Francis DeBenedictis is interested in integrating new technologies and "crazy" ideas from science fiction into research. He believes that dreaming big can improve human health.

Frank is doing his Master's studies in Molecular Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and currently working as a research intern at Maastricht University.

Mischa Horninge works at the Columbus Earth center. The center is one of the first large scale initiatives to present the overview effect - the view of the Earth from the orbit or the moon - to visitors. Many astronauts and cosmonauts have reported that something happens to you out there, a shift in world view that is profound and long-lasting. If we saw the earth in the way astronauts do, maybe we would treat the earth differently? Is this the medicine that comes just in time to stir us into action, loving and protecting our planet?

Malgorzata Wilson decided to help people becoming cabin crew when she realised how many are dreaming about this job and that only a few get it. This led her to create a training business where she helps others to pursue an international aviation career.

Arie Van Der Lugt argues that all thinking is abstract and that in every categorisation, you not only win something but you also lose something. He warns against getting lost in abstractions, in stereotyping or in nonsensical reductions. Arie provides us with useful thinking tools for not getting lost in mental space and for becoming less exclusive in our thinking!

The nanobiologist and university professor Peter Peters tells us about a completely new method to cure cancer. He and his team at Maastricht University will make massively tiny organs (or organoids) from healthy and malignant cells and test them on different drugs to find the best drug cocktail for the cancer patient.

Mary Wanjiku Gichuhi who is an international speaker. She shares her experience, lessons learnt as well as practical tools that she has used herself to overcome adversities that will for sure help anyone going through tough times.

Have you ever heard of glossophobia? Our team member Stella Thomassen used to suffer from glossophobia - until something made her take all actions to overcome this fear. In this presentation, Stella tells us how she conquered her fear of public speaking.

Losing her first daughter shortly before she was born was a life-changing event for Oana Cipca. Now she wants to inspire other people to reach their goals by feeling compassion for others in need and tell them how that helped to heal the traumas in her own life.

Oana Cipca runs a successful foundation helping now almost 100 orphans in Romania to discover and develop their own talents, aiming to give them a purpose in life that helps them choose the positive path in their lives and become World’s future leaders, doctors, researchers, and much more.

Renaat Toppets speaks about the T-Rex that we frequently see in front of us and how a personal story made him realize that you never know the whole story behind what happens.

Why do highly-skilled individuals come to the Maastricht region? Why do they want to stay? Or why do they plan to leave again? And how can we make the Euregio Meuse-Rhine more attractive for them? 

These are some of the questions that Julia Reinold tackles in her PhD research at Maastricht University. She also is a true child of this region herself: Julia grew up in the German part of the Euroregion, studied at Maastricht University and is now working there as a researcher. 

Maria Tomai just came back from a six-week stay in Ghana where she researched the topic of solid waste management. Apart from her research, there were many insights that she gained during her stay about the value of personal relationships.

Everybody who has been to a malaria region has slept under a mosquito net. Mosquito nets have saved more than six million lives over the past 15 years. However with the decrease in cases of malaria, people have started finding other uses for their mosquito nets; fishing, for example. Bart Knols has been working on ways to reverse this trend by making mosquito bed nets more attractive. This is where Manchester United comes in.