Saturday, 21 April   The majority of today was spent writing the various policy proposals. Participants had a tight final deadline that they had to stick to but luckily all managed to make it! As a reward for their hard work, the evening was spent eating, drinking and socialising late into the night. In the morning, Breaking Maas came to…

Friday, 20 April   Today the sun continued to shine on SFM 2018 as participants continued the work on their policy proposals. Participants could be found all over the campus working intently in smaller groups and there were even some teambuilding games in the garden. The second lot of policy experts came to speak with the working groups, and after…

Thursday, 19 April   Today was the first full day of SFM 2018, a day filled with productive working group activity. Each of the policy groups first had a visit from their European Commission representative, which all participants found hugely valuable. Then, in the afternoon after another delicious meal, the first policy experts came to give an “on the ground”…

Wednesday, 18 April 2018   SFM 2018 Kick-off! Today, we welcomed our participants in the new UM Campus in Brussels. After the Coordinators Emma Gollhardt and Joost Verbeek held their opening speech, we held our first dinner together and got to know each other. The evening ended with a highlight, which was our opening panel debate about the limitations of Common…

On Wednesday, the conference started of with a very interesting debate about the limitations of Common Foreign Security Policy in the EU. The panel debate was enriched by the contrasting views of our four speakers:   Dr. Roberta N. Haar Associate Professor and Research Director, University College Maastricht   Dr. Haar holds a PhD in International Relations from Penn State University.…

Our Topic Managers drafted four interesting EU topics for #SFM2018!   Boosting Digital Skills in the EU Preventing Extremism and Radicalization East and West Relationships Rewarding Pharmaceutical Innovation in the EU   During our conference (18 – 22 April 2018) you will discuss one of the topics above together with a qualified group of international students, tutors and experts in…

Last but not least, meet our PR and Communications team, made up of Antonia (left) and Theresa (right). These two are responsible for maintaining SFM’s social media channels and for spreading the word about the great work SFM does and how to get involved. During the conference itself, they will be taking photos, videos, live streaming and much more, so…

Next up…. please welcome our External Relations team, Jan and Lijuan! They are the ones responsible for contacting our partner organisations and organising the opening ceremony and evening programme of the conference. LIJUAN KLASSEN Hello everyone, I am Lijuan Klassen and as this years External Relations officers Jan and I will strain ourselves to organize an interesting and worthwhile panel…

We are sure you have heard of the saying “money makes the world go round”. Well, this is where our two Finance Managers, Felix Thießen (left) and Pierre Seraphin (right), come in. They provide the essential role of ensuring SFM’s financial future and it is with their hard work in securing funding that the conference is allowed to take place.…

Meet William, who will organise everything that is needed for the well-being of the participants and a smooth course of the conference. See why he is passionate to work for SFM2018: WILLIAM DELLOSTRITTO “My name is William, I am 20 and I am currently a Master’s student in European Public Affairs at Maastricht University. This year, as the Organization Manager,…