist, women, trans and gender-non conforming people – that’s what Ladyfest all about. This worldwide concept of a festival created within the community came to Maastricht for the first time last year. Now, the second edition takes place in the Mandril Cultural and Political Centre on 5 and 6 May. The programme is dive...

MAASTRICHT. How do storytellers relate to current pressing issues? When and why do writers, filmmakers and artists become activists? That’s the theme of the fourth Story-Line event, this Saturday in Lumiere Cinama. The English programme includes writers Priya Basil and Olumide Popoola, a short lecture about the documentary Bueys by film criti...

MAASTRICHT. It is time for the XXL weeks at the University Library again. This means that the library is bursting at its seams with students studying. Elise Abraham, second-year student of Economics from Belgium and Mimi Ahlsrog, second-year student of International Business from Finland, can be found at the Inner-City University Library every day....

“Why did Napoleon never attack Geneva? Napoleon: ‘Geneva? Why would I attack Geneva? Everybody speaks English there.’”, according to ringmaster Teun Dekker, using these words to present the introductory video that accompanies the evening’s fourth proposition: ‘The city council should offer free Dutch courses to e...

MAASTRICHT. Throughout the centuries, atlases have been more than just navigation tools. They can also be works of art, tell a story about how the world was depicted at that time, and hint at the opinions of the cartographer. Jonathan Stockhorst, master’s student of Art, Literature and Society, spent the last few months researching the 9...

MAASTRICHT. Five Ultimate Frisbee men's teams from the Netherlands came to Maastricht on Sunday to compete against each other. It was the third day of competitions (of a total of four) in the third division, in which Maastricht's own Ultimaas competes. For those who only know Frisbee as a holiday pastime: in the winter, Ultimate Frisbee is ...

Greed. Brian: “I’m not affected by it. I don’t care much about clothes or other things. If my phone’s worn out, I’ll buy a new one, but it doesn’t have to be the latest iPhone. I’m mainly focused on the sport. My karate things have to be in good order. Often you have to replace protective gear like shi...

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...

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...

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...

  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...

Big turkeys, yams, pumpkin pies and pecan pies – all the traditional staples of a Thanksgiving dinner were present at the Tapijnkazerne last Thursday. Over a hundred American students gathered to spend this family holiday together. It was the first time that the Centre for European Studies organized a Thanksgiving get-together on such a large...

Greed. During a match, you can show that you’re up to the task: coaching my defenders, giving them faith that they can play the ball back, stopping attackers. So I want to play as much as possible. When it comes to my outfit, I prefer not to have black boots. That used to be the norm, but brightly coloured shoes are much more noticeable. They...

  Greed. I’m not materialistic. I only need the essentials; a belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps, weightlifting shoes for squats, and a singlet for competitions. In powerlifting there are two big brands; SBD and Titan, but with shoes I want Nike. They provide the most stability. I am greedy when it comes to making progress, though: I ...

Greed. I need my equipment to be in good order. I always want a new grip and the strings on my racket done before a match or a tournament. My shoes are always Nike, and I like having a Nike top, shorts and socks on as well. Outside the sport I’m not greedy at all; only when it comes to sneakers. People sometimes ask me if I have the whole Nik...

MAASTRICHT. The idea was conceived seven years ago and has been popular at universities ever since: train alumni to prepare students for or assist them on the labour market. The alumni, themselves already well-established in their fields, receive a crash course on how to get students thinking about their talents, their dreams and how they can turn ...

Greed. I always want the puck. If you’ve got possession, you can leave your mark on the match. I’ve got a pretty decent trophy collection at home. But success always leaves you wanting more. The ones I cherish most are the medals for the (youth) world cups in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016, and the watch I was given for most valuable player ...

MAASTRICHT. Where a handful of ‘homeless’ students were protesting in front of the Student Services Centre in Maastricht at the beginning of September, under the heading #MaastrichtHousingCrisis, there has been no activity for weeks on the Facebook page of the same name. Maurice Evers, managing director of Student & Staff Housing a...

Greed. To be quite clear: Latin dance is not ballroom dancing [just so that we know what we are talking about, Zef Orbons laughs. He dances the rumba, samba, jive, cha-cha and paso doble]. I have always wanted to look beautiful and I love stylishness. So, if you were to explain greed in terms of clothing, as more beautiful than beautiful, then I wo...

We all know the stereotypes about ‘he-men’ and ‘she-women’: they eat chicken all day long, their IQs barely crack 100 and they drop their weights hard enough to make the floor shake. In the run-up to the Dutch Student Nationals Powerlifting Classic, Observant asked five gym buffs about these stereotypes, their motivation, di...

MAASTRICHT. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. This could have been the theme of the Sustainability Day gathering, organised by the study association of the master's programme of Sustainability, Science and Policy (ASAP) and Food Sharing Maastricht at the Kapoenstraat 2 last Tuesday. There was a clothing swap, food pre...

