June 2016 on education and research at Maastricht University
EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM ----p4
Roadblocks to
peace / Debate between
Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors ----p27
Ton Hartlief heads for Supreme Court of the Netherlands Portrait of an academic at heart ----p16
30 Euregion
/ Sisters doing what they love /
Coen Stehouwer: Tackling the diabetes epidemic -----
p7
Leonór Orbán de Lengyelfalva: Human resource navigator -----
38 Alumni
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40 University Fund
Valentina and Mariana Mazzucato are both leading scholars in their fields of research: migration and the economics of innovation, respectively. Valentina, professor at Maastricht University, recently received the 500th prestigious Consolidator Grant awarded by the European Research Council, while Mariana, professor at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, gained worldwide acclaim with her latest book The Entrepreneurial State. ---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------
News -----
10, 11, 35 and 42 News -----
Further 04 Leading in Learning Harm Hospers: EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM -----
16 Portrait
----p 12
Former rectors look back on 40 years of Maastricht University In celebration of Maastricht University’s 40th anniversary this year, video portraits have been made of the six surviving former rectors of the university. In this issue you’ll find an abridged version of the interviews with Job Cohen and Hans Philipsen. ----------------------------------------------------------
EdLab spearheads educational innovation at UM ----p4
Ton Hartlief: The young veteran -----
20 International
Maastricht University hosts the annual conference of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) -----
22 Spread
The making of: Artwork by Florentijn Hofman at Oxfordlaan 55 -----
24 Professor / Student
Ron Heeren and Karolina Skraskova: A scientific crush ----------------------------------------------------------
Alum Dirk Janssen In August 2015, alum Dirk Janssen was appointed as the Dutch ambassador to Panama. The ambassador’s main objective is to help Dutch companies capitalise on the opportunities offered by Panama. “I have to be able to talk about anything, from football to art.”
2 UMagazine / June October 2016 2015
June 2016 on education and research at Maastricht University
Roadblocks to
peace / Debate between
Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors ----p27
Ton Hartlief heads for Supreme Court of the Netherlands Portrait of an academic at heart ----p16
Cover Hugo Thomassen Talented photographers were asked to come up with an image relating to one of our cover stories. Hugo Thomassen studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht. He has been working as an independent photographer since 2001, specialising in fashion photography and portraits of well-known (and unknown) Dutch people. “For me, photography is about bringing together light and shadow.” www.hugothomassen.eu
----p 36
/ Open Science / Rector Magnificus Luc Soete
For the last six months, the Presidency of the European Union has been in Dutch hands. This is the twelfth time we have had the privilege, but it will become increasingly rare: the previous Dutch Presidency was in 2004, while the next one will be in 2030 – assuming, that is, that the EU still exists! Fortunately, the logo hadn’t changed, which meant older participants, like myself, could recycle the tie they received back in 2004. A win-win situation: cutting costs for me and for the Dutch authorities. Not that this rather unique example of logo reuse, resisting as it were 12 years of progress in style and design, is in any way illustrative of a lack of progress in the policy debates surrounding higher education, innovation and science; the three topics discussed at meetings I attended. On the contrary. The Dutch Presidency, with its Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science, was dedicated to achieving a commitment to “open access” among European member states by 2020. For me though, “open science” represents a much more fundamental transformation of science at the global level. With the digitisation of science characterised, as in other areas, by the notion of disruption, it would not be far-fetched to talk of an “Uberisation” of science.
Photo Sacha Ruland
Science has traditionally been carried out in well-protected institutions such as universities and academies, most of which have survived centuries of internal and external challenges, including wars and revolutions. Scientific progress emerged from open debate, the practice of independent peer review and the dissemination of knowledge in accessible publications that recognised individuals’ contributions. But times have changed. First, in terms of the production of research: the last 12 years have seen the number of academics who are active internationally roughly double. As the most prestigious journals are more or less fixed in number, this growth in human research capital has created major bottlenecks in the publication of research output. And second, in terms of both the content and the timing of research output: the dramatically increased competition leads, not surprisingly, to strategic behaviour on the part of scientists, who begin to focus on the research most likely to “score” in terms of results and output, avoiding riskier research that is less likely to get published. Open science, with its emphasis on access to and transparency of data, may provide a useful antidote. It is the notion of open science that underlies the emergence of publicly accessible pre-prints in a growing number of disciplines. Further, open science facilitates new avenues for testing the reproducibility of research. It also enables scientists to share their data and results with the world more quickly and easily than ever before; consider David O’Connor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who posts a daily, online update on his lab experiments on the Zika virus. In short, open science is challenging not just existing publishers with open access, but all of us. <<
3 June 2016 / UMagazine
Text Jos Cortenraad Photography Philip Driessen
/E spe edu inn at
4 UMagazine / June 2016
Leading in Learning
EdLab earheads ucational novation UM / Establishing the EdLab was no easy task, but a sense of optimism now permeates Building X, on the site of the former Tapijn barracks. “Educational innovation used to happen on a project-by-project basis”, says Hospers. “So it’s important that we now have our own place with our own people and resources. A physical institute, where we hold meetings, give workshops and share knowledge and ideas. We’ve been at it for 12 months now and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the dynamics. All six faculties have come forward with different plans and ideas – more than we can deal with. There’s interest from administrators and academics, not to mention students. They of course are keen to know whether opting for Problem-Based Learning was the right choice, and whether it still meets the demands of the labour market.”
Commitment A Maastricht native, Hospers lacks neither enthusiasm nor optimism. He has made undeniable progress on the site where, until the turn of the century, soldiers were stationed to guard the city. “It’s too early for concrete results, but the faculties have shown their commitment over the past year. All six deans have pledged to implement proven innovations, and every faculty has appointed at least one liaison.
The EdLab institute is set to become the driving force behind educational innovation at Maastricht University. Having spent the past year making connections and charting the terrain at UM, the institute has, according to EdLab director and UM vice rector Harm Hospers, demonstrated its right to exist. “The number of ideas and proposals is overwhelming. EdLab is a hotbed of innovation. And innovation, as you know, is never done.” We organise meetings where they can come together to discuss ideas. Often they bring to the table existing plans from their own faculties, but then why should they all have to reinvent the wheel? Every programme is involved in the quest for innovation. Everyone is concerned with whether our brand of PBL is keeping up with the latest technological developments and increasing internationalisation. Does our education system do justice to the great diversity of cultures here in Maastricht? Together we’ll find the answers.”
Pillars The work of the EdLab rests on three pillars. “The first one is educational innovation, for example in terms of exams and assessments. How does a tutor weigh up the individual contributions of different students working together on a group assignment? In practice all students pretty much get the same mark. That’s something that should change. The same holds for examining written work and giving >> 5 June 2016 / UMagazine
constructive feedback on theses. Not everything can or should be assessed by way of multiple-choice questions, but marking written work is very labour intensive and often involves two different assessors. It may be possible to automate this digitally somehow. We’re looking for smart solutions.” The different ideas are discussed in working groups, which then may or may not come up with a project proposal. Hospers has been particularly pleased by the openness of these discussions. “The differences between programmes fade into the background and you see that all faculties are facing the same issues. Sometimes one faculty has made more progress than another with a given innovation. And that’s fine – after all, knowledge exchange is one of the EdLab’s objectives. I’m seeing closer collaboration and increasing enthusiasm, and that’s an excellent basis to build on.”
exams and the learning objectives. The average student isn’t much interested in that. That being said, we’re also experimenting with innovations that directly concern students – standing up during tutorials, for instance. Research suggests that this helps people stay alert and active for longer. We want to find out whether it’s really true in practice.” This, according to Hospers, also falls under the umbrella of innovation. “The EdLab is open-minded; we never just dismiss an idea out of hand. My hope is that in four years the EdLab will be a place where administrators, teachers and students work together towards innovation. Only if you’re constantly innovating can you improve.” <<
Only if you’re constantly innovating can you improve.
Excellent The second pillar of the EdLab focuses on the university’s excellence programmes. “UM has three programmes for excellent students: Honour+, MaRBLe and PREMIUM. Our plan is to bring these students together at the EdLab to collaborate on cross-faculty projects.” Educational Services make up the third pillar: “Here we’re talking about training programmes for educators in areas like examination and assessment, leadership and cultural diversity. Innovation also means equipping staff with specific tools; EdLab is able to shed light on the needs of UM staff. Participants come up with their own ideas, and we translate these from subject-specific into broader plans.”
Standing up For students all these plans are, with the exception of the excellence programmes, not yet overly visible. “The point is to ensure that we’re providing the best possible education”, says Walter Jansen, coordinator of innovation and one of the EdLab’s six permanent staff. “We’re also involved with accreditations, with trying to find the right balance between the different types of 6 UMagazine / June 2016
Harm Hospers (1957), professor of Applied Health Psychology, studied Psychology in Groningen before joining the Faculty of Health Sciences in Maastricht in 1985. He defended his PhD thesis, ‘Homosexual men and the HIV epidemic’, in 1999. In the same year he was appointed programme director at the Faculty of Psychology,
where he later became a member of the Faculty Board. Hospers was appointed dean of University College Maastricht in 2009 and dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences in 2011. In 2015 he became vice rector for education at UM, a position he combines with his role as EdLab director. www.EdLab.nl
Text Jolien Linssen Photography Sacha Ruland
Research and society
/ Sisters doing what they love / Professor in the Economics of Innovation Mariana Mazzucato with her sister professor of Globalisation and Development Valentina Mazzucato >>
7 June 2016 / UMagazine
Valentina and Mariana Mazzucato are both leading scholars in their fields of research: migration and the economics of innovation, respectively. Valentina, professor at Maastricht University, recently received the 500th prestigious Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), while Mariana, professor at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, gained worldwide acclaim with her latest book The Entrepreneurial State. Judging by these sisters, if there’s a key to success, it’s enthusiasm.
