Study abroad Programmes

The city of Maastricht, home of the Maastricht Treaty, solidifying the European Union in the early nineties of the last century, is ideally located between the borders of three countries, each with it is own language or culture: German, French/Walloon and Dutch/Flemish. Positioned at these crossroads of European cultures, languages and trade routes, Maastricht has a long and exciting history. It is the oldest city in the Netherlands, founded in 50BC. Romanesque churches and stately patrician houses are made for aimless strolling or cycling: the Stokstraat and Jeker districts are the most picturesque. 

Maastricht, home of an internationally renowned university, and its neighbouring cities Aachen, Hasselt and Liège enable both students and staff to study and to observe practices in their field in three different countries at very short/distances.

Programmes mostly include stays in Amsterdam and/or Brussels and Antwerp, as well as shorts trips to Paris and southern Europe.
Below you will find a brief overview of universities including Maastricht in their study abroad offer through Exhem.

University of Maryland – College of Education

International and Multicultural Perspectives in Education (EDUC/CPSP)

The course is intended to help students increase their understanding of the relationships that exist among multiple influences on education including culture, history, politics, diversity, teacher beliefs and values, classroom practices, and home environments. There will also be an emphasis on self-discovery with respect to the differences and commonalities we see among the nations and schools visited. To further our knowledge about multicultural issues in education, we'll have multiple opportunities to observe primary and secondary schools, as well as institutions of higher education.

This course has run yearly since 2001. Course directors through the years were Jim Greenberg, Ann Battle, Jim & Peggy DeGeorge, Stacy Pritchett.

Michigan State University - College of Education

Learning, Culture & Technology in Europe program

This course has run yearly since 2011. Course directors through the years were David Wong, Allison Webster Freed, Day Greenberg.
Prior to this course there was course about Community-led education by Dr Chris Wheeler.

Comments made by some  of the students:

When we arrived at the refugee school, a few of the students left the room because they were scared. Several of the students expressed to their teachers they were afraid of Americans because they thought we hated Muslims.

The main acdemic parts of this program helped me develop the urge to continue to travel and research around the world about education systems and what seems to develop the happiest and most successful students so I can work to spread the knowledge to those education systems that need it the most.

I taught 5 classes in the schools. This helped me grow as a teacher because the students I was teaching had little English skills meaning I had to think of other ways to communicate with the students.

Trying new foods, including extremely salty herring, struggling to communicate in three languages, and learning to travel independently in a foreign country truly gave me a hands-on experience that helped me personally and academically. Our group progressed past the surface level of sightseeing and truly interacted and engaged with cultures foreign to us.

Michigan State University - College of Education – FEGU Graduate program

FEGU students will study the phenomenon of new immigrant students entering an education system and its complex effect on learning, teaching, administration, and policy within the country’s educational system. We will also study the role of the research university in addressing community issues represented by the immigration issue. We will concentrate on the immigration and education in the Netherlands, a country in a part of the world currently experiencing a dramatic surge in immigrant students. FEGU students will work collaboratively with Dutch graduate students and school practitioners on a research project examining this phenomenon

 http://education.msu.edu/international/study-abroad/graduate.asp

This course has run in 2016 and 2017. Course directors are Dr John Dirkx and Dr David Wong.

University of Southampton MBA

The programme is designed to offer MBA-students a blend between lecture, discussion sessions and visits to organisations to meet senior managers. This will enable delegates to explore the relationship between academic theory and business practice.

 This course has run since 2015. MBA Directors Dr Edgar Meyer and Dr Nuno Da Camara.  Program coordinator Alan Gilbert.  

(click on the picture to see the aftermovie)

 University of Portsmouth - Portsmouth Business School

The aim of the MBA residential is to incorporate a European perspective into the course and, in the context of a residential programme, provide delegates with the opportunity for comparative analysis of organisations, within the Euro-region surrounding Maastricht. The course is designed to include presentations from consulting academics during the morning sessions, and a series of organisational visits offering insights into managerial and strategic challenges faced by the host organisations. The presentations will be set in an international context but also introduce delegates to some European Government policies and the institutional framework of the European Union.

This course has run yearly for about 20 years, starting in the previous century with Toon Dijkstra’s EOP organization. In 2015 we had the last edition.

Program coordinator Alan Gilbert.

 Niagara University - College of Education

The programme is designed to offer a blend between lecture, discussion sessions and visits to organisations to meet senior managers. This will enable delegates to explore the relationship between academic theory and business practice.

This course has run yearly 2001-2012.

Course directors were Dr Debra Colley, Dr Susan Sze, Raphael Heaggans, Dr James Mills, Dr Letitia Hahn.

 University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Cato School of Education

 This course has run yearly 2001-2009. Course director was Prof. Corey Lock.