The festive season reminds us how valuable it is to look out for one another. For 16 years, the UM community has come together during this time to support projects that help make our society stronger and more just – and this year is especially significant, as the University Fund marks its 60th anniversary and Maastricht University will celebrate its 50th next year.
In this spirit of togetherness, we invite you to contribute to a hopeful future with a gift. Your support enables us to make a real difference: in innovative healthcare, research that delivers genuine impact, equal educational opportunities, and giving a voice to children in conflict areas. Give something this Christmas that reaches beyond the festive season. Together, we can make these projects happen.
Would you like to celebrate our jubilee in a truly special way? Consider a donation of €600 – €10 for each year of the Fund – and receive a unique jubilee gift as an additional token of our appreciation.
Glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer, affects more than a thousand people in the Netherlands each year and carries a very bleak prognosis. On average, patients survive just over a year after diagnosis. It leaves patients living in daily fear: painful biopsies, long waiting times, and results that often raise more questions than answers. This must change. Researcher Eva Cuypers is developing an innovative blood test that will be able to detect glioblastoma more quickly, less invasively and more reliably. Will you support this research, so that patients can gain greater peace of mind, clarity and hope?
Imagine how much is lost in the innovation funnel when knowledge, talent, and potential remain untapped — simply because UM researchers are not seen, supported, or encouraged to bring their work into society. Diversity is essential for a thriving innovation ecosystem, yet researchers from marginalized groups, such as women and LGBTQ+ individuals, are cited less in patents and are less frequently involved in university spin-offs. That’s why the Knowledge Transfer Office is launching the Impact Beyond Gender programme: a springboard designed to empower these talents to pursue valorisation, strengthen UM’s commitment to inclusivity, the Brightlands ecosystem, and regional growth. Will you help unlock this potential?
Many young people aspire to contribute to a better world and see higher education as the key to doing so. Yet for some, social and financial barriers make this goal feel unattainable — and valuable talent is lost as a result. The University Fund Limburg is therefore introducing the Changemaker Scholarship within its Equity and Inclusion Programme: a scholarship that gives promising students the chance to study at UM. It supports their personal development and networking opportunities, enabling them to focus fully on building their societal impact. Will you help turn their ambition to improve the world into reality?
Worldwide, 473 million children are living in war zones, including nine million in unrecognised states. These children are especially vulnerable because they fall outside international legal protection. Families focus primarily on survival, leaving little room to talk to children about the war — and severe mental health problems often follow. Researchers Marieke Hopman and Guleid Jama want to change this. In the Child Peace project, they investigate how children in three unrecognised states — Gaza, Sool/Sanaag and Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh — can participate in peace and justice activities and strengthen their future prospects. Will you help give these children a voice in building lasting peace?