New beginnings in Maastricht

Hello from beautiful Maastricht! My name is Caroline Deng, and I am a 4th year at NYU Stern studying Marketing and Information Systems. I will be at Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics (SBE) for the fall semester. I’m excited to make new friends, learn new perspectives, and see more of the world.

For those of you who don’t know, Maastricht is located in the southern-most tip of the Netherlands, and is considered to be the oldest city in the nation. In light of Brexit, a relevant fact is that the European Union was founded here in 1992.

Sint Servaasbrug

Growing up in California, I’ve never had the chance to explore Europe, outside of a family trip to Italy. So, around the same time last year, I applied to Maastricht University for many reasons, but the main ones being: 1) the unique PBL Learning System, 2) my desire to experience Europe beyond the typical tourist attractions, and 3) Maastricht’s central location so I could travel to other destinations easily. It has been around three weeks since I arrived in Maastricht, and I’ve already become enchanted with the city, the university, and the people I’ve met.

The City

Maastricht has the charm of an old European village, with a lot of meandering, cobblestone roads. That being said, I had one or two days of frustration trying to find where I wanted to go with the assistance of Google Maps. The town square, called Markt, is filled with both small boutique shops and global corporate brands. Another place to see is the Vrijthof, where the Museum aan het Vrijthof and the Basilica of Saint Servatius stand.

The University

I’ve had the opportunity to experience the Problem-Based Learning system that Maastricht is known for, and it’s completely different from the way that my home university teaches. Rather than lectures that are intended to teach you what you should study for a final exam, PBL is somewhat like the Socratic method, where you ask and discuss questions to come to your own conclusions. During my first facilitation, I had to keep stopping myself from going into “presentation” mode—the purpose of a facilitation is to encourage debate and discussion, rather than preaching about what you have learned on the topic—and that was difficult to get accustomed to.

The People

Amsterdam adventures

Unlike many other universities, Maastricht University has a strong international student presence, which means that the school is well-versed in helping international students transition into day-to-day life. The moment I arrived on August 31, the International Student Network (ISN) already had several events planned for the week and throughout the year to help us transition and get to know other people studying away. I attended the Dutch Dinner event the first night, where we went to a local restaurant, Cafe Ma van Sloan, to try a traditional Dutch meal, filled with sausage, mashed potatoes (the Dutch love their potatoes), pork, and other dishes. Last weekend, ISN also hosted a Discover Holland trip, where I got to visit cities all over the Netherlands, such as Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Delft. On that trip, I was able to meet friends from all over the world, and we are planning to travel together soon. So far, Maastricht has given me a very warm welcome to Europe, and I’m feeling optimistic about the semester ahead!

ISN Discover Holland trip – Delft