Maastricht Students

During my bachelor’s I found a side-job as a student coach for elementary and secondary school children. I noticed that learning math or reading was not always as easy for others as it was for me. You sit next to a student, trying to explain one algebra exercise for the 10th time. While they are racking their brains or having lost concentrating from the start, all your efforts seem lost. I am sure that I am not the only person who experienced a lack of patience during these moments (props to all parents and teachers). Through this experience, I learned that if you want to help other students you need to do more than explain dry theories or hide math in a game. And it became very apparent to me that other students need help. So how do we do this successfully?

Enter Match for Brighter Futures (MFBF). This project enables teenagers from secondary school [middelbare school] who cannot afford normal homework services to match up with university students who voluntarily coach them. Not only do the students help teenagers with their homework, but they also coach them with planning and guiding their ambitions. MFBF differentiates itself from ordinary homework services since the underlying intention helps younger students to be aware of why and how they study. Hence, the project has seen great results. Two weeks ago Julia wrote a blog called ‘Emma and I’ on her wonderful experience with the project (read here). This week we will share an interview with another student coach as well as the results from the 2018 and 2019 reports.

Blog by UCM-student Svea Grünkorn about Green Impact.

The Green Impact programme first crossed my mind when I saw a picture of the frog “Kermit” being circulated within the university. Teams of the UM-wide Green Impact programme were trying to steal the stuffed animal from one another whereby they would score points for the challenge. The Green Impact challenge is a behaviour change and engagement programme which encourages staff and students to take sustainability actions during their daily lives at Maastricht University.

There are many inevitable things that we have to go through in life from the moment we are born: learning how to eat using a fork, learning to use the toilet, saying ‘thank you’, etc. This sequence of proper societal integration continues until we are adults. We always have to adapt to our environment and to the people around us.

Law Ball, Ambassador Lecture Series, Opening of the Academic year… We sat down with Costas Georgiades, a 23-year-old law student from Cyprus, who is the epitome of student involvement. We discussed the different projects he is involved with and what led him to where he is now. Read on to find out more about Costas!

Maarten Butink, a 21 year-old Health Sciences student who chose to focus on the Policy, Management and Evaluation of Health Care specialisation, sat with us to discuss his position as student assessor. He shared what got him where he is now and what he hopes to accomplish thanks to his new position at the university. Read on to find on more about Maarten!