Greed. I’d rather call myself eager. I always want to win. In daily life I’m not greedy at all. I can be very happy with the little things. My gear has to be good, not expensive or beautiful; that’s the way I was raised. My sunglasses don’t have to be from Oakley. Triathlon is an expensive sport. You need a wetsuit, a bike, ...

Imagine you have a couple of hours off this afternoon and you fancy a game of table tennis. It’s just, who to play with? Maybe you are new to Maastricht and don't know a lot of people. Or you do have friends here, but they don't have the day off. That is where the new Activitree app can offer a solution. Activitree was created by U...

Greed. Handball has taken me to many places around the world: Brazil, Qatar, Denmark, Turkey, Sweden. I want more, but my parents say it’s been great already and I’d do better to concentrate fully on my studies. I want to show everyone that I can accomplish anything I want. A year from now I want to be playing in a top handball country ...

Greed. I always want to win, to bring home medals. I cycled a lot in my youth and have a bookcase full of trophies at my parents’ place. I was junior Benelux champion and won silver at the Netherlands Championships for newcomers. I want to get the best out of myself; I’m a perfectionist, both in my studies and when it comes to mountain ...

Greed. I’m not greedy at all; I don’t desire material possessions. I’m happy with what I have. Okay, I have to admit: show jumping is an elite equestrian sport. You have to look good and your outfit must be presentable, but I don’t need most luxury stuff. Luckily my parents pay all my expenses for training and competition. W...

MAASTRICHT. The housing problem of foreign students in Maastricht will be discussed with the city council. Managing director of Student & Staff Housing, Maurice Evers, said so after a meeting with Hungarian student Ilona Kraft, one of the initiators of the silent protest action #MaastrichtHousingCrisis last Wednesday. With this protest, a handf...

  Greed. I don’t have time to be greedy. I train and I study, that’s it. That said, I do always like to have the best bike, the best wetsuit and the best shoes. I have them now and am very happy with them. I’m an only child and have great parents who always support me, but I don’t think I’m spoilt.   ...

Greed. I’m crazy about training swimsuits, I like buying them in all sorts of bright colours and prints. They tend to wear out quickly because of the chlorine. Fortunately, there are always new collections: a good excuse to go looking for the next one. I usually buy them one size too small, preferably high cut, so there’s a bit of wedgi...

MAASTRICHT. New in Maastricht and from abroad? Last Sunday the International Service Desk organised an International Welcome Day for foreign students. After a lunch, a city walk, a lot of tips and a dinner, Maastricht felt a bit more like home.

  Greed. I’m not so into things, but when I do the groceries I always come home with more than was on the list. Gluttony. I’m addicted to boxing, am always either doing it myself or watching it. I have to watch every match, even when I’m supposed to be studying. As for food, when I’m in training I eat a...

MAASTRICHT. As every year, UM students volunteer to pick up new international students that arrive at Schiphol Airport and direct them safely to Maastricht. A total of 150 students will make use of this Pick-up Service in the last weeks of August. At Maastricht Central Station, students from the International Student Network will await the newcomer...

MAASTRICHT. It's Friday, the fifth day of the Inkom. Most freshmen will be exhausted, but UM Sports had the guts to schedule the Legendary Work at 10.30h. And they were right. Over a hunderd fresmen joined the "body and mind mix". No high intensity training, as staffmembers told students at the entrance, but they will d...

The Sports Event at the Griend has only just started, but Armin Dorrani (18) a European Law School student from Eindhoven, has already made his choice. “I’m going to join the badminton association. I already play, it’s fun because it’s a fast and active sport. I especially excel at singles.” That doesn’t mean oth...

A lot of students are sporting unique linen bags at Cultifest, held Wednesday night at the Bonnefantenmuseum. They have painted them themselves at one of the many activities going on in and around the building. Inspiration can be found at the Raymond Pettibon exhibition – A pen of all work – or the regular collection that are open to th...

Pietari Pitzen (21), from Finland, lost track of his Inkom group. “We had a party in the Mecc yesterday, called Legends of Tomorrow”, says Pitzen at the Picnic on Wednesday afternoon. “I guess that my group stayed in bed with a hangover. Finnish people never get hangovers. We exercise a lot and get used to it. The government disco...

MAASTRICHT. The girl at the first hamburger handout is suffering. Today it is about thirty degrees, which makes it not nice to have to hang your head over a hot grill. And she can’t step backwards because the hamburgers need turning around every other minute or so. But does that spoil the fun, today at the picnic in the Stadspark? Not at all....

MAASTRICHT. You could make your way through the Stadspark bouncing, Tuesday afternoon at the Festival. Avoiding spinning beams, playing a game of volleyball or just lazily enjoying the sun: it can all be done on a bouncing castle. What else is going on? Dancing on the tunes of Accent, the house band of student association Circumflex. For the gentle...

“I didn’t expect Europe to be so hot, I expected rain, especially in the Netherlands”, says Nga Janda (18) from Zimbabwe. She is sitting in the sun before the building of the school of Business and Economics. “I have never been in the Netherlands before. I have visited the UK, France and Ireland. I like the diversity in Maas...