Growing up as the daughters of a scientist – their father Ernesto was a physicist at Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory – it might seem logical that both Valentina and Mariana opted for academic careers. Looking back, they acknowledge that the Mazzucato household was the perfect breeding ground for their future work. “What definitely influenced me was the fact that both of our parents were concerned about social issues and critical in their thinking”, Mariana says. “So we’d be watching the TV news when I was little, and my father would always comment on it. We weren’t from a family that, say, just accepted how the news was transmitted to you.” “And our mother was very socially engaged as well, trying in all sorts of ways to help people in the community who were less privileged”, Valentina adds. “That’s something I mentioned in my inaugural lecture, when I thanked her for teaching me empathy. I believe you can only really do the kinds of research we do if you’re able to place yourself in other people’s shoes and see the world from their perspective.” Migration research That perspective is, for Valentina, the perspective of migrants. Her latest work revolves around transnational families; that is, families whose nuclear members are living in different countries. “I’m interested in understanding how people ‘do family’ across great distances, and what factors affect the way they’re able to be family. What kinds of care activities do mothers and fathers engage in when they’re thousands of kilometres away from their children? And vice versa: who is doing the proximate care of the children?” 8 UMagazine / June 2016
Her research, focusing on migration between Africa and Europe, shows that families can be transnational in many positive ways. Nonetheless, certain conditions make transnational families problematic for children, and these are closely tied to the conditions in which the parents in receiving countries are living. “If parents are undocumented, have unstable jobs or are unemployed, this has direct psychological effects on the wellbeing of the children back home”, she explains. “I want to make clear how policies in one country can have repercussions at the very basic family level in another country – something which policymakers, who usually think at the nation-state level, often fail to take into account.” Valentina intends to take this one step further by studying the ‘mobility trajectories’ of young people from Ghana, who either stay in their home country or accompany their parents to Europe. What they have in common is that they are all very mobile, constantly moving between different countries. “Although this might have a positive impact on their life chances, existing policies try to limit the kind of mobility that children engage in since there’s an implicit idea that mobility is bad for children”, she says. “But this has never been researched. No one has even conceptualised child mobility.” With the support of a large ERC grant, it’s up to her to break new ground.
Woman on a mission
“It definitely serves as recognition of her very different, pioneering work”, Mariana says of her sister’s grant. “But for me it’s like icing on the cake. The cake, I think, is great. Even if she hadn’t got the grant, it wouldn’t affect how I think about her research. What I
Valentina Mazzucato
Valentina Mazzucato
admire is her engagement.” Valentina, in turn, describes Mariana as a woman on a mission. “She has battles to fight and she tries to change the world. That’s very inspiring.” Mariana rose to renown in recent years with her critique of the market failure framework in economics, which posits that public policy and in particular innovation are the key drivers of long-term growth. Within this framework, the role of the state is limited to fixing existing markets when failures occur. This is, she argues, an inaccurate description of reality, for public intervention around the world has actually far exceeded this, be it in the United States, China or Germany. “A wealth-creation process involves a lot of contributors, from workers to different types of public organisations and businesses”, explains Mariana. “And yet the framework we use describes only some of these agents as really dynamic and creative, and the other ones, including the public sector, are seen as just being there to facilitate, to de-risk, to administer and to regulate expenditure. This has led to a socialisation of risks and a privatisation of rewards. In this manner, our biased way of thinking about public sector intervention fuels problematic innovation policies as well as inequality.”
Curiosity
The success of her latest book The Entrepreneurial State has enabled Mariana to spread her message across the globe. With her sister, she shares the desire not only to understand certain problematics, but also to communicate these insights to a
Mariana Mazzucato
broader public, including policymakers, and thus make an impact in the real world. “Even though we’re both in academia, we’re not there in very traditional ways”, says Valentina. “Of course we want to publish in academic journals and be recognised by our community. But that’s not our main goal. Our curiosity is what drives us.” This is also reflected in their career trajectories. Valentina, who never planned on becoming an academic, ended up doing a PhD because it gave her the opportunity to live and work in Africa. “And I did my PhD at a university where when you come out, you’re rubber stamped as being a Marxist”, Mariana elaborates. “But as long as you’re doing what you’re really interested in, there’s no need to worry about these kinds of things. What I tell my kids is not to worry about their careers – not as long as you’re really doing what you want to do, as well as doing your best at it.” Valentina agrees. “In one word, I say: enthusiasm. If you can listen to yourself and do the things that excite you, then you’ll be fine.”
(1965) studied at Williams College and Michigan State University in the USA. She lived in Africa for over 20 years, where she worked for various international development organisations in the field of agricultural development. She obtained her PhD from Wageningen University in 2000 and is now professor of Globalisation and Development at the Maastricht University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Mariana Mazzucato (1968) studied at Tufts University, Massachusetts, before obtaining her master’s and PhD from the New School for Social Research in New York. She has held academic positions at the University of Denver, London Business School, Open University and Bocconi University. She is currently professor in the Economics of Innovation at the Science Policy Research Unit of the University of Sussex.
So is there anything the Mazzucato sisters disagree about, any area in which they differ from each other? Not much, is seems. “Everyone tells us we look alike, and I think we’re also similar in how we both have a gut instinct for people who are honest. Neither of us are bullshitters”, Mariana laughs. Valentina: “Well, I do think she’s more the talker and I’m more the listener.” Mariana: “Really? I don’t think that’s true. Let’s talk about it!” <<
9 June 2016 / UMagazine
Alexander Sack receives a Vici grant from the NWO Prof. Rianne Letschert to be new UM Rector Magnificus The Supervisory Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor R.M. (Rianne) Letschert as Rector Magnificus of Maastricht University. She will succeed Professor Luc Soete for a period of four years, with the possibility of extension. The official handover will take place on 1 September 2016. Letschert (39) is professor of Victimology and International Law at the International Victimology Institute Tilburg. She obtained her PhD in international law in 2005. Letschert is a member of the Supervisory Board of Slachtofferhulp Nederland (an agency that provides assistance to victims in the Netherlands) and an expert consultant on victims’ issues for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague. She joined De Jonge Akademie (The Young Academy) in 2013 and has been its chairperson since 1 April 2015 (a position she will resign due to her appoint-
Yo-yo effect not bigger after crash diet Overweight people who lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time are no more likely to gain weight after dieting than people who lose weight more slowly. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by Maastricht University researchers Roel Vink, Edwin Mariman, Marleen Baak and colleagues, published in the journal Obesity. Crash dieting has long been assumed to be unhealthy, as it increases the likelihood of weight gain after the diet (yo-yo effect). This 10 UMagazine / June 2016
ment as rector). She was awarded a Vidi grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in 2015. That same year she was a member of the EU Identification Committee, which selected the first seven members of the High Level Panel Group of the EU Scientific Advisory Committee. In 2016, she received a fellowship from the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS-KNAW) offered by HiiL Innovating Justice. She is also a Life Member of Clare Hall in Cambridge. “I’m really looking forward to this wonderful challenge and consider it a great honour to be able to assume the role of rector at Maastricht University”, says Letschert. “With its strong international orientation and its well-chosen education and research profile, Maastricht University is a dream of a challenge for me as the new rector.” <<
study disproves that assumption, and therefore has implications for the dietary advice given to people who are overweight or obese. Two factors did influence post-diet weight gain: the amount of exercise after the diet and the amount of lean body mass lost during the diet. “We think it involves a loss of muscle mass because the diets are low in calories and protein”, says Vink. “Participants who lost more muscle mass during the diet and those with a lower level of physical activity after the diet gained more weight. These factors likely lower the metabolism of energy, which could lead to weight gain when you resume a ‘normal’ diet’, according to the researchers. <<
Professor Alexander Sack from the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience received a prestigious Vici grant for his research into brain stimulation. He was one of 32 researchers to receive the €1.5 million grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Recipients can use these funds to conduct research and build up their own research groups over the course of five years. As professor of Functional Brain Stimulation and Neurocognitive Psychology, Sack received the Vici grant for his research project entitled ‘Stimulating! Cognitive improvement through brain stimulation’. Attention and memory are vital cognitive skills, which are disrupted in many people after a stroke or in the case of a psychopathological disorder. The study will bring together information about individual brain networks and brainwaves in an effort to develop new techniques for brain stimulation and thereby improve human cognition. Sack was previously awarded an NWO Veni (2003) and Vidi (2006) grant. He also received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2010. <<
News Keuzegids Masters 2016: UM second best general university
Artificial vestibular system works The artificial vestibular system implanted for the first time in humans in 2012 at the Maastricht UMC+ appears to work well. This according to a team of doctors and researchers led by Herman Kingma, the only professor of Clinical Vestibulology in the Netherlands, who retired 1 April. During the farewell ceremony honouring Kingma for his 30 years of commitment to Maastricht University (UM) and the Maastricht UMC+, Kingma was presented with three awards: the UM Medallion of Honour, the Faculitaire Kleinood (Faculty Medal) from the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences and the azM Medal from the Maastricht UMC+. Kingma, originally a quantum biophysicist, is an international authority in the field of balance disorders. He was the initiator behind the global standardisation of clinical diagnostics in balance disorders. In addition to research, he has devoted a great deal of time to education, travelling the world to share his knowledge and passion with others and making complex knowledge accessible to a wide range of target groups. He was also committed to active service at UM: as president of the University Council, he spent six years working to improve staff and student participation. He also served as head of the vestibulology division for clinical diagnostics at the ENT department at the Maastricht UMC+. Kingma will be succeeded by the otolaryngologist Raymond van de Berg. <<
With a score of 63, Maastricht University (UM) was ranked as the country’s second best general university in the Keuzegids Masters 2016. Furthermore, four programmes were designated ‘top study programmes’: Management of Learning (SBE), Financial Economics (SBE) and the research masters Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology (FASoS) and Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience (FPN). This quality label is given only to those programmes that receive a score of 76 or higher in the Keuzegids assessment. Twelve of the 44 UM programmes evaluated came first in their respective categories: Management of Learning, Forensic Psychology, Information & Network Economics, Financial Economics, Global Health, Human Movement/Biology of Human Performance & Health and the research masters Arts & Culture, Cognitive & Clinical Neuroscience and Health Sciences. The following programmes came in equal first place: International Laws, Econometrics & Operations Research and Physician-Clinical Investigator. With a further 11 programmes finishing in either second or third place, a total of 24 UM programmes came in the top three (compared to 26 last year). Of the 44 programmes included in the assessment, 10 managed to improve their position whereas 12 went down in the rankings. <<
Anita Jansen new dean of FPN
Sciences since 2014. During her time at UM, she has held various administrative roles, including vice dean and department chair. She won the UM Education Prize in 2001. <<
The Executive Board has appointed Anita Jansen as the new dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, effective as of 1 June 2016 for a period of four years. She succeeds Bernadette Jansma, who will take office as the dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences (FHS). Jansen (55) has been professor of Experimental Clinical Psychology at Maastricht University (UM) since 1999. She studied clinical psychology at Utrecht University and obtained her PhD from UM in 1990. In 2011, she received a >€1.5 million Vici grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for her research on the psychological predictors of successful weight loss. Jansen has been a member of the NWO’s Divisional Board on Social and Behavioural 11 June 2016 / UMagazine
Text Annelotte Huiskes Photography Archive UM and Submedia
/ I’m a better administrator than academic /
Still from the video
In celebration of Maastricht University’s 40th anniversary this year, video portraits have been made of the six surviving former rectors of the university. You can read an abridged version of two of these interviews in this issue of the magazine; for the full interviews please visit the special anniversary website at www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/jubileum. These video portraits make use of unique fragments from the signing of the university’s founding charter by Queen Juliana and Sjeng Tans in the Sint Servaaskerk in 1976. 12 UMagazine / June 2016
Job Cohen (1947) studied law in Groningen and obtained his PhD at Leiden University, where he started his career as an academic. In Maastricht, he was appointed professor of Methods and Techniques in 1983, and was dean of the law faculty from 1981 to 1991 and rector magnificus from 1991 to 1993/1995 to 1998. He served briefly
as state secretary in 1993 and in 1998 at the Ministry of Justice. He was mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and leader of the Dutch Labour Party as well as parliamentary group leader in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012. Today Cohen is, among other things, chair of the Supervisory Board of Wageningen University.
