"German Courts of the World" (aka My New UM Blog Post that No One Will Probably Read)

Reporting live from Aachen, Germany! Are the German courts making the world a better place or breaking it instead?! A few rambling thoughts for the UM blog covering Germany's (over-)reliance on universal jurisdiction to go after the bad guys.

Ok, sure. It's not my best writing, nor is it the most meticulously researched piece, but it still (hopefully) offers some food for thought. I don’t think it’s too bad, especially considering that I put it together with glue and duct tape during my "leave". So yeah, it's a side hussle. Would love your 2 cents on it, especially if you think I got something wrong here.

Expats x Migrants (Our Little D&I Project) Got Picked Up on De Limburger!

We wrapped up the photo shoot last month and we are now working out the kinks on our website, but more importantly, some of our project members will be presenting and discussing the project and other important issues related to migration during the MACIMIDE Annual Conference that kicks off today! Check out the conference, check out our project, and let’s work towards making Maastricht a more inclusive and diverse community!

How to Make Surfboards: A Checklist for Our Graduates

I got to pen a few pages for the book, Made in Maastricht, which has now been published. The book is a collection of advice from some of the law faculty’s staff to our graduates and alums as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary. If anyone wants a sneak peak for my little blurb, you can find the pre-published draft here ;)

Promotion of Incompetence? We Can Do Better!

I know I just quit being a columist for The Observant, but here I am contributing an opinion piece on good leadership and academic citizenship (or the lack thereof). One good thing about writing an opinion piece (relative to being a columnist) is that there are no deadlines. I just wrote it because I wanted to, and the reason why I wanted to is because so many of my colleagues here at the UM currently do not feel safe in their work environment. Or they feel overlooked and believe that their concerns are falling on deaf ears. I just wanted to write because I don’t want them to feel alone.

An Afternoon with a Game-Changer Mamokgethi Phakeng!

Looking forward to speaking with the University of Cape Town’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mamokgethi Phakeng, for the D&I Event: An afternoon with a Game-Changer! Come join us (online) for this engaging converation with Kgethi, Constance & Shula!

UM Opening of the 45th Academic Year & New Strategic Program!

5 years ago, Catalina Goanta and I had the chance to open the academic year and to present the University’s strategic program, “Community at the CORE” (as evidenced by the selfies above). Tomorrow, I have the opportunity - together with Judith Kamalski - to moderate the morning session of this year’s OAY and to present the new strategic program, “The European University of the Netherlands.” I was quite skeptical of the title at first and what it actually entailed, but after speaking with the people behind it and their vision, I have drank the Kool Aid and am very much looking forward to moderating the event with some of the VIPs from the UM community!

The Japanese Translation of Jan Smits’ Contract Law Textbook is Hot Off the Press!!

Prof. Taya (Toyo University) and I have translated, edited and just published Jan’s “Contract Law: A Comparative Introduction” textbook (used in our first year Contract Law course here at the UM European Law School). We are extremely honored to have the translated book endorsed by the highly esteemed Prof. Kawakami from Tokyo University (no relations) as well! This was a lot of hard work (especially by Prof. Taya), but very happy and pleased to be able to introduce Jan’s unique insights on contract law to the Japanese law students/schools 🤓

Expats x Migrants Photoshoot is a Wrap!

Thank you to all the models for participating in our shoot! We hope that this project will kickstart meaningful conversations and challenge our implicit biases. I hope that the project will also allow people to meet some wonderful members of our Maastricht community too! Special thanks to Tetsuro, Vera, Melina, and our wonderful D&I office!

Recording a Lecture for the Dutch Sectorplan on Globalization & Law

Had the chance to record a lecture on the topic of “Doing Business in a Globalized World” with Victoria Azizi, focusing on the issue of Business and Human Rights. It wasn’t the easiest piece to work through, but it was a good learning process and I think the end product is something we are quite happy with. Many thanks to the staff operating the nice little recording studio over at Open University in Heerlen and the people involved with running this interesting project.

Building a Sand Castle with a Two Year Old

There is nothing better than building a sand castle with your 2 year old to make you forcefully appreciate the transience and imperfection of things. You want to make it a certain way, but he has other ideas. So you let it go. You compromise and you build it his way, but then he destroys it and has a great time doing it. So you learn to laugh it off too. There is so much I can learn from my son, but as always, I remain a slow and reluctant learner.