Campus Brussels’ Renewed Strategy

Maastricht University (UM) Campus Brussels is UM’s very own representation in the capital of the European Union (EU). It functions as an inter-faculty hub for education, research, and networking activities in the framework of UM’s internationalisation strategy. Campus Brussels is available to use for all UM staff and students. Non-commercial activities related to education, research and knowledge transfer of UM can make use of Campus Brussels free of charge. To find out more on the possibilities at the Campus please click here.
 
Campus Brussels’ facilities comprise three equipped meeting rooms – one for ca. 60 and two for ca. 25 people, which are there to be used for events by the UM community. It also provides staff support when organising online and on-site activities, from event planning and implementation (e.g. programme design, speaker search, registration management, coordination with local suppliers, etc.) to monitoring EU policy issues of interest. UM staff and students can also make use of the Academic Coworking Space at the Campus to meet and network with colleagues when in Brussels. 

Below is a written overview of the main functions of Campus Brussels. Please also visit the Campus Brussels website and, for illustrations of previous events, have a read of the latest annual activity report.

Teaching & Training

The Campus hosts executive education and PhD trainings for professionals as well as summer schools and other short courses organised by UM faculties. It also offers the opportunity to deliver remote education by Belgium-based staff and guest lecturers as well as hosts and organises field trips for students to gain professional insights in their EU policy field of interest.

Research Community Hub

Campus Brussels also serves as a venue for UM researchers to organise activities and events in the framework of (EU-funded) research projects. These can be, for example, meetings to build international consortia; kick-off, mid-term, and dissemination conferences; policy dialogues; events to discuss progress ahead of a publication, etc. The logistical coordination of these events is taken care of by Campus Brussels staff. In addition, it offers working space for researchers to use while in Brussels – whether it is to carry out interviews or to wind down in a quiet space in between meetings.

UM Embassy

The Campus is also UM’s EU liaison office. It takes advantage of the myriad of EU institutions and stakeholders represented in Brussels to expand UM’s network as well as monitor EU policy developments and to position UM on key issues relevant to the university.

An important part of this function is engaging with selected European networks. Campus Brussels represents the UM in the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN) EU Policy Working Group, and is an active member of UM’s European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanity’s (EASSH) Working Group. Currently, it also co-manages the network of university EU liaison offices (UnILiON). These networks are the platforms through which the Campus gathers information (e.g. early-stage information on upcoming funding proposals ahead of publication) as well as lobbies for UM’s interests (e.g. by contributing to the networks’ position papers on key policy issues).

Campus Brussels also places great importance on alumni relations. In this spirit, it regularly hosts and organises events for UM alumni to meet up, ensuring that both old and new UM graduates continue to keep in contact both with UM and among themselves – providing a valuable network of professional contacts.