Vic Bonke was succeeded in 1991 by Job Cohen. Cohen served two terms as rector until 1998, interrupted by his appointment as state secretary for Education and Science between 1993 and 1995. It was Maastricht University’s first rector, the educationalist Wynand Wijnen, who brought Cohen into contact with UM. At the time Cohen was working at Leiden’s educational research centre and found his interest piqued by ProblemBased Learning (PBL). One thing led to another and, in 1981, Cohen moved to Maastricht to establish the law faculty.
“I heard about the official opening in 1976 from my father. He was the rector of Leiden University and chair of the national committee of rectors. As such, he was invited to give a speech at the ceremony in the Sint Servaaskerk. He had trouble, as rector of the oldest university not only in the Netherlands but almost in the world, taking the Limburg initiative seriously. This is the first time I’ve seen the images of the opening ceremony; it’s great to be able to see and hear my father. “I was 32 when I was asked to set up the new law faculty in Maastricht in 1981. It’s amazing, being given an opportunity like that at such a young age. Our first 100 students arrived the next year. It was a fantastic time. We had ten staff members, including Karl Dittrich, Cees Flinterman, René de Groot and Gerard Mols – he was part of the younger generation at the time. Everything was new; ours was the first law programme to work with PBL.
1981: Sjeng Tans and Job Cohen at the official start of the new building at Randwyck 1992: Job Cohen at the Dies
“I moved my family from Leiden to Maastricht in 1981. In the beginning I barely dared to say a word on the street, because everyone made very clear: you’re not from around here, you’re from Holland. But over the 20 years I lived in Maastricht, I saw it change from a small city where a lot of French was spoken, and of course the Maastricht dialect, into a city where you can easily speak Dutch and English. “In 1991, after a decade as dean of the law faculty, I became the first rector who wasn’t from the medical faculty. One of my motivations was that I felt I was a better administrator than an academic. Our main goal was to help the university grow. The psychology faculty was established during my time in Maastricht, and the European Studies programme. Internationalisation was a big issue. The economics faculty was already recruiting foreign students, which was quite novel at the time. “When I became mayor of Amsterdam, it was a great help that I already had experience dealing with all those professors. People in Amsterdam know and say what they want. The same can be said for professors and politicians. Working with an Executive Board in the public sector – that’s where I’m at my best.” << 13 June 2016 / UMagazine
Text Annelotte Huiskes Photography Archive UM and Submedia
Like the former rectors Coen Hemker and Vic Bonke, Hans Philipsen was among the pioneers of Maastricht University. He was dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Leiden when he was asked, in 1973, to join a committee looking for suitable professors for the medical faculty in Maastricht. He became so enthusiastic about the innovative Problem-Based Learning (PBL) system that he resigned from the committee and put himself forward instead. As someone who knew how to go about setting up a faculty, he quickly was elected to the Executive Board and helped to found the health sciences faculty. He served on the Executive Board no fewer than ten years: eight as vice president and two as rector, succeeding Job Cohen from 1993 to 1995. 14 UMagazine / June 2016
/ The early years were defined by struggle /
Hans Philipsen (1935) studied sociology and anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, where he obtained his PhD in 1968. That year he was appointed professor of Methodology and Techniques of Social Science Research in Leiden. He relocated to Maastricht after being appointed professor of Medical Sociology at the medical faculty in 1974. He was the first chair of the University Council and the first elected member of
the Executive Board from 1976 to 1980, followed by a three-year appointment as founding dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Between 1983 en 1993 he developed and executed research programmes in the Health Sciences, especially in Nursing Science. He served as UM rector from 1993 to 1995, after which he was appointed to the Executive Board as UM vice president. In the last two years, he was vice rector of internationalisation alongside his faculty post.
Still from the video
1994: Hans Philipsen at the Dies
1979: Hans Philipsen, Rob van den Biggelaar and Arie Pais
to the student revolt in Paris; the idea that ‘the times they are a-changin’. It was a great challenge, collaborating with others here in Maastricht to change the educational system. “I found the position of rector more appealing than that of vice president. As vice president I was mainly involved with finances and human resources, not directly academic policy. It’s the rector whose job it is to stand up for education and research. And you have to show your face everywhere, like a sort of mayor. I can’t say that was unpleasant. “My main achievement as rector was the adoption of a policy document on internationalisation stipulating, among other things, that the university had to become bilingual. The time was ripe, because the success of Maastricht also had to do with the influx of international students. We had the advantage of the Maastricht Treaty being signed here in 1991, which meant the whole world had heard of Maastricht. That’s also why we changed the name from Rijksuniversiteit Limburg to Maastricht University. Limburg of course wasn’t so pleased about that. “The main thing I remember about the opening ceremony in the Sint Servaaskerk in 1976 is the ceremony itself. That was a great moment for everyone – just starting up a new university was no easy task. Both the staff and the students of medicine took a risk by coming here before the programme was officially accredited. The early years were mainly defined by enthusiasm and hard work but also by struggle. We had to fight for our survival, because the education minister Arie Pais was considering shutting down Maastricht within a decade of its founding due to necessary national budget cuts.
“Now a situation is gradually developing that’s similar to what we saw around 1965, with the students and especially the younger teaching staff on the defensive. The emphasis is on research and the number of publications. A kind of business culture is arising to the detriment of education, yet education is the very thing that sets Maastricht apart – that’s what we should be focusing on. As a relatively small university you can’t expect to be among the top 30 research universities in the world. That’s nonsense, a hopeless task.” <<
“The small-scale PBL system was a reaction to the fact that universities in the 1970s were growing too fast: there were more and more students but not enough lecturers. It developed out of the same spirit that led 15 June 2016 / UMagazine
Portrait
/ The young veteran / Professor of Private Law Ton Hartlief
16 UMagazine / June 2016
Ton Hartlief, professor of Private Law, has been named best teacher by his students in Maastricht and best liability lawyer in the Netherlands by his professional peers. He became a professor in Leiden at the age of just 29, and recently – still shy of his 50th birthday – took up one of the highest posts available to a lawyer: advocate general at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. An academic at heart, he remains levelheaded: “It’s all a matter of hard work and a bit of luck.” Here he looks back on a successful career.
In high school I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
Text Annelotte Huiskes Photography Arjen Schmitz
“The first defining moment in my career was a lecture by the renowned professor of Legal History Jan Lokin. It was an Open Day at the University of Groningen and he gave such an inspiring talk about Roman law that I decided on the spot to study law”, Hartlief explains. “In high school I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I took a career test and it turned out I was analytical and had an affinity for argumentation, so law seemed like a good option.” Initially, however, the programme was disappointing. Criminal law didn’t appeal to him; private law was enjoyable, but only became really interesting in the third year, when Hartlief was made a student assistant and came into contact with the academic side of the subject. He recalls that, even as a young boy, he was already keen on writing. “I had this romantic image of the scholar sitting behind a desk piled high with books and papers and just writing. And now I’m in the fortunate position of having an office just like that here at the law faculty”, he says, gesturing around the mountains of paper on his desk and shelves heaving with reference books. “This is where I work best, so I’m hoping I can still keep this room now I’m only part time.”
Nose in the books While he enjoyed the student nightlife, Hartlief could be found by day at the faculty, studying. He refrained from joining a student association – ‘I don’t need all that many friends’ – and on weekends he went back to Terschelling, where he was born and raised, to play football. His father, a sailor for Shell, was often away for months at a time, leaving Ton at home with his mother and younger sister. Like all islanders, they had to commute to the mainland for high school. Ton and his sister boarded during the week with a nice family in Leeuwarden and went home at weekends. “You had to find your own way. My sister and I are quite different. In those days she was ‘alternative’, a punk girl; compared to her I seemed ordinary. I’m a relatively steady person, and where my sister sought attention I tended to keep a low profile. Maybe it also had to do with my being the eldest, and often the only man in the house.” He was a fast learner and enjoyed reading, including several parts of Loe de Jong’s series on World War II, which his father collected. “Loe de Jong was the kind of scholar I had great admiration for. I read some of his books from A to Z, which was strange, seeing as they’re reference books and not intended to be read from cover to cover. If one of my children were to do that now I’d strongly advise against it”, he laughs. >> 17 June 2016 / UMagazine
This brings Hartlief to his own family history. His paternal grandfather, Tedo Hartlief, was in the resistance and one of the prisoners executed during the Nazi massacre at the Woeste Hoeve in March 1945. His grandfather on his mother’s side was a forced labourer on the Burma Railway, and she and her mother were held in a Japanese prison camp. “It wasn’t exactly a taboo at home, but if you didn’t ask, it wasn’t brought up. Also, my father and I are true northerners: we don’t bare our souls all that easily.”
