By June 2020, teaching online has become second nature for most of us at Maastricht University – or so you would think. We’ve done it for three months now. Teachers have been trained on how to deal with the various platforms, while students have been explained why we had to move online and why they have to make a commitment from their end to make things work. Still, even though I’m used to hosting blended learning teaching programmes, well trained in offering online classes, and my student...

This series tracks news and views from our ‘Evidence-Based Policy Research Methods’ (EPRM) course. Many participants work at the highest of levels, both nationally and internationally, including for other sections of the UN system. In normal times, they come to the City of Maastricht in the Netherlands for this unique blended learning programme, covering a total of three weeks in class and 10 weeks online. Application deadline: 20 December 2020. Now available 100% online. … In April 2020, our EP...

The swift spread of COVID-19 required an urgent response from many institutions – and universities were no exception. Classes were quickly moved online, which proved to be a challenge for instructors and students alike. To get a glimpse into how our Master’s programme dealt with this transition, we caught up with Programme Director Dr. Julieta Marotta as well as current student Joshua Hofert. … Dr. Julieta Marotta As a Programme Director leading a Master’s with multiple specialisations, ho...

March 2018 marks the relaunch of two online group-based courses: ‘Introduction to Political Science’ and ‘Governance in Theory and Practice’, which will now start at fixed intervals. Course coordinator Dr. Mindel van de Laar spoke with one of our long-term tutors, Biljana Meshkovska, about this small but important innovation. … You’re the tutor for two of our online courses: ‘Introduction to Political Science’ and ‘Governance in Theory and Practice’. We sometimes see staff rotation, but yo...

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has selected the project ‘Leading to Success: SMART Choices and SMART Tools’, submitted by project leader Dr. Mindel van de Laar, for funding in a competitive selection process to encourage open and online education. We obtained the SURF subsidy to support the development of two open online services. These packages will be piloted with our Master in Public Policy and Human Development (MPP) students, and then be offered continuously to MPP stu...

As Africa’s economic outlook continues to improve it is now more crucial than ever to ensure that the next generation of African scholars and policy experts can meet the challenges of the 21st Century. Our CoLA initiative seeks to establish a network of young African researchers with the aim of giving them exposure to specialist resources and knowledge, while also helping them with their doctoral dissertations. UNU Editor Howard Hudson spoke with course coordinators Dr. Mindel van de Laar (ML) a...