Big sunglasses and an African head wrap. “I didn’t feel like doing my hair today”, laughs the first year student University College, “it’s easy and it looks nice.” Indeed it does. Her name is Annemiek Cuppen (18), a real Dutch name. “I’m half Dutch, half Congolese. I was born in the USA and raised in ...

“Toast met tartaar.” German Franziska Flossbach laughs a bit as she tells about her Dutch skills. She didn’t take an official course, “she practiced just for fun”, with a friend who is doing a study program in Rotterdam. “I regularly try to order a dish in a restaurant in Dutch. It works out well.” The 19-y...

You’re from where? Saint Charles? Is it in France?  But as 18-year old Zoë Barois draws a questioning face the reporter knows she is wrong. “Seychelles”, she repeats. “O, wow, the islands!” Just in case you have no idea where the Seychelles are located: the archipelago of 115 islands lies in the Indian Ocean, off ...

MAASTRICHT. A band that has both Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine as Super Trooper by ABBA on their set list, can rightfully call themselves all-round.  The Daredevils set the mood Monday night at the Markt, just before the official opening of the Inkom 2017. When they leave for a short break, the stage is open for the Working G...

MAASTRICHT. No tropical heat or dull Dutch weather, but a mild sun with a cloud here or there. Today, Monday 21 August, 2900 new students start their Maastricht Inkom - a lot more than last year (2735). It means the introduction week for freshmen is “sold out”, according to Sean Beuk, Inkom chairman. This afternoon the info market Welco...

She has changed her haircut just before coming to Maastricht. “It has been pretty much every color of the rainbow but this is my original color. I‘m starting to appreciate it”, laughs Lucia Rosero (19) from Ashville, North Carolina (USA). She is standing with her brand new Inkom group under the trees of the garden of the Tongerses...

MAASTRICHT. Sun, music by the Tuna guys, drinks, and a brand-new issue of Mosaïek, otherwise known as the interdisciplinary cultural magazine of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, which seemed to be defunct for a while, but has now been restored to life by a group of students. The first copy was presented to dean Sophie Vanhoonacker during th...

Her life is at risk in Nigeria, because Judith (whose surname will be withheld for privacy reasons) is quite open about her sexual orientation in her home country. She is a lesbian, living and working as a human rights activist and who is now in Maastricht for three months. The Faculty of Law will take care of her as part of the Shelter City Progra...

MAASTRICHT. What does Maastricht have to offer in the cultural field? Young international people living in Maastricht can discover the city’s ‘hidden treasures’ at the new Meet Maastricht Festival from 26 until 28 May. There are over twenty activities, from meeting professional sustainable bee keepers to getting a guided tour thro...

MAASTRICHT. “And this is where the lobby will be. Imagine students with laptops and pizzas.” The guide giving the tour through the Sphinx building, points around him. At the moment, it is a construction site with wooden planks, dust, and cement everywhere. The only thing that is recognisable, is the lift shaft. In just over three months...

“I found the house more quickly than I thought,” says Mien Segers, professor of Corporate Learning, as she enters Inge Tielen's apartment. “The address was a white stain on Google Maps. And Belgians always lose their way in the Netherlands.” Another fact about the Belgians: they never come empty-handed. Segers hands a ba...

Annelot Pannekoek makes her way up the stairs with difficulty. Someone stood on her toe yesterday; it was completely blue this morning. “Maybe even broken, but it appears that they can't do anything about that, so it would be useless to go to the doctor. I taped it myself.” She is the host today, but the last one to arrive – s...

MAASTRICHT. Ladyfest is a festival to celebrate, empower and inspire women. This worldwide concept will come to Maastricht for the first time at the Mandril Cultural Centre on 6 and 7 May. It’s a do-it-yourself festival, meaning that instead of the organisers inviting and paying artists to come, Ladyfest is non-commercial and built from wi...

MAASTRICHT/BRISBANE. Maastricht University (UM) has dropped two places - from fourth to sixth - in the Young University Rankings for best young universities in the world. This has put the UM back in the same place as in 2015. The rankings were published yesterday during the Young Universities Summit in Brisbane, Australia. The Maastricht Executive ...

MAASTRICHT. Is there anyone here with salsa experience? Two hands are raised. “Great, there is a lot of work to be done,” concludes instructor Saiyd Sinlae, who is leading this Rag Week workshop on behalf of student dancing association Let’s Dance. He divides the group of people who have gathered here at Dancing Centre Bernaards o...

“Can we do anything?” Bas van de Valk asks Thara van der Borgh and Ilse van de Wijgert, who are busy in the kitchen. “No, everything’s ready, go sit down. Do you guys want a beer?” says Van de Wijgert, the host of the evening. Van der Borgh laughs: “We have a traditional division of labour tonight. Not deliberate...

MAASTRICHT. With almost 2,300 prospective students, the Maastricht University’s spring Bachelor's Open Day last Saturday had more visitors than ever before. Especially the Dutch study programmes of Medicine and Health Sciences were popular (both more than four hundred visitors). During the Open Day last autumn, on the other hand, there wa...