Mentor Another pivotal moment in his career was his acquaintance with Chris Brunner, one of the professors he worked with as a student assistant and who would later become his PhD supervisor. “Brunner was a big deal in the field of private law. A very interesting man you could talk to for hours. Some days you’d bump into him in the corridor in the morning and by mid-afternoon you were still standing around philosophising about all sorts of things. That was an important period during which I learnt a lot. He was my teacher in the classical sense of the word; one of the reasons I find teaching extremely important and take it very seriously. As a lecturer you hope, of course, to plant a seed like that yourself now and then.” Teachers may have been important, but chance also played a role. “I was close to finishing my thesis when a PhD vacancy opened up. Brunner summoned me and said, ‘Get it done fast – there’s a spot here for you straight away.’ I’d just turned 22 when I started my research on termination for non-performance; one of the topics Brunner had on his list.”
On the move There was no time for dilly-dallying during his PhD, either: in 1993, at the age of 26 and before he had even finished his dissertation, he was offered the post of associate professor in Maastricht. Three years later he moved on again, this time to Leiden to become professor of Civil Law. “Leiden had that aura of being
These are the ‘golden years’ for research on liability law.
the oldest, biggest and best university, especially when it came to law. So for me that was a great opportunity.” But financial cutbacks meant the teaching policy clashed with Hartlief’s vision, and, especially after the birth of his first son, the Randstad began to chafe on him. He missed the open spaces and nature. “I love birds, shells and plants. I had to cross three highways before I even got to a nature strip there.” He returned to Maastricht in 2001. In recent years, Hartlief has seen the traditional programme in Dutch Law – his personal strength – squeezed by the focus on European and international law and English-language instruction. And more and more often he catches himself thinking, ‘I’ve seen all this before’. “That’s what happens when you go through everything young: it doesn’t take long to feel like a veteran.” It was high time, then, for the next step – and what a step it is. For a lawyer, it can’t get much more prestigious than the public prosecutor’s office of the Supreme Court. “I’m pleased about that too of course, but the main motive is being able to apply my academic knowledge in practice.”
Problem solving As advocate general, Hartlief will advise the Supreme Court in cases concerning his areas of expertise: private law and, in particular, liability law. “A major theme in my field and something I’ve been working on for years now is compensation in case of accidental injury, caused by a traffic accident, an accident at work or medical error. As a society we want to protect the
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victims, but what’s the best way to do that – social security, insurance or a liability system? Why is there liability protection for certain forms of injury but not for others? If you lose a leg on the operating table the legal consequences are different than if you lose it at work, and different again if it was a traffic accident. And if the accident happens unilaterally because you trip over a doorstep, there’s yet another system. Shouldn’t we bring all these into line? Where one situation is well protected by the law, someone else with the same injury ends up with nothing.” Also part of Hartlief’s remit are damages resulting from terrorism. “People can sue bodies and organisations; take Brussels Airport, for example. Was there adequate security to deal with a bombing? Did the government appropriately evaluate the intelligence it received? In this sense these are the ‘golden years’ for research on liability law. We don’t have clear answers to these sorts of questions, and research is needed to examine whether our current laws can provide a solution or whether we should change tack altogether. That’s the kind of puzzle I like. At the Supreme Court
I can work on such questions in a less abstract way, as part of concrete cases. That makes it all the more exciting.” Asked what ultimately drives him, Hartlief shrugs and sighs deeply. “That’s a difficult question. Of course I could say something like ‘making the world a better place’. Obviously I have opinions on how to improve things, but whether that’s what motivates me ... A shrink might say that I place a lot of importance on performing well, or perhaps that I’m still trying to please my parents. Could well be the case. But the bottom line is that I just love to analyse and unravel problems.” <<
Ton Hartlief (1966) is advocate general at the Supreme Court and part-time professor of Private Law at Maastricht University. From 1996 to 2001 he was professor of Civil Law at Leiden University. He obtained his PhD in 1994 for his dissertation on termination for non-performance. He previously served as editor in chief of the journal Aansprakelijkheid, Verzekering en Schade and as ‘annotator’ for Ars Aequi and Nederlandse Jurisprudentie. At present he is, among other things, a member of the editorial board of the Nederlands Juristenblad.
19 June 2016 / UMagazine
Text Jos Cortenraad Photography Harry Heuts
International
/ We need to face global challenges together / It was the first time the conference had been held in mainland Europe: in April, Maastricht University hosted the annual conference of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN). UM president Martin Paul saw it as a prime opportunity to shine the international spotlight on Maastricht. “Now we’re up there alongside Washington, London, New York and Hong Kong as a WUN conference city.” UM became a member of the WUN just three years ago. “By invitation,” Paul notes, “and that’s something we’re proud of. This network fits us like a glove. Firstly because we’re keen to partner with top universities from all over the world, but also because the WUN focuses on themes that we in Maastricht see as important too. Consider public health, intercultural cooperation, educational innovation and sustainability – global challenges that no university can solve alone. We need to work together.” 20 UMagazine / June 2016
Network They may be idealistic motives, but they also go hand in hand with UM’s business objectives. “Right”, says Paul. “We’re launching joint research projects, exploring the options for international master’s programmes and gaining access to major knowledge institutes on all continents. And with a network like this, it’s easier to apply for grants from the European Commission, the World Health Organization and other agencies. The WUN opens many doors.” So why settle for a relatively small network of just 18 universities, not all of which are necessarily among the world’s best? “Naturally, the universities of Ghana, Cape Town, Alberta and Maastricht are not comparable with Harvard or Yale. But on their own continents, in their own ecosystems, they’re all highly innovative. We can learn a lot from them, and they from us. Think of research on disease prevention, big data or cultural heritage, to name just a few examples. Moreover, the network has short lines of communication. We know one another personally and can make agreements quickly. That’s how it should stay; I see 25 members as the maximum. This small scale also makes it easy to enter into new bilateral partnerships. For example, the FHML is now collaborating with the University of Leeds on an international master’s programme in medicine. Obviously our researchers will continue to work with hundreds of other universities worldwide, but the WUN adds that something extra.”
consequences. Prior to the conference we formed a steering committee with 14 economists from the participating universities and considered each theme from an economic standpoint. And we definitely plan to follow up at future conferences. At the School of Business and Economics we’re in the process of re-evaluating our research programmes, so input by economists from all over the world on issues like migration, climate change and, most recently, tax evasion, is extremely valuable. These are global themes we want to collaborate on in research and perhaps also in teaching. We’ll continue to develop these plans in the coming months and years.”
UM president Martin Paul
Climate, energy and the financial world
Themes Paul was approached in 2014 about organising the conference in Maastricht. “It was a great opportunity, especially as it coincided with the university’s 40th anniversary. Our condition was that we could come up with a new theme. After internal discussion, we opted for Economics & Sustainability and the International Classroom. We also organised an extensive parallel conference focusing on migration; very topical for Europe and Africa, and enlightening for the American and Asian participants in terms of gaining more insight into Europe. Working together, identifying global problems and contributing to solutions wherever possible; those are the main objectives of the WUN.” For Maastricht, it meant hosting more than 500 professors, researchers and academics from all over the world. “In that sense, it was a fantastic chance for our city and region to present themselves in a global context.” <<
Tom van Veen
Economic perspective During the WUN conference in Maastricht, economists were involved for the first time in various workshops and presentations. But it wasn’t just about economics, says Tom van Veen, co-organiser and professor of Economics of International Education. “We took the existing themes and approached them from an economic perspective. Climate change, education, cultural differences and healthcare all have an economic impact and
The economic consequences of climate change were also in the spotlight during the WUN conference. This is a specialisation of Olaf Sleijpen, endowed professor of European Economic Policy at UM and division director of regulatory policy at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). “It’s a very topical theme at DNB”, he says. “While it may not be immediately obvious, climate change and energy consumption have a big impact on the financial world. Pension funds and other large
Olaf Sleijpen
investors have capital in oil companies and firms involved in fossil fuels. Offshore companies, transporters, drilling and exploration companies, you name it. The transition to renewable energy sources will happen eventually. But if this happens too quickly, there are risks involved for the financial world. We’re already seeing companies like Shell, BP and Total struggling. Share prices are being squeezed, capital is being moved to other sectors. The challenge for the financial sector is to manage these risks well. As a central bank, we keep a close eye on these developments. And we advise the Dutch government to focus on longterm policy: on effecting a gradual transition to renewable energy and investing steadily to mitigate the effects of climate change. In Sleijpen’s view, broadbased academic research is vital to the debates on climate change and energy consumption. “In the WUN network, we can do this type of research together. For example, we’re currently working to set up a large-scale study including a Middle Eastern university and our WUN partners. That’s the added value of a network like this. And it should be clear that the economic aspects cannot be ignored.” 21 June 2016 / UMagazine
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Artwork by Florentijn Hofman at Oxfordlaan 55, which houses Scannexus, Biopartners and the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. Hofman, internationally known as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;rubber duck artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, designed an artwork to create together with students and staff from Maastricht University. They signed up for the project en masse and, ultimately, 24 students from all over the world were chosen to participate. Hofman collaborated on this project with the photographer Inge Hondebrink, renowned for her photographs of Paralympians in Sydney and London. Photography Loraine Bodewes (1,6) and Dick van Aalst (2,4,5)
The making of
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Text Femke Kools Photography Paul van der Veer
Professor / student
/ A scientific crush / Pharmacist Karolina Skraskova / professor Ron Heeren 24 UMagazine / June 2016
Ron Heeren (1964) was appointed university professor in Maastricht in September 2014. He leads the Department of Imaging Mass Spectrometry at the Maastricht Multimodal Molecular Imaging institute (M4I). His group was part of the FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam until September 2014.
From the very first contact, the feeling was mutual: this is the kind of person I want to work with. After a six-month internship in Professor Ron Heeren’s group at the AMOLF institute, Karolina Skraskova knew she couldn’t return to the Czech Republic, where she had originally started her PhD. When Heeren offered her a new position, she gladly accepted. In her final year the entire research group moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht, and this is where, on 3 March 2016, she defended her PhD thesis.
Ron: “Luckily we found NWO money, so I was able to offer her a PhD position here.” Karolina: “My PhD consisted of different projects, most of them focused on the study of lipids in the brain tissue using mass spectrometry imaging. I liked the way Ron guided me: giving me space to explore and adjust the research accordingly. I could always lay my cards on the table and we would discuss everything. He’s very enthusiastic and open, and that inspired me a lot. It was a scientific crush.”
Ron: “She didn’t realise she was operating on a similar level. Even as an ‘intern’, she was collaborating on other people’s PhD research.”
Ron: “I had the same feeling actually, just as I do with others in my group. That’s an important characteristic of a good team. Of course you need to be smart to do scientific research, but above all you need to be passionate about it and able to translate that drive to a bigger audience. That’s what I recognised immediately in Karolina. And with free spirits like her, you need to give them some space to explore. That results in the type of research that benefits our whole group.”
