United Nations University-MERIT

🎓 Last week we marked the closing ceremony of the MPP Class of 2025–2026. As students now prepare for graduation and consider their next steps, we take a moment to reflect on the year that brought them here.

It was a demanding year that challenged students and encouraged them to challenge one another. The cohort came together from across the world to engage with some of the key issues shaping public policy while learning from one another along the way. The friendships they formed and the ideas they shared will travel with them long after they leave Maastricht. They leave with a shared commitment to creating positive change through public policy.

🔗 Read our reflections on the MPP Class of 2025–2026: https://go.unu.edu/N0wN1

TOMORROW: 💭 Why do some migration stories shape public debate while others remain unseen?

Lorenzo Piccoli (European University Institute) will discuss how migration narratives influence public understanding and policy decisions.

The seminar introduces the idea of selective visibility and examines how films communication campaigns and migration research shape the way migration is presented to the public. Migration is often portrayed through stories of border crossings crisis and humanitarian suffering. Other common forms of mobility such as labour migration, family reunification and South–South migration receive far less attention.

What happens when only certain migration stories are seen? How does this shape migration policy and governance?

📅 24 June 2026 | 16:00 CEST
📍 Online (Zoom)
🔗 Learn more and register: https://go.unu.edu/r5NbR

🌱 Today, our Summer School on Digital and Green Transitions returns to Maastricht for its third edition, organised in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and supported by the European Union's initiative.

Over the next five days, government officials and policymakers from around the world come together around a simple question: can the digital and green transitions succeed together, or does each come at the other's cost? Through lectures and open discussion, participants will weigh that question against one another's experience, across very different contexts.

We are delighted to have them with us and look forward to a week of shared learning.

Migration is one of the most debated issues of our time, yet public debate is often driven more by myth than evidence. What actually drives people to move? Who migrates, and who doesn't? And what are the real impacts on origin and destination countries?

This summer, How Migration Really Works: Exploring the Myths and Realities of Migration at Maastricht Summer School, Maastricht University gives you the analytical tools to answer these questions. Taught by Prof.Dr. Melissa Siegel: Migration Expert. and drawing on the work of Hein de Haas, the course examines the forces that shape migration and explores key debates on patterns, drivers, and impacts.

📍 Maastricht, the Netherlands
📅 27 July – 1 August 2026
🎓 2 ECTS

➡️ Learn more and apply: https://go.unu.edu/iX6zM

Digital transformation is not only about expanding connectivity. It is about ensuring that people can use and benefit from digital technologies, and that the policies shaping this transformation are grounded in evidence.

Last week, we welcomed participants from across the globe to Maastricht for the Summer School on Evidence-Based Digital Policies to Achieve Universal and Meaningful Connectivity. Organised in partnership with the Telecommunication Union (ITU) and supported by the European Union's initiative, the programme brought together policymakers, regulators and practitioners working to turn data into better digital policies.

For Jose Montoya from El Salvador's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the programme reinforced the importance of moving from aspirations for digital inclusion to policymaking based on evidence, measurement and evaluation.

Read here ⬇️
https://go.unu.edu/t6GD6

Congratulations to the MPP Class of 2026! 🎓

We wish our graduates every success for what comes next.

📸 Photos by Herman Pijpers

A pleasure to host representatives from the Education Section of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Netherlands this week.

The delegation met with Director Fiona Tregenna, Elaine Lebon-McGregor and Lili Wang to learn more about our work and discuss future collaboration. The visit also provided an opportunity to meet recipients of China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholarships studying at the institute.

Thank you for the visit and the productive exchange. We look forward to continuing the conversation and building on this cooperation in the future.

Can entrepreneurship drive structural transformation across Africa?

Erik Stam (Utrecht University) presents research on what enables transformative entrepreneurship to drive structural transformation across Africa. Drawing on a unique dataset and the Africa Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index, the seminar examines the factors that support long-term economic change across the continent.

📅 15 June 2026 | 12:00–13:00 CEST
📍 Maastricht & Online

🔗 Learn more: https://go.unu.edu/PdK1L

Can AI help turn data into better policy decisions?

As the volume of data available to governments and organisations continues to grow, artificial intelligence is becoming an important tool for policy research and decision-making.

This two-hour interactive seminar will look at how AI can help make sense of large amounts of information and turn it into policy-relevant evidence. Participants will gain a practical introduction to how AI tools can support research and the communication of findings for policy.

📍 Online
📅 30 June 2026 | 12:00–14:00 CEST

🔗 Learn more and register: https://go.unu.edu/MmYmV

Developed jointly with colleagues from United Nations University - EHS and United Nations University Institute in Macau

📍 Welcome to Maastricht!

Today marks the start of the Summer School on Evidence-Based Digital Policies to Achieve Universal and Meaningful Connectivity, organised in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and supported by the European Union's initiative.

Over the next five days, participants from across the globe will work with experts to strengthen their understanding of digital policy and the use of evidence in expanding meaningful connectivity. We are delighted to have them here and look forward to a week of learning and exchange.