MAASTRICHT. You know it’s Stukafest (the student room festival held last Thursday, 9 February) when you’re in a quiet residential street and suddenly a group of Germans on bikes comes to a screeching halt in front of a student building. “What are you going to see?” “Who knows, we just signed up for something, so I gues...

“Stress seems to be a big thing at UCM that people talk about. It occurred to me after a while that maybe it’s not just me who has a hard time getting things done and we should do something about this,” says Amelie Gaetjen, a second year sociology student at UCM. She’s on the academic council and is one of the students behin...

A city walk, a traditional Dutch cookie (stroopwafel), drinks, a lot of tips and friendly words. Last Sunday the newly arrived international students were welcomed. About 120 students attended the ISAP Welcome Day.

MAASTRICHT. When he was 16, singer-songwriter Joshua Oudendijk (19), first-year student of European Studies, performed in the Rockhal in the city of Luxemburg, one of the most important pop podiums there. A year later, he was at the Luxemburg festival Sonic Visions, where bands like The Lumineers and Alex Vargas also played. “That is the a...

“Sorry, I haven’t vacuumed in a week. My mom would probably freak out!” Liza Hazenberg, the present ‘day in the life of’ student room candidate apologetically opens the door to her 18m2 territory. Her mom, she jokingly declares, “can be a real piece of work“ and worries a lot. It is rather unclear why, thou...

Visitors of the story festival China, Secret Stories, organised by Story-Line Maastricht in the Bonnefanten museum on Sunday 22 January, will receive a red envelope. The Chinese give these to family and friends at New Year and they usually contain money and some good advice. The visitors to the festival won't find that inside the envelope, but ...

MAASTRICHT. An intimate crowd gathers inside the Innbetween, which is decorated with warm lighting and a traditional Christmas tree, for the Unicef Charity Concert Thursday night. People chat and eat Mexican milk cake before the concert begins, which raises funds for children afflicted by the Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. An array of talented arti...

MAASTRICHT. “You meet new people and learn more about the university yourself, it’s a win-win situation”, that’s how the buddies of the International Student Ambassador Programme described their time showing new international students around. Last Wednesday, Maastricht University invited them to the Lumière to reward th...

MAASTRICHT. They were busy preparing for their Secret Santa – drawing lots and planning ‘pakjesavond’ as one does for the Dutch Sinterklaas – when the group of exchange students on the fourth floor of the Guesthouse on the Brouwersweg suddenly felt the need for a real Christmas tree. Priyanka Kanthan, Ilesha Bapat (both from...

MAASTRICHT. Not a shared second place but undisputedly at the top. Like last year, University College Maastricht has the very best broad bachelor’s programme in the Netherlands. This is the outcome of the adapted Keuzegids 2017 ranking which was published yesterday. UCM received a final grade of 9.8 instead of 8.8, as was announced last week....

MAASTRICHT. The Eiffel building on the Boschstraat is undergoing a metamorphosis. A large section of the striking old factory buildings will be occupied as of September by The Student Hotel. During yesterday’s kick-off, it was described as a “landing spot” where students will be able to stay for up to twelve months. The Student Ho...

MAASTRICHT. Last Thursday four Italian UM students who had raised funds for the refugees headed for the ‘Jungle’ in Calais and the smaller camp at Dunkirk. Calais has been completely wiped out, says third-year law student Angelica Giombini. “It’s as if a tsunami has washed everything away. In the mud you still find left-behi...

Many UCM students will wake up with a hangover Wednesday morning, and not just because the US Election Night at UCM turned out to be quite a party. Nobody, including speakers sociologist Kai Heidemann and political scientist Roberta Haar, expected a Trump victory. It was Dutch first-year Hanne Creijghton’s greatest fear. “He is someone ...

Mariëlle Heijltjes is being treated this evening to a full three-course meal: baguette with avocado tapenade and salmon to start, pasta with shrimps for the main and Swedish coconut balls to finish. “Did you come up with all that yourself?” she asks Caspar Naus as he gives a rundown of the menu. “No,” he replies, “I&rs...

“It’s too moist”, says Denise Sitters. “Not at all”, replies Nanne de Vries, professor of Health Promotion. “Just say that’s how your apple crumble is supposed to be. I like it.” Meanwhile, Wannes van Lonkhuijzen is standing at the kitchen counter with a knife and the second round of apple crumble. He...

MAASTRICHT. They had raised €4300 and collected sixty boxes of clothes, blankets, pillows, shoes and sleeping bags to transport to the refugee camp in Calais. Then the French authorities dismantled the ‘Jungle’. Right in exam week, too, says law student Angelica Giombini, one of the four Italian students who organised the initiativ...

“Oh, shit, we get scored on the food?” Loek Rekko hasn’t been following this Observant series. “Darn!” He apologises: he prepared the shoulder chops, but he didn’t buy it. “Also, it’s been in the oven for twenty minutes too long.” “My fault”, says Matthijs Hesselink. “I was lat...