Karolina: “It took me quite a while to realise that maybe I do belong here. When my internship came to an end, I knew I couldn’t go back to the Czech Republic. I was amazed by the science Ron’s group was doing and the opportunities to learn and to contribute in a much ‘bigger’ way.”
Karolina: “I really enjoyed my PhD, but I had a hard time when our group moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht. I felt at home in Amsterdam and had a group of close friends there. The fact that I had to move was hard to accept in the beginning.” >>
Karolina: “I felt like an impostor during those first weeks in Ron’s lab: I shouldn’t be here, with all these super clever people striving for the Nobel Prize. But I was happy because I was learning new things.”
The move
25 June 2016 / UMagazine
Karolina Skraskova (1987) is a pharmacist and, on 3 March 2016, became the first to complete the PhD programme of the M4I institute founded in 2015. Her thesis was entitled Mass spectrometry for multimodal imaging of lipids in brain tissue. Her blog can be found at www.karolinas.net.
Karolina: “But I didn’t want to wait another six months to finally be able to live with my partner. So at some point I told Ron, ‘This is my thesis’, and I got the impression that he was disappointed.” Ron: “I thought it was good enough, but I knew she could do better. I asked her, ‘Is good enough okay for you?’, and she said ‘Yes’. She’s a marathon runner, you know: very focused. When she sees the finish line, she accelerates; she wanted to finish. But if she had added that extra chapter, I’m certain it would have been a cum laude PhD.” Karolina: “I really enjoyed the defence. I actually love giving presentations and talking about my passions, and I felt quite confident towards the big day.” Ron: “She told her story well and handled the questions accordingly. There was the independent researcher she had become in the past three years. She’s an excellent communicator and that’s one of the keys to success.” Ron: “Nobody was really forced to move, but for the stage her research was in, it was much better to do so. And I think her research ultimately did reap the benefits of the transfer.” Karolina: “I found the year I spent in Maastricht difficult mostly because Ron had more on his mind than usual. As a result, I felt he wasn’t managing the group as well as he used to before the relocation. I can see now that had I expressed those feelings more clearly, things could have worked out better for me. But my reaction was exactly the opposite: I isolated myself and focused on finishing my PhD within a year.” Ron: “I blame myself for not seeing that she needed more attention than I gave her. We spoke about that in the end.” Karolina: “And I left that meeting with peace of mind. The fact that Ron acknowledged that the last year of my PhD wasn’t an easy one was all I needed to hear from him.”
The PhD defence
Ron: “Originally there were two more projects that I would have loved Karolina to incorporate in her thesis.”
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Karolina: “Ron is a very good speaker himself. I learned from him that it’s important to be able to advertise your work.”
The future Karolina: “I’m a pharmacist and have always had a strong passion for medicinal plants. I’ve been dreaming of setting up a business around them for years now. But I also have a couple of research ideas. For example, I’m very enthusiastic about plant neurobiology – a relatively new field of study on how plants interact with their environment and with each other. It basically brings together brain research and plants, my two passions. I might apply for a postdoc at the university in Tasmania, but time will tell how everything comes together.” Ron: “In my speech at her PhD defence I described Karolina as a born researcher, with a broad perspective and the knowledge and skills to take up any research topic. But you need to be passionate about it. If she’s most passionate about growing apples in Tasmania, that’s what she has to do. Whatever the choice, I’m convinced it will be a success. As long as she stays open about her feelings, that is. So I’m waiting for her first blog post from Downunder.” <<
Discussion
/ Roadblocks to peace / Debate between Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors Haim Divon and Nabil Abuznaid >>
27 June 2016 / UMagazine
Is peace possible in Israel and Palestine? There is a roadmap to a peaceful solution, the ‘destination’ being two viable states – but negotiations are at a standstill. The ambassadors of the two countries to the Netherlands recently debated the issues in Maastricht. According to Haim Divon, the Israeli ambassador, “Our leaders need to talk to each other”. “But while they’ve been talking,” says Nabil Abuznaid, head of the Palestinian Mission, “six times more settlements have been established.”
Cover image by Hugo Thomassen
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It would be almost comical if it wasn’t so sad: how inevitably an interview with Haim Divon and Nabil Abuznaid descends into a verbal duel, from petty squabbling to serious recriminations and back again. The ambassadors disagree on just about everything, be it respectfully, diplomatically. The interview precedes the debate with students as part of the Ambassador Lectures later that evening. The two men are surrounded by their advisers, ringed in turn by uniformed security guards. Both are gloomy about the present situation. Yes, there is a ‘Roadmap to Peace’, which sketches out the route leading to a peaceful solution. And yes, the objectives are clear: no more violence, no more settlements, and recognition of Israel’s right to exist and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state: the two-state solution. But Divon is disappointed. “We all want peace, but there’s no process; we’re at a standstill.” Abuznaid: “I can assure you: there is a process, but there is no peace.” Divon: “No, we’re stuck. Nothing’s happening, and that’s frustrating.”
Viable state So which obstacle has to be removed first? The question immediately throws fuel on the fire. Our leaders need to talk to one another without making demands in advance, says Divon, something his Prime Minister Netanyahu has often proposed. “As difficult and painful as it is, you have to return to the negotiation table. Talk to one another, or yell if necessary – that’s what I’d suggest to Prime Minister Abbas. Ramallah is only 20 minutes away. There’s no other option. Why is that not happening? ”Abuznaid makes no secret of it: the Israeli settlements. “There’s simply not enough room left over for Palestine.” How can you say you want two states, he asks, agitated, and at the same time chip away at the West Bank until there’s almost nothing left? “The settlement policy is an obstacle to peace. Israel first has to put a stop to this form of expansion, as a gesture of goodwill.”
Settlements The settlement policy is, in Divon’s view, one of the issues that need talking about. “You first have to build trust. Only then can a dynamic arise with ideas and points for negotiation.” Israel, too, he suggests, could come up with all sorts of preconditions. “We could say, Palestinian Authority, stop the terrorist attacks. And sort out your relationship with Hamas, otherwise there can be no agreement with half of the Palestinian population. But we don’t say that. Everything is on the table. Sometimes I get the impression the settlements are just a convenient excuse.” So far talking has achieved little, retorts Abuznaid. “Talks have been going on since the Oslo Accords in 1993. But in the meantime, six times more settlements have been established. Hamas has a point here when they ask us, are you insane? Look how many
Nabil Abuznaid (1954) has been head of the Palestinian representation in the Netherlands since 2009. He was adviser to the leader and later president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, and was a member of the Palestinian delegation for peace talks. Abuznaid trained as a political scientist and wrote his PhD dissertation, From confrontation to negotiations, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Text Hans van Vinkeveen Photography Philip Driessen checkpoints have been set up since then, how much land has been lost! People are losing faith in the possibility of a viable state.” It is also not true, he says, that talking is in short supply. “The international community, including Israel’s friends, keep on asking them to stop the expansion, but they don’t listen. If you want to talk, put the expansion on hold for 60 days. It’s not an excuse but a genuine obstacle to peace.”
Missiles
Haim Divon (1950) has been Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands since 2011. He previously served as ambassador in Canada, Ethiopia and elsewhere. In Ethiopia in the early 1990s he coordinated Operation Solomon, when almost 15,000 Jews were brought to Israel via air bridges. He also led post-tsunami operations in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. Divon trained as a lawyer.
“It’s catchy these days to carry on about the settlements”, Divon responds. “Let’s look at the Gaza Strip, where all Israeli settlements have been removed. What do we get in return? A barrage of missiles from Hamas, instead of them building in the area. The settlements are not the obstacle.” Divon continues to hammer on this point. “Putting each other under pressure doesn’t work. You’ve got to talk to one another, without preconditions. Let’s call a spade a spade.” And so the discussion goes back and forth like a boxing match. On the allegation that Palestinian officials and their media incite violence (terrorist attacks, suicide bombers). On Europe’s decision to label products from the occupied West Bank. Divon: “That’s pure discrimination and will lead to a boycott of all Israeli products.” On the Netherlands’ support for Israel. Abuznaid: “True friends don’t let their friends get behind the wheel after they’ve been drinking.” Divon: “Not a single friend of ours, including the Netherlands, sees us as a drunk driver.”
Good leaders It’s the million-dollar question: how to overcome the mutual hatred? Leadership is the answer, according to Abuznaid. “Not stupid leaders, who lead their countries into war. We need good leaders like your former Prime Minister Rabin.” Divon: “It’s also about the people. There’s not enough cooperation. When you get to know one another, friendship arises of its own accord.” He remains optimistic. “Think about Europe 70 years ago. Who would have thought Germany would end up as one of our greatest friends?” Abuznaid: “This conflict was created by people and has to be solved by people. It can’t go on forever.” Despite their verbal duels, the ambassadors get along well and are keen to set an example. “When I go to receptions, the ambassadors of most Arab countries ignore me”, says Divon. “Then they see me talking with Nabil.” Abuznaid: “We were both born in the middle of the conflict and talk about it on a personal level. It’s our responsibility to help solve it.” << The Ambassador Lectures is a lecture series giving UM students and staff the opportunity to engage in academic debate and discuss current issues with experts from different fields. More information can be found on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AmbassadorLectureSeries 29 June 2016 / UMagazine
The ‘Maastricht Study’, launched in 2010, reveals that the number of people in the preliminary phase of diabetes is much higher than initially thought: roughly a million people in the Netherlands alone. “We’re living in a time in which we can justifiably call diabetes an epidemic”, says Professor Coen Stehouwer, the director of the unique study. The researchers suspect that, beyond lifestyle-related factors, other factors are at play here. The study will run until 2019, but the preliminary results are unequivocal.
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Euregion
/ Tackling the diabetes epidemic /
Text Graziella Runchina Photography Rafaël Philippen
“We’ve now collected data from more than 7,000 of the total of 10,000 participants in the Maastricht-Heuvelland region”, says Professor Coen Stehouwer, the director of the study. “So far this has yielded about 70 terabytes of data, which is a truly remarkable amount. When you consider that just one terabyte – 1,000 gigabytes – would cover every piece of text in a large university library, you can just imagine how much data we’re talking about.” It is the combination of three qualities, in Stehouwer’s view, that makes the Maastricht Study so unique. “First, including such a large number of participants both with and without type 2 diabetes allows us to study the stages of diabetes and its complications in detail. In addition, we’re mapping practically all of the many possible causes and effects of the disease. And finally, we’re making use of a wide range of sometimes very sophisticated research techniques. When you look at it this way, no other study in the world is comparable with the Maastricht Study.”
