I love the website McSweeny’s and their extremely dry humor. One of my recent favorites was their hilarious dig at online education from 2020. While some of the tragically funny things wrong with online education listed in the article resonated with me (e.g. “extent to which instructor raged against the dying of the light”), online education has gone surprisingly well. Like every other teacher, I dreaded (if not hated) the idea at first and indeed I did miss a lot of the banter and personal interactions with the students during our Zoom classes. But with ample flexibility, wonderful teachers working together, and their willingness to put in the time and effort, online education - I’ve discovered - can be a wonderful thing! For the skeptics and the jaded cynics (I see you out there), see the feedback from our International Business Law students from last semester. Shout out to Megan, Emilie, and Grzegorz, my wonderful tutors, who made it all possible.
Teaching at a High School
I had the chance to teach at a Dutch high school (Bernardinuscollege) in Heerlen. It was a great opportunity to engage with a younger audience on some of my favorite topics. There is something quite different about teaching in a high school relative to teaching at a uni. Not quite sure what it is, but I was a bit more nervous than usual.
Raising Awareness for Academic Mental Health
I hate running. Haven't ran in at least a year. But today, I ran to the border of Belgium and back to raise awareness for #academicmentalhealth (just to be clear, I still really hate running). 🏃
Webinar on Fast Fashion, Modern Slavery, and the Role of Corporations
Doing a webinar hosted by the student organization, InternAction, on the real cost of fast-fashion and modern slavery in the textile industry. I focus on my favorite topic: the role of corporations in the global supply chain.
Futile Attempts: Bake Your Research!
The Maastricht Young Academy is hosting a "Bake Your Research!" competition with the aim of turning our research into an edible form. This was my attempt brazenly titled "We are F*cked" White Chocolate Red Velvet Cake because my research is... well... yeah.
2021 IBL Pizza Challenge (Because COVID-19 Sucks)
A big shout out to my International Business Law students who took part in the 2021 IBL Pizza Challenge! See some of their submissions below!
UM Team for the ICC Mediation Competition Finishes in the Top 5!
Maastricht University placed 5th out of 48 universities all over the world and won the ‘Best Mediation Plan’ award during the 16th ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition. I had the pleasure of coaching this wonderful team together with Catalina Goanta, Declan Clarke-Wellsmore, Niamh Herlihy, and Alexandru Șotropa. Really happy for everyone and very proud of this hardworking team for all their efforts!
A "Christmas-Themed" Law Talk. Whatever That Is.
I've been roped into giving a "Christmas-Themed Law Talk". I'm not exactly sure what a Christmas-Themed Law Talk is just yet, but come one, come all in the spirit of Christmas.
