In a final attempt to get yet another perspective into the world of academia in Maastricht, Crossroads writer Rosanne Rademaker meets with Nancy Nicholson, an American assistant professor at the department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology at Maastricht’s faculty of Psychology and Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. “Nancy always comes across as a very driven and intelligent person who very much enjoys her work… and hers may very well be the perspective I’m angling for,” hopes Rosanne. Read on to find out Rosanne’s final verdict on life in academia. [continued…]

I’m sitting in the shade on my boat and the weather is just great. Huge carp are cruising around the harbour as the spawning season begins. Boats of all kinds are beginning to gather on the lake, from small sailing dinghies to monster power boats taking a break from zooming up and down the Maas. Swans glide over to snatch some bread before stomping off after the latest unwanted intruders. It’s wonderful to be on the water.

Read on further to get a glimpse of what it is like for British expat Gary Evans to live on the river Maas.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon would have been proud to witness the impact of his institution on young people at the recent EuroMun conference in Maastricht. Organised by the small team of the Maastricht United Nations Student Association (UNSA), the event attracted 450 students from all over the globe to the South Limburg capital. All had come with the same goal: take part in a European Model United Nations, simulating real life UN proceedings. A review for Crossroads by Tobias Gerhard. [continued…]

Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Hungary, Finland, Jamaica are only some of the places where Crossroads’ writer Eliot Rolen spent his youth. “Yet,” he remembers, “alongside the immensely varied and inspiring sights and sounds of these countries, lay a place where to a certain extent geographical considerations were largely irrelevant, namely the international school”. Eliot’s path finally brought him to the Netherlands, where a new and different experience was awaiting him at the International School Maastricht. [continued…]

“I’ve been here two years already but never got to know as much about the city as during those four weeks,” says University College Maastricht student Ingrid Kylstad after concluding the Think Tank assignment commissioned by the city of Maastricht. Ingrid was one of the several UCM students who were recently asked to prepare a policy recommendation report about one of the city’s greatest challenges for the future: how to stop the demographic decline. Crossroads writer Hania Piotrowska takes a closer look at the students’ findings and suggestions. [continued…]

The 26 metre long Mamenchisaurus is the largest of the four Chinese dinosaur fossils currently on display in Maastricht’s spacious Centre Céramique. It is the first time that they are being exhibited in Europe and people from all across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and parts of France are flocking to Maastricht to admire the impressive beasts. [continued…]

The newly established Islamic Student Association Maastricht ( ISVM) recently organised its first public event with a “Conference on Islam and the West”. Crossroads writer Henrik Hartmann speaks with ISVM’s chairman Zine Abhidin Zouggari about the perception of Islam after 9/11, Geert Wilders’ controversial statements, and how Muslims are represented in Maastricht. [continued…]

Recently rated the world’s “fairest bookshop” by the UK’s highly-regarded Guardian newspaper, the Dominicanen has quickly become one of Maastricht’s tourist attractions. “After the Guardian article, this place has been a madhouse,” William Remmers, General Department Head of the store, tells Crossroads writer Amrit Dhir. [continued…]

“Strangely enough, Maastricht University’s attractive international atmosphere and broad variety of new, innovative Bachelor programmes can also be very disorientating,” says UCM student Stella Wolters. “Where do I belong?”, “What does the future hold for me?” she often finds herself wondering. [continued…]

Under the heading “the EU and Russia: Strategic Partners or Competing Neighbours?”, three experts participated last week in a hot public debate on the political and strategic relationship between the EU and Russia. A review by Tobias Gerhard. [continued…]

Mr Eickelman, a US professor of Anthropology and Human Relations at Dartmouth University, Massachusetts, and senior advisor to the American University of Kuwait, recently visited Maastricht to share his views on “The Knowledge and Practice of Democracy in the Middle East”. A review by Eliot Rolen. [continued…]