Last week, a delegation from the City Council visited UNU-MERIT to explore ways to further our partnership. The City’s delegation comprised Ms Anita Bastiaans, Alderman for Welfare, Diversity, Civic Integration, Euregio and Europe; Mr Johan Pas, Alderman for Housing, Education, Student City & Welfare; Mr Florian Wijnants, Policy Officer. UNU-MERIT’s Director, Prof Bartel Van de Walle, delivered a presentation of the Institute’s Strategic Plan (2021-2025), where he outlined our research agend...
Register to participate in the May Event Series here. A series of landmark events will be held during May to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the first collaboration between the United Nations University, Maastricht University and the MERIT Foundation, which led to the creation of UNU-MERIT. Since that original collaboration, UNU-MERIT has become the UN’s go-to innovation institute, undertaking research and training in order to mobilise knowledge, education and policy and unlock the full ...
The Earth’s climate is changing and human action is the leading cause, according to 97% of peer-reviewed research papers. Yet this ‘climate change consensus’ is increasingly challenged by populist media and politicians, who distort research and cherry pick data. Media may be part of the problem, but it also has a role to play in finding solutions. Through storytelling — as humans have done for thousands of years around campfires — journalists play a crucial role in gettin...
We held our fourth science reporting workshop in a decommissioned particle accelerator in the heart of the Middle East — sharing a stage with veteran BBC presenter Robert Winston before an audience of around 40 researchers and reporters. This was an audience passionate about the scientific method; an audience united for the most part against post-truth populists; and an audience ready to challenge its lecturers. Pointing out essential nuances: for example, that it’s not 97% of scient...
For this edition of Alumni Watch, we caught up with Dr. Andres Mideros Mora of Ecuador, who graduated from our PhD programme in December 2017. He defended his thesis, ‘Essays on the Economic Effects of Non-contributory Social Protection’, while taking a short break from his role as Minister of Planning and Development of Ecuador....
Prof. Luc Soete will address an informal meeting of EU ministers in Tallinn, Estonia, on 25 July 2017. Seeking to improve the coherence and openness of EU research and innovation partnerships, he joins speakers including Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization. The meeting will also consider the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020 and the future of European research and innovation funding. ...