Extensive testing The 10,000 participants – roughly a third of whom have been diagnosed with diabetes – are being followed closely over a period of at least 10 years. “Every participant undergoes extensive testing”, Stehouwer explains. “We have a dedicated research centre in Maastricht-Randwyck where we examine their physical and mental health, their fitness and their lifestyles. And every year we contact the participants again to find out how their health is progressing.”
Striking results One of the tools used in the Maastricht Study is an advanced three-dimensional pedometer. “Participants wear this for eight full days in a row, which allows us to analyse their patterns of movement in detail. What we’re finding is that the average person in South Limburg spends nine hours a day sitting down; actually not much longer than people elsewhere. But all that sitting turns out to be strongly correlated with worse health. And exercising for half an hour a day doesn’t make up for it – sitting is intrinsically bad”, says Stehouwer. “However, what’s striking about our most recent data is that it suggests that if you replace half an hour a day of sitting with walking, climbing stairs or similar activities, you can reduce the risk of diabetes by 20 percent.”
Pre-diabetes “Another important finding is that the number of people in the preliminary phase of diabetes – pre-diabetes, as it’s known – is much higher than initially thought. We’re living in a time in which we can justifiably call diabetes an epidemic. The number of
people with diabetes or pre-diabetes is now double what it was 10 or 15 years ago. We’re talking about roughly a million people in the Netherlands alone. So it seems very likely that, beyond lifestyle-related factors, there are other factors at play here. We think that stress, environmental pollution and the inhalation of toxins may play important roles in contributing to the development of diabetes. Still,” Stehouwer continues, “even if you discount all that, it still doesn’t fully explain the drastic increase in the prevalence of diabetes. So there have to be other causes too; causes that are as yet unknown to us. “Given the epidemic proportions of the disease and the fact that the majority of people with pre-diabetes go on to develop full-blown diabetes, it’s essential that we gain more insight into the contributing processes. If we really want to do something about this epidemic, as a society we should focus on the large group of people with pre-diabetes; for instance, by means of screening. Diabetes has a hugely detrimental effect on quality of life. Around half of patients develop classic symptoms like cardiovascular disease, and around three quarters of those eventually die from it. Not to mention complications that have more recently come to light, such as accelerated cognitive deterioration and depression. Although their effects are not yet clear, they’re likely to have a big impact too.”
Personal lifestyle advice Researchers involved in the Maastricht Study will continue collecting data in the years to come. The project employs 250 people, including 25 PhD candidates. But science is not the only beneficiary; the study also has value for the participants themselves and for the region. The results are communicated to both participants and their GPs, and participants can request tailored lifestyle advice. Stehouwer: “We hope the data from the Maastricht Study will help to turn the tide of the diabetes epidemic. After all, the knowledge acquired will be put to good use in the development of new methods of prevention, diagnostics and treatment of chronic diseases, in particular diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” <<
No other study in the world is comparable with the Maastricht Study.
Coen Stehouwer (1960) studied medicine at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. An internist, he is the head of the Department of Internal Medicine at the MUMC+ as well as scientific director of the Maastricht Study. His research focuses on the vascular complications of metabolic diseases, especially diabetes, hypertension and chronic renal diseases.
31 June 2016 / UMagazine
Off the job
From the moment you step inside, it is clear you’ve entered the domain of collectors. Law professors René de Groot and Hildegard Schneider collect everything from old books, shells, ostrich eggs and fossils to textiles and old-fashioned crocheting. But their special passion is reserved for non-European art and utensils: over the last 35 years, they have amassed an overwhelming collection of tribal art. “We’re not great at setting limits”, says De Groot. “That’s a nice quote, isn’t it?”
Text Femke Kools Photography Loraine Bodewes 32 UMagazine / June 2016
With great enthusiasm he unveils the latest addition to their collection, which his wife picked up for five euros in the local second-hand store: a rectangular woven basket with matching primitive ‘maracas’. “I was thrilled when she brought this home”, he beams. “I saw something like it once in a museum in Budapest. It’s probably from Venezuela or Suriname.” Schneider smiles: “I like wickerwork, but René really likes it.” “I’m always amazed by what people can make with such simple materials”, he continues. The purchase illustrates one of the sides of collecting that so appeals to them: you can often find very beautiful things for very little money.
First find
I’m always amazed by what people can make with such simple materials.
They still recall how they discovered the Tongeren flea market in 1982. “We’d just moved to Maastricht, and we found this mask with cowrie shells”, explains Schneider. “When we got it home we found out it was used for initiation rituals in Congo. That was just fantastic.” It marked the start of an immense collection of diverse, ethnographic artefacts. Nepal, Tibet, Africa, South America – their place of origin matters less than their authenticity, and of course their aesthetics. “It’s all well and good to find beautiful things, but you have to be able to recognise them”, says Schneider. “We knew next to nothing when we started out. We’re getting better at it though.”
Retirement project For her inaugural lecture, Schneider was given a ghurra: a carved wooden sculpture with a round hole, used by Himalayan peoples in the process of churning butter. “We really liked it, so we bought a few more, and over the years we’ve been given others”, she says. >>
/ The collectors /
Professor of European Union Law and European Migration Law Hildegard Schneider and professor of Comparative Law and Private International Law RenĂŠ de Groot
33 June 2016 / UMagazine
The artefacts are often fragile and are becoming increasingly difficult to find. While De Groot and Schneider mainly collect for fun, they see it as an added bonus if their collection also contributes to conservation efforts. This was one of their motives to begin collecting old-fashioned crocheting: these works can be just as interesting, after all, as the textile arts of indigenous peoples.
TEFAF
“Now we have over a hundred”, adds De Groot. Sometimes they buy entire collections, such as a series of wooden dolls made by the Guna, an indigenous people of Panama. De Groot: “We saw them in a shop window, and it turned out to be a 360-piece collection with dolls of all shapes and sizes. They’re supposed to be placed by a sick person’s bedside to help them get well again. They often have this very characteristic nose and a tie and hat. There are no good books on these, so that’s something I plan to write when I retire.” He can barely contain his enthusiasm: “It’ll mean going to the San Blas Islands in Panama, and to museums in Gothenburg and Oxford where they have beautiful collections.”
Candy store
The value of the objects is also not their primary concern. “I was at an auction in the 90s and bid on 38 pairs of Oriental shoes”, says De Groot. “When Hildegard found out she asked, ‘What are we going to do with all those?’ ‘Worst-case scenario, they go in the dressing-up box’, I said. But there were beautiful woven shoes from Japan in there, and special shoes for Chinese women with bound feet. Beautiful!” Schneider: “Later we saw similar ones at TEFAF. My first thought was, ‘Are they the same ones we have?’” For birthdays and holidays, they traditionally give each other yet another item for the collection. De Groot picks up a beautiful woven basket: “Our son recently gave this to us; he’s started collecting these sorts of objects himself now. Our daughter recently asked, very delicately, if we’re expecting her to keep all these things when we’re gone. That’s not necessary – as long as they sell them wisely.” <<
They are not big believers in the purported powers of their collection. “An African colleague who came to visit said he had to work hard not to be afraid of all the ghosts in the house”, says Schneider. Instead, their interest is largely scholarly: with every new purchase, they itch to know where it comes from, how old it is, what it was used for and more. “It challenges you to learn new things, and the more you have of a particular object, the more interesting it becomes.” Karavanserai, a shop that sells indigenous art in Maastricht, is a veritable candy store: this is where they bought, among other things, the headdress finished with striking feathers and a matching breastplate that stands in pride of place behind the dining table. “It was made by the Naga, a headhunting people in northern India.”
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René de Groot (1951)
Hildegard Schneider
has been professor of Comparative Law and Private International Law at the Faculty of Law since 1988. An internationally renowned expert in the field of nationality law, he also cofounded the Association for the Study of Islamic Law and Middle Eastern Law (RIMO) in 1982.
(1955) has been professor of European Union Law and European Migration Law at the Faculty of Law since 2001. In addition, she has been dean of the faculty since 2011. Her research revolves around freedom of movement, migration and mobility, as well as art and cultural property law.
With every new purchase, they itch to know where it comes from.
News Clemens van Blitterswijk
Philippe Lambin
Link between air pollution and low Two prestigious European grants awarded to Clemens van Blitterswijk birth weight in and Philippe Lambin twins Doctoral research conducted by Esmée Bijnens (Hasselt University/Maastricht University) has shown that the more exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, the higher the chance of low birth weight in twins. These results, based on data from the East Flanders Twin Registry, reveal that good air quality and green urban planning have positive health effects both at birth and later in life.
Two professors from Maastricht University/Maastricht UMC+ have each been awarded the most prestigious European research grant for individual researchers: an ERC Advanced Investigator Grant worth more than €2.5 million. The recipients are University Professor Clemens van Blitterswijk (MERLN) and Professor Philippe Lambin (MAASTRO Clinic).
Although the effects of air pollution on adult health have been investigated in previous studies, little was known about the influence of environmental factors at the earlier stages of life. A research team from the universities of Hasselt and Maastricht investigated how air pollution, traffic pollution and access to green areas during pregnancy influenced birth weight and age biomarkers in placental tissue. The researchers focused primarily on twins. “Studying twins allows us to distinguish between the relative importance of genes and the environment on these biomarkers”, explains Bijnens.