With all the blankets, pillows, clothes and shoes they’ve collected, at least one student room is already overflowing. In addition, they managed to raise some 2500 euros in two weeks. They can hardly believe it; so touched were they that they even cried. “We were so surprised by all the appreciation and loving emails and messages”...

“Ooooh how sweet!” He has barely been inside for five minutes and Martin Paul has already charmed the girls from MAX (pronounced mex), presenting them with four cups and saucers with the Maastricht skyline. “My daughter moved to Berlin for her studies. When I found out she was drinking out of an empty Nutella jar, I had to go to I...

According to a note by the door, the doorbell to the Boschstraat 58c is broken. At the bottom of the note the occupant of 58b has written her phone number. It’s a considerate gesture. Before she picks up, however, three students with grocery bags cross the road to the flat. Yes, they are tonight’s chefs, they reply cheerfully, as Ischa ...

You know us: those annoying students blocking the door of your faculty and almost forcing an Observant into your hands. Sorry about that, but most people just don´t seem to know the Observant well enough to let the matter go around on its own. If you don´t want a newspaper, then don´t take it; it´s as simple as that. We c...

MAASTRICHT. All Maastricht student associations have recruited approximately the same number of new members this year. Just like in previous years, Saurus attracted the largest number of foreign students (23), followed by Koko (18), Tragos (10), and Circumflex (5). Koko and Saurus each registered one more new member than last year, leaving them ...

MAASTRICHT. Rubbish was an item on the agenda at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) council meeting last summer. The following dialogue developed:  “I have heard a rumour that wastepaper baskets are going to disappear from offices and classrooms,” says council member and lecturer Marc van Ekert. “And that we would ...

It takes a while for Professor Maria Jansen to find her way up to the students of Lux ad Mosam, who live above their clubhouse on the Bogaardenstraat. In the three years the students have lived there, the intercom has never worked. “That’s why we installed a normal bell”, says Nadine de Hoog. The problem is that it’s a black...

Two bicycles under the raised bed, chain wheels and sprockets on the wall and a row of tires under the window. Jesse Raas is obviously a cyclist. His room is the venue for this evening’s dinner with professor of Philosophy Tsjalling Swierstra and three other members of the student mountain bike and cycling association Dutch Mountains. Having ...

Tuesday evening, Bogaardenstraat 16. We’re sitting on the first floor of an apartment building where students and Maastricht locals live in harmony together. Most of the time, at least. The police were called in a few weeks ago, says psychology student Elizabeth de Nijs. “Nienke and I were just talking, with a bit of music on in the bac...

Did you go to an international school? Do your parents have different nationalities? Are you left- handed? Last Tuesday, around 350 first-year students were sent wandering around Brasserie Tapijn armed with a sheet of nine questions. Their task: to find, among the 60 buddies – also known as ambassadors – and their fellow students people...

No, Angeniet Helwig didn’t spend hours cleaning her room; she did remove some beer mats with messages of kissing, cuddling and boozing from the wall. Excuse me? Yes, that is a tradition at Lagakari – we’ll come back to the cuddling later. Helwig lives on the Grote Gracht, in a building that houses more than forty students. Perfec...

“Burgers are always good!” Sjoerd van Dijk calls from the kitchen as he does his final check: “Onions in the pan, potatoes in the oven, pasta salad, tomatoes.” Tonight’s guest – Professor Philip Vergauwen, dean of the School of Business and Economics – had already shown up at the Noormannensingel a week ear...

‘Need beer?’ asks a Koko member on a large sign he holds up into the air. Most students seem to be well equipped at the Market, where the opening of the Inkom 2016 took place Monday evening. Some beer has even found its way through the air. And when the Working Group Inkom pushes the start button, confetti is flying through the air and ...

MAASTRICHT. Yesterday 2,735 freshmen registered for the INKOM, the introduction week for first-year students from Maastricht University and Zuyd. That’s more than ever. The Inkom 2015 had 2,360 participants. “We are sold out”, says INKOM-chair Wim Renders. “The registration was closed Friday evening. Just before the en...

MAASTRICHT. Where last year the Spanish-Belgian singer Belle Pérez performed on the Markt during the Inkom opening, this year the choice falls on a duo working the turntables: Manuel Broekman and Géza Weisz. Who is making a repeat performance? Maastricht star Fabrizio. Just mentioning his name caused a lot of cheering when the artists were announce...

MAASTRICHT. Students in the Psychology faculty council want lectures to be recorded in the future. They have written a proposal on the matter that will be dealt with on Thursday afternoon in the faculty council meeting. “There is a need,” says Hanne van Kasteren, one of the authors of the proposal, which will be discussed in the faculty...

  MAASTRICHT. With 29 seats, Dope has come out as the largest student party at Maastricht University, just like last year. Competitor NovUM, who were the most powerful in 2014 but dropped back last year, has lost even more ground and now only has twelve seats. The new Wise party obtained three seats. The election results were made k...

