News Professor Luc Soete awarded Opening of the Maastricht Order Academic Year of Merit Professor Luc Soete was awarded the Order of Merit from the City of Maastricht during his farewell ceremony as Rector Magnificus. Professor Soete received the medal for his contributions to the development of education and research at Maastricht University and his commitment to improving the international standing of both the university and the city. Mayor Penn-te Strake presented the Order of Merit on behalf of the city council. <<
On Monday 5 September Maastricht University celebrated the official opening of the academic year 2016/17. The theme of this year’s opening ceremony (and the title of the new Strategic Programme 2017-21) was ‘Community at the CORE’. CORE stands for Collaborative Open Research Education, and is a logical extension of the interdisciplinary approach that lies at the heart of education and research at Maastricht University. The programme consisted of a morning symposium and the official celebration in the afternoon. During the morning programme, moderators Catalina Goanta and Mark Kawakami interviewed the Executive Board. The mayor of Maastricht, Annemarie Penn-te Strake, discussed the importance of reciprocity between the university and the city, while Professor Ron Heeren highlighted the importance of teamwork in addressing societal issues. In keeping with tradition, the official opening took place during the academic session in the afternoon. This year’s keynote speaker was Mathieu Segers, Professor of Contemporary European History and European Integration and dean of University College Maastricht. The title of his speech was ‘This side of paradise: “Maastricht” and the burden of European unity’.
Student Award The Student Award 2016 was presented to Matthijs Bosveld (Medicine) and Sjim Romme (Health Sciences). They were both touched by the apparent lack of empathy shown by healthcare providers – something often attested to by patients. To address this, they set up the project ‘The person behind the patient’ (Mens achter de Patiënt), which pairs students with patients with disabilities or chronic illnesses. The get-togethers revolve not around the patient’s illness, but around the person who has the illness: the person behind the patient.
Edmond Hustinx Prize for Science The 2016 Edmond Hustinx prize went to a researcher from the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences. Bart van Grinsven impressed the jury with his combination of high-quality academic research and entrepreneurial drive to commercialise knowledge in collaboration with the Limburg business sector. His research focuses on smart devices, specialising in the development of new biosensor systems for applications such as blood analysis. <<
7 October 2016 2015 / UMagazine