Van Blitterswijk will lead a research project to develop new tissues based on the intrinsic self-organising capacity of cells, including stem cells. The project will involve the development of new cell culture platforms and shed light on the mechanism of
The study, which included 4,760 twins, revealed that air pollution is an important risk factor. Bijnens: “The more exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, the higher the risk is of low birth weight in twins, in proportion to the duration of the pregnancy. We found that an increase in air pollution of 10 micrograms per cubic metre led to a 34% increase in the number of children with low birth weight.” <<
self-organisation. These insights will then be applied in a lab setting and used to develop in vitro models of pancreatic islets, a pituitary gland and a mouse blastocyst. Lambin and his team will investigate an innovative treatment method for patients with metastatic lung cancer. The new technique is based on a combination of immunotherapy, radiotherapy and a novel medication. Patients suffering from complex forms of metastatic lung cancer could benefit most from this new method. The European Research Council awards Advanced Investigator Grants to established, leading principal researchers who conduct highly innovative, ground-breaking research. <<
PAS+ Parcours of Art and Science 8, 9 and 10 September 2016 from 19.00 Various locations in Maastricht Free entry The third Parcours of Art and Science (PAS) will be held this year as part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of Maastricht University (UM). As such, the organisers are pulling out all the stops, with a programme spread over three full evenings of activities. This year’s festival will, therefore, go by the name PAS+. The programme is largely bilingual, aiming to bring together in an informal setting
international students and expats on the one hand and locals from Maastricht and surrounding areas on the other. There will be lectures and short presentations to showcase research at UM in all its shapes and sizes. Arts and culture, too, have a prominent place in the programme, with music, (street) theatre, dance, art and cultural heritage. Three evenings in which you will be surprised, inspired and moved. www.pasmaastricht.nl << 35 June 2016 / UMagazine
Text Graziella Runchina Photography Dirk Janssen
In August 2015, alum Dirk Janssen was appointed as the Dutch ambassador to Panama. Via Business Economics at Maastricht University (UM), a stint in a consulting firm and a career at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Janssen ultimately ended up in the international environment to which he most aspired.
All Janssen wanted after high school was to get as far away from The Hague as possible. “I wanted to start a new chapter, break free of the city I grew up in. It came down to either Maastricht or Groningen, and ultimately I went with Maastricht, mainly because of the education system. The small-scale character and the philosophy of Problem-Based Learning really appealed to me. And although I was born and raised in The Hague, my family comes from South Limburg, so I knew the area well.”
Enthusiasm Janssen studied Organisation Sciences at the economics faculty: a combination of economics, psychology and sociology. He revelled in the enthusiasm of his lecturers and the discussions in the tutorials. “I made friends for life there. In my memory it was always summer and we sat drinking Wieckse Witte at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouweplein every day. It was a wonderful phase.”
Alum Dirk Janssen
/ I have to be able to talk about anything, from football to art / 36 UMagazine / June 2016
Visit us at www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/alumni
International issues After graduating cum laude, Janssen was tossing up between consulting and a diplomatic career. He went with consulting – but it quickly proved to be the wrong choice. “It felt so limiting, working only in the company’s interest”, he explains. “I’ve always been interested in social and international issues, and it hit me that I’d rather work in the public’s interest.” He soon joined the Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he spent 16 years working in various positions. “I feel at home in an international environment, and was keen to go ‘full international’.” He got the chance in 2015. “Every year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appoints a number of ambassadors from outside the ministry. I applied, and ended up being appointed to Panama.”
Skyscraper Together with his wife and two sons, aged 11 and 9, Janssen now lives on the 17th floor of the tallest building in Panama City. From
Alumni
Dirk Janssen (1970) studied Business Economics at Maastricht University. He has been the Dutch ambassador to Panama since 2015. Prior to his posting in Panama he spent 16 years working at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, most recently as Director of Policy, Administration and Communication at the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets.
there they have a view of the Pacific, and the jungle is just around the corner. “Panama City is a busy place with lots of skyscrapers, but also a beautiful old Spanish colonial district”, he says. “We’re really enjoying living here, although our sons had to get used to English at the international school here.” Janssen has settled into his new role well. “There’s so much variation in the work of an ambassador. I talk to incredibly many people: politicians, businesspeople, scientists, diplomats, ministers and journalists. Usually in Spanish, which I’m getting better at. I visit Dutch companies and entrepreneurs, but also other people, such as Dutch prisoners. I give speeches, and there are regular delegations visiting from the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten.”
Generalist When he’s not on the road Janssen is at the embassy, largely occupied with economic issues. “Every now and then something suddenly comes back to me from my studies. For instance, we recently had a dinner at the residence with a Nobel laureate and some Panamanian professors. The theme was innovation in Panama, and I was able to contribute to the discussion because I specialised in innovation management at UM. But diplomacy is primarily about being a generalist: you have to know a little about a lot of subjects, and be prepared to talk about anything, from football to art.”
Seizing opportunities The ambassador’s main objective is to help Dutch companies capitalise on the opportunities offered by Panama. “Panama is one of the most prosperous countries in South America and has the fastest growing economy in America”, he explains. “With the Panama Canal and the largest airport in the region, it’s known as the ‘hub of the Americas’ – the gateway to Latin America, just as the Netherlands is the gateway to Europe. That’s a nice parallel to work with. Here they really admire the port of Rotterdam, and the Netherlands is a great example when it comes to water management too. There’s still a lot to be done in that area here. My task is to translate that goodwill into commissions for Dutch companies.”
New Panama Canal Janssen is looking forward to the opening of the new Panama Canal, which is scheduled for 26 June. “It’s going to be a historic day for Panama. The new canal will have a major impact on global trade flows; it will give passage to ships that can carry three times as many containers than those that fit through the existing canal.” The Panamanian government hopes the canal will become not just a toll way for ships, but also a centre of logistic services. “That will open up all sorts of new opportunities for Dutch businesses, and also for the closer parts of our Kingdom. It’s great having a front seat to all this.” <<
Postscript The news about the ‘Panama papers’ broke following the interview. Janssen’s reaction: “It’s had a big impact here. Many Panamanians find it unfair that the entire country should have to pay for the actions of one law firm. The government has introduced a number of changes making it harder to ‘hide’ money from the tax authorities in Panama. The question now is whether the government will take further steps in response to this affair. It’s fascinating to be able to follow it all first-hand.”
37 June 2016 / UMagazine
/ Human resource navigator / Alumni
Leonรณr Orbรกn de Lengyelfalva (1979)
Alum Leonรณr Orbรกn de Lengyelfalva
38 UMagazine / June 2016
studied Psychology at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Maastricht University from 1997 to 2003. She has held various positions in human resources, including as a training consultant and talent recruiter at Philips. Since 2014 she has been Head of Learning & Development and Organisation Development at TomTom.
The informal culture took some getting used to, but it wasn’t long before she swapped her smart trousers for jeans and sneakers. A graduate of psychology at Maastricht University, Leonór Orbán de Lengyelfalva is now Head of Learning and Development at TomTom – a role in which she still draws on skills she acquired during her studies: “I know how to take the sting out of a conversation with an angry employee.”
“A patient threatens you with a knife. How do you, as the therapist, turn this into a safe situation?” This example of Problem-Based Learning struck Orbán during her studies in Psychology at the Faculty of Health Sciences. “I’ve never experienced a threatening situation like that at work. But it’s comparable with a discussion with angry employees; I’ve learnt how to take the sting out of it and help them release their anger in a respectful way.” Orbán chose the programme for what she calls its ‘human aspect’. She specialised in Clinical Psychology, but discovered that treating patients wasn’t for her. “After a few sessions I’d get impatient and think, come on, get it together.” What stayed with her, however, were the lessons on conversation techniques. “How do you build up trust such that people are willing to talk about difficult things? How do you bring them around to a certain understanding? These techniques have helped me a lot in my career.”
A tin of tomato soup It was also the desire to be independent that brought Orbán from Oss to Maastricht in 1997. For her, the city is synonymous with freedom and autonomy. “I learnt very quickly to stand on my own two feet. Figuring things out on minimal funding: cooking, finding out what makes you happy, managing your studies. Learning from your mistakes and clumsiness. The first year was a huge learning curve.”
Text Hans van Vinkeveen Photography Hugo Thomassen
Fortunately, she had a fantastic click with her flatmates, and the four ‘girls’, all Health Sciences students, became friends for life. Although they have since spread out all over the world, they still get together at least once a year. “We went to lectures together, shut ourselves away together before exams with a tin of tomato soup.” She recalls one time when they were so busy chatting away on the bus that they missed their stop and ended up in the depot in Gulpen. Other times, they’d come home from a night out and sit around playing Risk until the sun came up.
Jeans and sneakers After a brief stint in which she aspired to be an air traffic controller at Schiphol, even sitting a series of tough tests for the job, she took her first steps in the field of Human Resources. This turned out to have much in common with her studies. As a training consultant at Philips, Orbán served as a mediator between staff members and assisted managers and employees in their professional development. Later she became a recruiter in the same firm. “I was fascinated by job interviews, trying to uncover what drove people. What were their ambitions, and did they fit in with the team?” At TomTom – a place for creative people who are passionate about their work, according to Orbán – she seems to have found her dream job. The informal culture took a bit of getting used to, she says, “but it didn’t take me long to trade in my trousers for jeans and sneakers.” On being greeted by TomTom founder Harold Goddijn for the first time, she turned around, thinking he must be greeting an acquaintance behind her. This illustrates the company’s sense of openness and freedom: “You can drop in on anyone, and have all the space you need to run with your ideas. That said, everyone, right down to the interns, is given real responsibility from day one. There’s no micro-manager above you.”
Test driver It’s the kind of work environment that poses a challenge for HR professionals. Dealing with such clever, stubborn people calls for a different approach. “They know a lot more than I do about their field, especially the engineers. It’s about asking the right questions and having them figure things out for themselves.” The same holds for coaching teams. “I give them the objective, but they decide how to go about achieving it. Then I just keep on asking questions throughout the process, and point them in the right direction when needed.” Orbán’s loyalty to TomTom extends beyond business hours. An avid motorcyclist, she was asked to serve as a test driver in the development of Rider, a navigation system specially designed for motorcyclists. Touring around on her motorbike, she identifies teething problems and, together with the other test drivers, gives feedback via the internal forum. TomTom also has internal ‘communities’ for navigation systems aimed at runners and truck drivers. “So in addition to the job I am hired for, I am helping in the development of the actual product. It may only be a small contribution, but that doesn’t make me any less proud.” <<
Visit us at www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/alumni 39 June 2016 / UMagazine
Cambridge, Ghent and Maastricht (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Sociaal Historisch Centrum Limburg).
Unique historical database on individual causes of death Supported by the University Fund, researchers have developed a unique historical database on individual causes of death: The Maastricht Health Transition Database. With its unprecedented wealth of information, this database is expected to inspire a large number of research projects.