Maximiliane Kolb, 23, Bachelor in International Business, Class of 2015 “The biggest struggle for me was that I didn’t know where to go and what to do. Of course Maastricht University offers things like the Business Days, which help you orientate yourself to some extent, but what I was missing was a career centre where you could go a...

MAASTRICHT. A thousand people on yoga mats at the Tapijn barracks. That is the aim of the Good Life Yoga Maastricht foundation. On 21 June, International Yoga Day, the organisers want to show that yoga is not “woolly, boring or just sitting down,” says psychologist Kim van Oorsouw, a researcher at Maastricht University. “On the co...

MAASTRICHT. Until 8 June only UM cardholders will be permitted to enter the University Library in the inner city. Students who don’t have a UM card can gain entry on presentation of their ID and certificate of registration. “We are working hard to guarantee that UM students have a study place during the exam period”, say the libra...

No, there have been no stories about students or employees drifting along the Tongersestraat after closing time. That is probably also due to the fact that the SBE Bar closes at 20:00hrs. The initiative for a faculty pub in the Kruithuis came from the students but the School of Business and Economics, caterer Albron and Facility Services fully supp...

MAASTRICHT. A trophy hung with black and white ribbons stands amongst sliced sandwich buns and a drone in the ‘Board Only’ room at the Sporthal Geusselt on the East side of the Maas on Friday 15 April. It is here that business students from all over Europe shed the confines of button-up shirts for jerseys and/or pompoms in Maastricht fo...

MAASTRICHT. How to make MECC more attractive to young people? With a MECCSpace, a community around start-ups, according to Alit Sudarsana and Stefani Christianti, an alumnus and a student of Maastricht University. And with that concept, they won €1,000 during the first Jules Challenge on Monday evening. Along with more than a hundred other st...

MAASTRICHT. It looks like more languages than just English and Dutch will soon be promoted at this university. A few weeks ago, the Executive Board, through its chairman Martin Paul, already stated that the UM may be bilingual, “but it is useful to teach people three languages. Students as well as staff. Which languages exactly, to what degre...

MAASTRICHT. Five years ago, the team from the School of Business and Economics won the first Maastricht Faculty Fight, a huge sports’ competition between the various faculties that is organised every fifth anniversary year of the UM. Last week a delegation of athletes from six faculties and representatives from the organisers - UM Sports - we...

It’s been raining non-stop for the past two weeks in Granada, Southern Spain, and I decide to take refuge in one of the many breakfast-bars the locals start their days in. Savoring my small Spanish breakfast (a toast and an espresso), I detect a strange odor. There’s no way around it: someone stepped into a pile of dog shit. Reflecting ...

MAASTRICHT. Vagina, vagina, vagina. It wasn’t too long ago that uttering this word in the public sphere could induce sharp rebuke or embarrassment. Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues, doesn’t just say the word - it’s entirely focused on it. The Universalis Society of Feminism (USF) is performing The Vagina Monologues th...

MAASTRICHT. Arabic music is blaring from the kitchen at the Jan Van Eyck Academy an hour before the doors are to open. Around twenty people from the Maastricht refugee centre (AZC) and a chef from Cato by Cato are manoeuvring their way around the countless pots and saucers and the occasional curious child. It’s Thursday 18 February and the so...

MAASTRICHT. You will find them everywhere in the city: yellow handlebar hangers. It's an initiative of Maastricht Bereikbaar (Maastricht Accessible) that wants to know if there are enough bicycle parking spaces in Maastricht. The handlebar hanger – with a text in Dutch – contains a chip with a unique number. This Thursday and ...

“I actually wanted to send myself one, but I didn’t in the end.” Two students from University College Maastricht are snooping through the handwritten notes on one of the common room’s walls. The cards are attached to heart-shaped cookies – how appropriate on Monday, 15 February, the day after Valentine’s Day. It...

MAASTRICHT. Mediation fees should largely be a thing of the past, especially after the Dutch Supreme Court made its verdict concerning agency fees, four months ago. The judge ruled that housing agencies are not allowed to charge mediation fees to both the landlord and the tenant (the only exception is when a tenant asks the housing agency to find a...

MAASTRICHT. Prince Bastiaan 1st and his Tempeleers put Vrow Wielemösj on the stage at Student Services last Thursday. In doing so, the landlady from the Platielstraat, the symbol of student Carnival, is back where she belongs. For the past two or three years she had remained in storage with the Maastricht Carnival Association, because the annu...

MAASTRICHT. “The alarm wakes me up. Bah, I have to go to university today.” This is how Amnesty International Maastricht Students (AIMS) started their presentation last Thursday during the first Maastricht Human Rights Prize competition. Installed by former mayor Onno Hoes as a farewell present, the competition aims to get young people ...

MAASTRICHT. Resuscitation training for secondary-school pupils is what UM runners will be sweating for on 17 January during the ‘Zweit veur Leid’ run. It is the third time that the University Fund/SWOL participates in a sponsored run with their own good cause. “It fits in well with our knowledge institute,” says Charlotte Gr...

