Update from the Head of College

December 13, 2022

As you remember, many projects and events happen at UWC Maastricht every week if not every day. Lodewijk van Oord, the Head of College, picked three of some of the most remarkable programmes and initiatives that took place at the school since September 2022. If you would like to read more about what is happening at UWC Maastricht, you can always check the news section of the website and follow us on social media (Facebook and Instagram).

 

Pioneering the IBCP

This September, UWC Maastricht welcomed the first group of students in our newly designed IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) in Sustainable Business. The IBCP is an exciting new opportunity for UWC students, currently pioneered by UWC Maastricht and UWC Pearson College. Our first cohort of twenty day and residential students started the programme with much enthusiasm. The programme we have created focuses on all aspects of business and sustainability, including topics such as ecotourism and sustainable fashion, and allows students to explore their own interests in this domain. If you want to read more about it, then feel free to have a look at our latest IBCP newsletter on the school’s website. 

 

United Women’s Conference

UWC of course stands for United World Colleges, but here in Maastricht it also refers to the United Women’s Conference, which we hosted for the second time on Thursday 6 October. This conference is part of our Female Empowerment Network and raises scholarships for female students from the Middle East and Northern Africa. Bringing together over 150 participants, the importance of female leadership and the power of education were on the menu during the conference. Speakers focused on topics such as investing in personal development, engaging with an international network, connecting with future change makers and supporting young girls to realise their ambitions via quality education. It was a great success, and we have the ambition to make this conference a recurring, annual event at UWC Maastricht.

 

Make it green!

I have written before in this newsletter about our ambition to make our campus greener and a more pleasant environment for our students. Over the December break, thousands of very grey tiles were removed from the playground and replaced with a new landscape made of hills, grass, trees and plants, combined with new play equipment for our younger and older students. The difference is remarkable, and we look forward to seeing the trees and plants grow in the seasons to come. Our greening ambitions do not stop here. In 2023, we will be placing another very large vertical garden, at the bottom of the stairs next to the Secondary Building. Our dark and grey campus is slowly but steadily turning into a different and much more pleasant place to live, play and go to school. You are welcome to come and have a look for yourself, whenever you are in the neighbourhood.