University of Maastricht in the context of University College Maastricht

An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases honoris causa ("for the sake of the honour") or ad honorem ("to the honour"). The degree is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the academic institution or no previous postsecondary education. An example of identifying a recipient of this award is as follows: Doctorate in Business Administration (Hon. Causa).

The degree is often conferred as a way of honouring a distinguished visitor's contributions to a specific field or to society in general.

Cultured meat, also known as cultivated meat among other names, is a form of cellular agriculture wherein meat is produced by culturing animal cells in vitro. This process involves the molecularly identical growth of animal flesh, outside of a living animal. Cultured meat is produced using tissue engineering techniques pioneered in regenerative medicine. It has been noted for potential to mitigate the impact of meat production on the environment and addressing issues around animal welfare, food security, and human health.

Jason Matheny popularized the concept in the early 2000s after he co-authored a paper on cultured meat production and created New Harvest, the world's first non-profit organization dedicated to in vitro meat research. In 2013, Mark Post created a hamburger patty made from tissue grown outside of an animal; other cultured meat prototypes have gained media attention since. In 2020, SuperMeat opened a farm-to-fork restaurant in Tel Aviv called The Chicken, serving cultured chicken burgers in exchange for reviews to test consumer reaction rather than money; while the "world's first commercial sale of cell-cultured meat" occurred in December 2020 at Singapore restaurant 1880, where cultured chicken manufactured by United States firm Eat Just was sold.