MAASTRICHT. Three students from the Maastricht Science Programme won the NWO Top Sector Chemistry Student Competition last week. Onno Akkermans, Mitch Spronck and Pegah Keshaniyan went home with one thousand euro each. They created a bit with a built-in miniature sensor that detects awake bruxism. In layman’s terms: teeth gnashing during wake...

MAASTRICHT. ‘The next generation’ is the theme of this year’s Serious Request event, during which three popular radio DJs are locked up for six days in a small, temporary studio. Donations will go to children in conflict areas. “The university just had to be involved”, said Ellen Breevoort of the UM working group, who ...

MAASTRICHT. The American Dream was their point of departure: what is it in fact, why does everyone want it? The students from drama association Alles is Drama subsequently improvised and elaborated on the theme. This resulted in a mix of made-up scenes and a new interpretation of existing monologues and pieces of music: Day/Dream. The show, directe...

MAASTRICHT. Walking nine kilometres for a good cause. On Tuesday 8 December at 18:30hrs., a torchlight procession for employees and students will start from the Minderbroedersberg. The procession will pass the Sint Pietersberg and continue on to the Cannerberg and Louwberg, pausing for hot chocolate and glühwein in the courtyard of Chateau Neercann...

MAASTRICHT. Tuesday evening, the Maastricht city council said ‘yes’ to the plans for the establishment of The Student Hotel in the Eiffel building at the top of the Boschstraat. The following morning, Gerdo van Grootheest, the alderman concerned, twittered that he was “very happy”. He had a tough time these past few weeks. ...

MAASTRICHT. The technical universities of Twente and Eindhoven have raised concerns about the study programmes at the BISS institute Business Intelligence and Smart Services (BISS) institute in Heerlen. The institute, established by the School of Business and Economics (SBE) and partners, will focus on transforming big data into services. The techn...

MAASTRICHT. Nine months until you can hold your baby in your arms – for some parents the wait is unbearable. Enter Peekaboo, a startup that aims to convert ultrasound scans into virtual reality so soon-to-be parents can have a 360 degree look at their baby and even ‘hold’ it. Yesterday, they won the Local Hero Award and received 1...

MAASTRICHT. What is more important: targeting poverty or human rights? This is the question that occupied Guleid, chairman of the Somali Human Rights Centre and participant in Maastricht’s Shelter Programme, at the Somaliland Human Rights Info Night last Tuesday. Leonie Eilers, a first-year student of European Public Health, heard about th...

MAASTRICHT. Jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, witches, mind-blowing costumes, trick-or-treating, ringing doorbells, candy, chocolate, caramel apples, parties, late October… It is Halloween . Fuelled by an unbridled Halloween obsession, enthusiasm for choosing original costumers and desire to experience something out-of-the-ordinary, Maastricht is a v...

MAASTRICHT. Students from the Refugee Project helped to receive new refugees in the Netherlands last week. On 13 October, the Maastricht city council decided to accept hundreds of additional asylum seekers in the Limmel refugee centre. “I received a phone call asking if there were volunteers from the Refugee Project who’d be willing to ...

I get to the library around 8:15 and there’s already a huge queue waiting at the centre of the glass windows. As its namesake would suggest, the Running of the Germans is a Maastricht phenomenon in which German students line up before the opening of the library to vie for the best study spot. If you’re an exchange student, like me, or j...

MAASTRICHT. Whether they had come to Maastricht for a semester, a year or a full three-year study programme, all non-EU students stood in line last Tuesday at the Student Service Centre to collect their residence permits. Since 2010 the Maastricht University Visa Office has organised a centralised pick-up-your-permit-day twice a year. On Tuesday, a...

MAASTRICHT. The Annual Faculty of Law Ball contained all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood red carpet event. It was sold out already weeks before the event and held at Maastricht's Ipanema venue. A range of different music genres were played to suit everyone's taste; a smooth concoction of jazz to help people glide into the celebratory s...

A group of seven gathers in a tight circle, balancing coffee mugs and cookies on their laps, on Monday evening in the new building of the InnBetween Student Chaplaincy on Capucijnenstraat 122. Beneath paintings entitled Life, Process of Life, and Flow of Life, they sit discussing the artwork as well as topics that reach far beyond the scope of any ...

MAASTRICHT. “I want to play roulette though!” It’s Monday evening at the Muziekgieterij, where the International Student Network (ISN) is hosting Social Monday for the second time since the start of this academic year. Striped, spotted and floral-ed sofas are spread around the venue in a charmingly alluring fashion that draws grou...

MAASTRICHT. The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) gave the go-ahead for two new science master’s programmes during the summer: Biobased Materials and Systems Biology. The minister had already given approval in January. The masters fit in well with the UM strategy to boost science education. The study program...

MAASTRICHT. Maastricht’s Stadspark was transformed into a hub of oriental dance, music, and energy by Not Just A Number, a new NGO in Maastricht, dedicated to the “re-humanisation of refugees”. On Wednesday, the 26th of August, the event entitled Culture Lovers, was held, in aims to help integrate the growing number of refugees in...

