Annemieke Klijn

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: On Expedition – Travels into the Unknown

The Jesuit collection of the University Library in Maastricht houses a collection of over 260,000 volumes, including several hundreds of often lavishly illustrated travel books. The international mind-set of the Jesuits seems to be suitable for the international student population in Maastricht today. To explore the Jesuits’ travel treasures, the authors of this chapter initiated the On Expedition project in 2013 within the framework of the Maastricht Research-Based Learning (MaRBLe) programme and the Honours programme – in close cooperation with the University Library. The aim of this research-based learning project was to link research and teaching in such a way that undergraduate students would be stimulated to do research themselves, preferably as independently as possible. The On Expedition project was strongly student centred. The students had to conduct the research themselves, not only because of didactical principles but, in this particular case, also because initially the two authors did not have very extensive knowledge about this field of research. Therefore, the On Expedition project was a challenging adventure for both students and staff members, as it allowed them to work together in a community of inquiry. This chapter presents an evaluation of the On Expedition project with respect to student-centred learning, the creation of an academic community and societal valorisation.