Big attendance at Bachelor’s Open Day
Once again, there was great interest in our online Bachelor's Open Day, with attendance comparable to last year. Remarkable this time around: a higher turnout in the morning and an unusually large number of Dutch visitors. It was the third time since the COVID outbreak that the Open Day was held entirely online. Overall, the programme presentations went smoothly and received a high score: an average of 8.9.
Packed with information about all the study programmes on offer at UM’s six faculties as well as Problem-Based Learning and student life, the online platform had been open all week.
The platform included videos giving the online visitors a taste of the atmosphere on campus. It also explained practical matters such as scholarships, admission and visa requirements, and the current housing problems. Start looking for a room as soon as possible, was the urgent advice.
On the day itself, there were live sessions with opportunities to ask questions after the presentations of the study programmes. This way, prospective students could get a good idea of what Maastricht University has to offer and were helped move a step forward in choosing a study.
Most of the online participants intend to enrol in September and in the meantime they will have plenty of opportunity to visit the campus and get a taste of the atmosphere at UM. Later in the spring, students can join the Max Campus Experience, for which two dates will be set, and very soon, they can visit the Experience Days of the study programmes.
High figures
The number of visitors was roughly comparable to previous online editions, with prospective students coming from 83 countries. More than half were Dutch, the others came mainly from Germany, Belgium, Italy and France. Compared to previous years, the turnout of Dutch participants was very high whereas the number of registrations from Germany fell back somewhat.
A total of 380 visitors took the trouble to give feedback immediately after the session they had participated in. Most of them were positive, with an average rating of 8.9.
"The presentation gave me an excellent idea of Maastricht university and gave me many more reasons, why I want to study there," wrote a visitor to the opening lecture of the School of Business and Economics.
Missed the Open Day?
Not to worry, the platform is open until 11 February.
Like to taste the atmosphere and discover the campus? Come to one of our Experience Days. You can follow test lessons and experience what Problem-Based Learning is all about.
Any questions? Contact our student ambassadors. Check out their IG or send them a DM.
You can also visit our Virtual Open Day. It is available throughout the year.
And here's an overview of all our information activities.
Positive comments
In general, the programme videos and live Q&As were highly appreciated, as were the sessions with practical information and use of interactive presentation software. Visitors also liked the wide variety of hosts and the personal nature of the sessions.
"They answered my concerns which helped me with the admission process and my worries. I liked how they address individuals by their first name, which brought a personal feel to this session. Overall a very successful session!" was the comment of an incoming psychology student.
Room for improvement
Of course, people also struck a critical note, about the sound quality or connectivity, for example. Others complained about background noise, the length of the videos preceding the Q&A sessions and the use of a chat in an interactive Mentimeter presentation. As for content: "Maybe include some more information about what Maastricht looks like."
The organisers will take all these points into account in the run-up to the next Bachelor’s Open Day, scheduled for 8 October. Hopefully, the event will be held at the university again. Finally, we would like to reassure the student who commented: “I wish I had more questions to ask!” The online platform of the Bachelor Open Day will remain open all week, until Friday 11 February.
Also read
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On Friday afternoon, 18 October, Minister Eppo Bruins (Education, Culture, and Science) paid a working visit to Maastricht. There, he was briefed by Limburg's educational institutions on current educational topics from the Education Manifesto. The minister also engaged in conversations with teachers and students. Through practical examples, Bruins gained a clear understanding of how education in Limburg is joining forces and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by its border location. In addition, the Province of Limburg and the educational institutions expressed their concerns about government plans that do not sufficiently take these regional opportunities into account.
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On 15 October, education minister Bruins informed the Netherlands House of Representatives of his plans to reduce the number of international students in the Netherlands through the Internationalisation in Balance Act (‘Wet Internationalisering in Balans’). Maastricht University has serious concerns about this. The minister seems to completely ignore the need for appropriate policies that the education and business communities as well as the government of Limburg have constantly pointed out in recent times. Appropriate rules with an eye for regional differences are in fact a dire necessity to prevent educational barrenness in Limburg, and to train enough professionals for the tense labour market in the region and the Netherlands.
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This year, the total number of students at Maastricht University will probably still increase slightly to more than 23,000. Due to an estimated 3% decrease in the number of new students, this growth will level off. The ratio of Dutch to international students is also stabilising: among the new cohort, the proportion of Dutch students is increasing slightly. A large proportion of students still come from within Maastricht’s Euregion; over 50% of students come from within a 100-kilometre radius of Maastricht.