MAASTRICHT. Aurelia Streit, of the Student and Society Initiative (SSI), has won the Student Award 2015 for her work coordinating the Refugee Project Maastricht. The aim of the project is to bring students and refugees from the Maastricht asylum centre together to interact and socialise, and give the refugees a break from their day-to-day wait for ...

MAASTRICHT. It’s raining in Maastricht. Clouds cover every last bit of benevolent sky that attempted to smile down upon us today, thus painting the town a sepia-like tone that can only be compared to the softened hue of a late 2012 Taylor Swift music video. Basically, it’s the perfect time to stare out of one’s window and reflect ...

MAASTRICHT. The higher the education, the more drugs used Have you ever smoked a joint? Yes, say one in three with higher education. They have experimented much more often with drugs than others, Statistics Netherlands reports. Graduates from schools of higher education and universities also have more experience with cocaine, ecstasy or amphe...

MAASTRICHT. The lecture hall of the School of Business and Economics has gone through some significant changes over the summer. Gone are the long benches; they have been replaced by individual chairs with their own folding table and power point. Also, a hundred extra seats were added to the hall.

MAASTRICHT. A queue already beginning on the Grote Gracht. This Wednesday morning the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences welcomes the freshmen. "Are you from Belgium", one of the first- year students asks. Yes, is the answer from a fellow student. "From the Dutch or French part?" "Dutch." And off they g...

MAASTRICHT. Three students of Maastricht University were driven by a very special fellow taxi driver from the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Maastricht, last Monday. Martin Paul, president of Maastricht University, was at Amsterdam Airport for the Holland Scholarship event with the Dutch minister of education. Could he serve as a pick-up s...

MAASTRICHT. Badminton, fencing, rugby, rowing, cycling, climbing, music and sun. Every UM sports association was at the Griend to show how much fun it is to participate, this Thursday afternoon. A lot of students came and tried to climb a wall, to dive with a dolphin and to play badminton. Or just sat together.

MAASTRICHT. There were loads of opportunities to dance at Cultural Valley in the Stadspark on Wednesday evening during the Inkom. The pop songs of the bands, the bass tunes of the DJ’s and the beats of the drum band – they all got people swinging. Those who preferred to watch could see Project Sally’s break-dancers and hip hoppers...

MAASTRICHT. Always loved to swim and dance? At this moment a lot of fresmen have put on their swimming suits to enjoy a couple of hours in and around the Maastricht swimmingpool Geusseltbad. Tonight, Wednesday 19 August, there will be a cultural festival and food market in the Stadspark.

MAASTRICHT. An hour ago the Inkom festival at the Sphinxkwartier started with two stages, a lot of music, places to dance, eat, drink and relax. It's quite crowded.

It was rather cold at the Day@theUni in the garden of de building of the School of Business and Economics Tuesday afternoon. Most freshmen stayed inside the inner city mensa for their lunch and missed a first acquaintance with study associations like Orakel (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), Santé (Faculty of Health and Medicine) and  Gaiu...

Yesterday, about 2300 freshmen started with their new life in Maastricht. On the first day of the Inkom 2015 they had lunch in the former military barracks of the Tapijnkazerne and were around 20:00 officially welcomed by DJ Enzo Zanetti, De Heeren van Aemstel Band, Fabrizio and Belle Perez at the Markt in the centre of Maastricht. Today there is t...

MAASTRICHT. Even before you cycle into the car park at the Geusselt as a visitor on Saturday 13 June, you are met by a wave of sound. One bad German hit song after the other blares from the loudspeakers, participants of the Royals Cup joining in at the top of their voices when they need not play themselves. Their colleagues compete in a rather swea...

MAASTRICHT. Inkom wouldn’t be the same without Fabrizio. The Maastricht singer will make his appearance again during the Inkom opening event on the market this year. Spanish-Belgian singer Belle Pérez will follow him. No Dutch main act this time. “We wanted an artist who sings in another language, so that we appeal to everyone,&r...

MAASTRICHT. What can 3D printing mean to the MTB, the sheltered workshops in Maastricht. In asking themselves this question, a group of students from the School of Business and Economics won the Maastricht Student Sustainability Competition last Friday. The participants of the annual sustainability competition, organised by the Maastricht city coun...

“Writing starts with a sense of a tension, which gets into my head. A friend and writer once said to me: ‘I have that scream in my head and I need to get rid of it, in a manner that is as beautiful and elegant as possible.’” This is how Man Booker Prize winner John Banville explained how a new story of his is born.  ...

MAASTRICHT. Thirty spinning bikes are waiting in a brand new studio. A class of primary school pupils is using the large sports hall where three basketball games can take place simultaneously. In the new gym on the first floor, university students are doing their thing this Tuesday evening. The first part of the new University Sports Centre in Rand...

MAASTRICHT. “Progress, ah! Progress, ah!” Performance artist Rachel Solomon is performing her interactive poem about politics on the little stage next to the campfire at the St Michel farm, just outside Maastricht. Her performance is part of the annual WE festival, a collaborative, non-profit and sustainable festival organised by Maastr...