With a folder and a copybook filled with notes, the teenagers are ready and waiting. Why they are participating? “I want to get a taste of what it is like at the university,” says one of them. This is already the third meeting, another seven to go, each time with a different point of view about the same theme: ‘War and Violence.’ Kai Karos from the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience is teaching about ‘Psychology of Evil’ today. Do evil people exist, he asks. He counts the hands that are hesitantly raised. “Okay, fifty-fifty.”
After an hour, the pupils collect their belongings. Time for a tutorial group meeting. In groups of eight or nine, together with two student tutors. “They are from different faculties to provide as much colour from the university as possible,” says professor Bert Smeets, leader of the programme. But how do they reach the pupils? “Our mentor came up with the idea,” says a pupil from Heerlen. At the Porta Mosana college in Maastricht, an e-mail was sent around. Whoever wanted, could send in a letter of motivation. It is not just for Dutch people; Aachen is also represented.
That the pupils are ambitious, is a no-brainer. They are visibly well-prepared: the presentations roll off the tongue in fluent English. In answer to the question whether they like Problem-Based Learning, nine hands are raised enthusiastically. So, do they want to go to UM in a couple of years’ time? The majority says they do. The odd one will have to wait a little longer: “Unfortunately I didn’t pass into next year.”