Autumn 2009

I am delighted to present the autumn issue of our international newsletter, University of Groningen Worldwide. Worldwide is not just the name of a newsletter, however. It’s also characteristic of the University – an internationally orientated top research university with talented staff and students from all over the world and a wide range of international curricula. It’s not for nothing that our international policy plan is called De Wereld als Podium (The World is our Stage). Whether you are a student, prospective student, alumnus or member of one of our international networks, you are all players on our global stage. That’s why we want to keep in global touch with you.

Prof. S. Poppema  

President of the Board of the University

News from Groningen

Succesful Welcoming Ceremony for all our new international students

On 26 August and 27 August a special Welcoming Ceremony was held for all new international students and PhD students. About 1200 new students from more than 100 different countries were officially welcomed with speeches, a lunch, an information market, workshops and drinks.  > more

The University of Groningen has turned 395!

The University of Groningen celebrated its 395^th anniversary this year with all kinds of festivities including dance, music, multimedia and of course academia between March and June. One of the highlights was the Night of Arts & Science in Groningen city centre. This festival, comprising lectures, workshops and various performances, attracted about 15,000 visitors and cast a warm glow over the streets of Groningen. An Alumni Day was organized on the same day, where alumni could take a trip down memory lane with their fellow ex-students and visit their old faculties. > more

University of Groningen Worldwide

Twice as many prestigious Erasmus Mundus Master's programmes at University of Groningen

This academic year, the number of international Master’s degree programmes at the University of Groningen with the Erasmus Mundus label will double from four to eight. The University of Groningen now offers the highest number of Erasmus Mundus Master Courses in the Netherlands. An ‘Erasmus Mundus Master Course’ (EM MC) is a Master’s degree programme offered by a consortium of European universities. Students of such programmes take modules at two or more institutions within the consortium and are awarded a ‘Double Degree’ when they graduate. EM MCs are prestigious degree programmes used by the European Committee to internationally promote higher education.

New Groningen Education Office in Jakarta, Indonesia

The University of Groningen has launched a pilot project in Indonesia for the representation of the University through local higher education experts. Ms. Ponti Caroline and Ms. Nadia Tehupuring have established the Groningen Education Office in Jakarta, Indonesia, to attract, counsel, and support aspiring University of Groningen students, and to represent the University of Groningen in every possible way. Both Nadia and Ponti have extensive experience working for the Netherlands Education Centre in Jakarta. Their e -mail address is: info groningeneduoffice.com.

International Research

Street view in Spitsbergen

The Groningen biologist Maarten Loonen has created his own version of Street View in the research village Ny Alesund. With the help of about 3,000 photos and dozens of videos, you can participate in the life of this small research village far above the Arctic Circle on Spitsbergen. The Ny Alesund Street View can be seen on the website of the Dutch Polar Station, where Maarten Loonen is also keeping a blog of his work and experiences in and around Ny Alesund, that he updates almost daily.  

University of Groningen alumni also in the Arctic

On 24 August, a group of 30 alumni set out from Schiphol Airport to the island of Spitsbergen. In this region, the Arctic Centre of the University of Groningen has been conducting archaeological, biological and climatological research since the late seventies, under the supervision of prof. dr. Louwrens Hacquebord. There are few areas in the world that rouse the spirit as much as the polar regions, rogued and spacious as they are, and steeped in history of perseverant explorers and entrepreneurs. > more

Alumni Affairs

Our new international alumni officer, Carina Bravo, introduces herself

Alumni support the University of Groningen

More and more alumni are seeing the University as a good cause and are becoming donors to the Ubbo Emmius Fund. This Fund raises money for special academic research and teaching as well as for grants for talented students from developing countries – via the Eric Bleumink Fund.

A fundraising campaign among alumni this spring raised over EUR 35,000. In addition, the Ubbo Emmius Fund received over EUR 1 million in bequests. Various activities were also organized by students and staff, such as a benefit evening at student association Albertus Magnus (EUR 2,500), a collection during a concert by the Swedish Royal Academy Orchestra in the Martinikerk (EUR 500) and the retirement of Prof. Ton Schoot Uiterkamp as professor of environmental studies (EUR 2,300). Would you like to support the University too? Take a look at www.rug.nl/uef.

The University of Groningen will shortly be starting a fundraising campaign among its international alumni.

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