This project will produce exciting new insights into the decline in mortality and the epidemiological transition in the three countries, which formed the vanguard of economic, social and epidemiological change in the Western world. These insights will also be of relevance for the ongoing health transition today. The Dutch part of the study will be led by Professor Angelique Janssens, drawing on unique, historical source material: individual cause-of-death registers from Maastricht, Amsterdam and Roosendaal for the period 1850-1950. <<
With the help of a grant from the Limburg University Fund, Professor Leonie Cornips was able to further her research on the acquisition of Dutch vocabulary by dialect-speaking children. One of the key questions in this research is whether children who are raised bilingually benefit from this when it comes to education. Thanks to the grant, Cornips and her collaborator Kirsten van der Heuij, a speech therapy lecturer at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, were able to collect data at numerous primary schools in central Limburg. Their findings conclusively refute the negative image that often surrounds dialect-speaking children. This project serves as a good example of the mission of the Limburg University Fund: providing a springboard for academics to conduct socially relevant research, thus enhancing the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s added value for the region. <<
One such project is already underway, titled Changing faces of death and disease: The epidemiological transition in the North Sea Basin, 1850-1950. This is a large-scale comparative research project investigating differences in the timing and course of the epidemiological transition in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium between 1850 and 1950. As such, it brings together researchers from the universities of Angelique Janssens
Patient aid for selecting the right MS medication With the help of a generous donation from a University Fund benefactor, researchers are working to develop a decision-making aid for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a neurological disease that leads to physical and cognitive impairment. It can be treated with medications that slow the progression of the disease by inhibiting physical and cognitive decline. Patients and doctors, however, are often faced with the difficult choice of which medication to use. Led by Sylvia Evers, Professor of Public Health Technology Assessment, researchers are developing an online decision-making aid to identify the right medication for each patient by means of a brief questionnaire. The tool charts patientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; preferences with respect to effects and instructions for use, compares these with the available medications, and generates a list ranging from the most to the least suitable. <<
40 UMagazine / June 2016
Kickstarter grant
Premature infants could soon be less vulnerable to infection Severely premature babies have lower odds of survival and are much more likely than others to develop congenital abnormalities in the lungs, intestines or brain. Thanks in part to a gift from a private benefactor, researchers at Maastricht University are studying biomarkers that could help to diagnose or predict the development of intraamniotic infections frequently implicated in premature births. The team, which includes multidisciplinary researchers, PhD candidates and doctors, is led by Dr Tim Wolfs from the Paediatrics Laboratory. They hope to use the results to develop new techniques to reduce the severity of or even prevent the negative effects of premature birth. <<
Maastricht University Dinner 2016
University Fund inspires students
The tenth annual Maastricht University Dinner was held in April in the ballroom of the provincial government building on the Maas. With 200 guests from 27 participating companies and institutions as well as UM, the dinner provides an opportunity to consolidate existing partnerships and to develop new ones between university and private partners. This year’s guest of honour was Peter Vandermeersch, editor in chief of the NRC Handelsblad newspaper. In his speech, entitled ‘Journalism is dead, long live
journalism’, he addressed the revolution in the media landscape in recent decades and its consequences for journalism. The way in which consumers now expect to be able to access news and current affairs poses a grave threat to the traditional press. Yet at the same time, according to Vandermeersch, it also gives rise to countless new opportunities for enterprising journalists who are able to rise to the challenge. << Editor in chief of the NRC Handelsblad newspaper Peter Vandermeersch
The University Fund is committed to supporting a thriving academic community that fosters strong educational and scholarly achievements. The fund has therefore, since 2015, been providing support for the initiatives of students who wish to contribute to the development of this community, as well as organising events that bring together students from different disciplines and associations. Further, the University Fund aims to raise awareness among students, as it does among alumni, of the opportunity to give a gift to academia. All new students were therefore invited this year to become “friends” of the fund, which resulted in the registration of 575 new donors. <<
The logos of members of the Limburg University Fund Curatorium are shown below. These respected companies and individuals are important supporters of research and education. The Limburg University Fund/SWOL is grateful to its Curatorium members for their commitment to Maastricht University.
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News
From the left to the right: Valentina Mazzucato, Anna Harris and Maarten Vink
Quality of life in nursing homes ERC grants for Anna Harris, Valentina and home settings Mazzucato and Maarten Vink equally high The quality of life among people with dementia in a nursing home is just as high as for those still living at home. The mood of people with dementia, more than physical wellbeing or cognitive abilities, appears to be the key factor when it comes to quality of life. This was the conclusion of doctoral research conducted by Hanneke Beerens at Maastricht University. “The Netherlands is the all-round champion when it comes to dementia care”, says the researcher, who also worked as a nurse for elderly clients and gathered data at the Academic Collaborative Centre on Care for Older People in South Limburg. Beerens’s research involved two main studies. The first was conducted in eight European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Sweden and Spain) and surveyed the quality of life among people with dementia and their caregivers in nursing homes as well as people with family caregivers at home. On average, people with dementia in Sweden, the Netherlands and England scored higher on quality of life than participants elsewhere. The second study involved observation of the quality of life of 115 nursing home residents, predominantly in the Dutch province of Limburg. The results showed that a positive mood is associated with higher quality of life, and vice versa: a negative mood is associated with lower quality of life. A positive mood was associated in particular with those involved in outdoor activities and social interaction. <<
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The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded three grants to researchers from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Anna Harris received the grant for her project ‘The birth of the digital doctor? A comparative anthropology of medical techno-perception’. The other grants were awarded to Valentina Mazzucato for her research entitled ‘Mobility trajectories of young lives: Life chances of transnational youths in the Global South and North (MOTRAYL)’ and Maarten Vink for his project ‘Migrant life course and legal status transition’. Dr Harris received an ERC Starting Grant, which is worth up to €1.5 million and will enable her to set up her own research team and stake out new ground. Professors Mazzucato and Vink received ERC Consolidator Grants, highly prestigious individual subsidies of up to €2 million. This will enable them to expand their research and hire new researchers for a period of five years. The grant awarded to Mazzucato marked a milestone: it was the 500th grant funded by the ERC. (Read the interview with Mazzucato on page 7.) <<
Maastricht University celebrates anniversary with ‘40 of Limburg’ cycling tour On Friday 22 April, at the invitation of Maastricht University (UM), 40 cyclists toured part of the ‘40 of Limburg’ route with Hennie Kuiper as their road captain. The event was held as part of the celebrations for UM’s 40th anniversary. The ‘40 of Limburg’ is a 200 km cycling route that includes 40 lesser known hills and
traverses Dutch and Belgian Limburg as well as parts of Germany. The route was created by Piet Eichholtz, a passionate tour cyclist alongside his role as professor of Real Estate Finance at UM. Special guest Hennie Kuiper led the tour. Forty years ago he won his first ever stage in the Tour de France (from Le Touquet-Paris Plage to Bornem). “I love the Limburg hills”, he says. “They’ve given me a lot as a professional cyclist: a great amount of enjoyment in my sport and of course also a certain measure of fame and renown. I’d say it’s a fitting metaphor for Maastricht University’s 40th anniversary.” << The ‘40 of Limburg’ cycling route (200 km) is available at www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ cycling.
Profile Education and research at Maastricht University is organised primarily on the basis of faculties, schools and institutes.
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences • • • •
Politics and Culture in Europe Science, Technology and Society Arts, Media and Culture Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences • • • • • •
School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM) School for Cardiovascular Diseases (CARIM) School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI) School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS) School for Oncology and Developmental Biology (GROW) School of Health Professions Education (SHE)
Faculty of Humanities and Sciences • • • • • •
Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering (DKE) International Centre for Integrated assessment and Sustainable development (ICIS) Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG) Top Institute for Evidence Based Education (TIER) University College Maastricht Maastricht Science Programme
Faculty of Law • • • • • • • • •
Institute for Globalisation and International Regulation (IGIR) Institute for Transnational Legal Research (METRO) Institute for Corporate Law, Governance and Innovation Policies (ICGI) Maastricht Centre for European Law (MCEL) Maastricht Centre for Human Rights Maastricht Centre for Taxation (MCT) Maastricht European Private Law Institute (MEPLI) Maastricht Graduate School of Law Montesquieu Institute Maastricht
Colophon Faculty of Psychology and Neuro science • • • • • • •
Graduate School of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Clinical Psychological Science Cognitive Neuroscience (CN) Experimental Psychopathology (EPP) Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology Work & Social Psychology Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (M-BIC)
School of Business and Economics • • • • • • • • • •
Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE) Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) Network Social Innovation (NSI) Limburg Institute of Financial Economics (LIFE) The Maastricht Academic Centre for Research in Services (MAXX) Accounting, Auditing & Information Management Research Centre (MARC) European Centre for Corporate Engagement (ECCE) United Nations University – Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) Social Innovation for Competitiveness, Organisational Performance and human Excellence (NSCOPE) Marketing-Finance Research Lab
Interfaculty institutes • • • • • • • •
The Maastricht Forensic Institute (tMFI) MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine The Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE) Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4I) Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio) Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage (MACCH) Centre for European Research in Maastricht (CERIM) Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM)
Publisher © Maastricht University Chief Editor Annelotte Huiskes Editorial Board Luc Soete (President), Teun Dekker, Diana Dolmans, Fons Elbersen, Ad van Iterson, Jos Kievits, Alexander Sack, Hildegard Schneider, Manon van Engeland, Sophie Vanhoonacker. Texts Jos Cortenraad, Femke Kools, Annelotte Huiskes, Jolien Linssen, Graziella Runchina, Hans van Vinkeveen. Photography Dick van Aalst (p23), Loraine Bodewes (spread,32), Philip Driessen (p4,27,42), Harry Heuts (p11,20), Dirk Janssen (p36), iStockphoto (p35), Herman van Ommen (p11), Rafaël Philippen (p30), Joey Roberts (p4,42), Sacha Ruland (p3,7,10,11), Arjen Schmitz (p16), Hugo Thomassen (cover,p38), Paul van der Veer (p24) Translations and English editing Alison Edwards Graphic concept and design Zuiderlicht Maastricht Print Drukkerij Tuijtel, Hardinxveld-Giessendam Maastricht University magazine is published in February, June and October. It is sent on demand to UM alumni and to external relations. Editorial Office Marketing & Communications Postbus 616, 6200 MD Maastricht T +31 43 388 5238 / +31 43 388 5222 E annelotte.huiskes@maastrichtuniversity.nl ISSN 2210-5212 Online webmagazine.maastrichtuniversity.nl Facebook facebook.com/maastrichtuniversitymagazine
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Blow up Want to know which part of Maastricht is zoomed in on? Visit the Facebook page of the UMagazine. Facebook.com/ maastrichtuniversitymagazine
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