How many children are born with the help of a surrogate mother in the Netherlands, and which legal obstacles can arise? Through a new interdisciplinary study, researchers at Leiden University are attempting to provide clarity about surrogacy processes.

Panel discussion

Sixteen researchers at Leiden University are to receive a Veni grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). These awards offer promising young researchers the opportunity to further develop their own ideas over a period of three years.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many staff of Leiden institutes abroad to leave their posts in a hurry. How is the KITLV Jakarta team doing now? Director Marrik Bellen talks about the turbulent times for this Leiden institute and its staff. And can we learn anything from the Indonesian approach?

The relationship between academia and democracy is a complicated one. Should policy makers listen to scientists or to citizens? That is the dilemma Valérie Pattyn and Johan Christensen will discuss with a panel of experts during the academic conference EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF).

50 years ago Lauterbur published the basic principle of MRI. Sine then MRI has become more expensive. Professor Andrew Webb describes what is needed to make MRI available for everybody.

On 12 January ten driven lecturers obtained their Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO). Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl congratulated them in the Academy Building. We asked three of them how the SKO programme had benefitted them, what they think ‘good teaching’ is and what makes them so passionate about…

To inhibit proteins that contribute to the growth of aggressive cancer cells, that’s the plan of Professor Bob van de Water and his team. They will receive over 700,000 euros from the KWF Dutch Cancer Society for their research. Researcher Maaike Vreeswijk and pathologist Danielle Cohen are affiliated…

Three Leiden professors have recently been awarded the most prestigious scientific accolade in the Netherlands: Maria Yazdanbakhsh and Marc Koper have been awarded a Spinoza Prize and Judi Mesman a Stevin Prize. They received their prizes on 13 October.

Each year on or around International Women’s Day, the university hosts the Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture. You are welcome to attend − even if you wouldn't call yourself a feminist, says professor and organiser Nadine Akkerman. ‘You get the best discussions with a diverse audience.’

The Lorentz Center is a melting pot that is visited by researchers from around the world. ‘Miracles happen’ during the five-day interactive workshops at the Center. And there is an extra reason to celebrate the center’s 25th anniversary. On 28 April, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and Leiden University…

Collaboration is worthwhile. A joint LUMC and Leiden Law School project has received €142,500 from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant will advance research into the law and ethics of regenerative medicine.

Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have successfully used stem cell gene therapy to treat a baby with the severe congenital immune disorder SCID. An important milestone: it is the first time stem cell gene therapy of Dutch origin has been administered to a patient, and also…

The LUMC, Leiden University and The Hague University of Applied Sciences want to help health professionals support behaviour change in the population. Such change would help people live healthier lives and reduce their risk of disease. The Municipality of The Hague is supporting this educational project…

Would you like to organise a session during the biggest multidisciplinary event in Europe - the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) conference - to be held in Leiden from 13 to 16 July 2022? If so, send us your proposal! Archaeologist Corinne Hofman is one of the driving forces behind the conference and…

We are proud to share that Hadassah Drukarch, a graduate of our Advanced LL.M. in Law and Digital Technologies (class of 2022-2023), has been honored with the prestigious 2023 Brinkhof Internet Thesis Award for her thesis research that explores the intricate interplay between data protection regulation…

A growing number of AI tools are being developed for the legal sector, to help professionals search lengthy texts or check court rulings. Leiden SAILS researcher Masha Medvedeva, an expert on the technical development of these systems, warns: ‘Users should know what’s under the hood.’

Professor of Psychiatry Anne Speckens studied medicine in Leiden and did her psychiatry training there too. She opened the Radboudumc Center for Mindfulness in Nijmegen. What does she do there and how does she look back on her time as a student?

How can you persuade researchers who are used to conducting research within clearly defined disciplines to adopt an interdisciplinary approach? Newly appointed distinguished professor Arnold Tukker explained.

Nanoplastics can accumulate in developing hearts, according to a study by biologist Meiru Wang from Leiden University. Her research on chicken embryos sheds new light on how these tiny plastic particles pose a threat to our health.

Armed with sunglasses, a thick layer of sunscreen and several bottles of water, over 3,300 students have arrived in Leiden for their introduction week. The start of the 55th EL CID happened to be on the hottest day of the year.

The ambitions of the Dutch Recognition & Rewards programme are widely supported by academics at Leiden University. This is one of the findings from the first Culture Barometer survey, carried out in early 2024.

Search engines are getting better at answering our questions. And chatbots are increasingly likely to search the internet for relevant sources. ‘Search engines and chatbots will become more closely entwined’, says Professor Suzan Verberne.

Conference

Career development

Arts and culture

An impressive 21 research projects by Leiden researchers have been awarded Veni funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Conference

Public agencies are keen to use new technology such as AI to speed up their primary processes. But the internal organisation is often a major stumbling block. SAILS researcher Friso Selten conducts research at the interface between data science and public administration.

The SAILS conference The Future of AI is Here (and Guess What … it’s Human) brought together researchers and policy makers to discuss the important issues in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). Where are the opportunities and what are the dangers?

The Dutch universities as a whole are lobbying for a 'normal' academic year from the end of August, where on-campus teaching will be possible. It's a view that Leiden University shares. Rector Hester Bijl talks about what teaching will be like then. She also looks back on a year of lockdown.

AI is already widely being used in HR processes, but it’s unclear whether these applications contribute to fair and inclusive decision making. Leiden researcher Carlotta Rigotti is involved in BIAS, a big consortium research project that aims to provide answers and develop a new, trustworthy AI app…

Speaking with your manager more often, focusing explicitly on well-being and giving more recognition and rewards for teamwork and team performance: the annual Performance & Development (P&D) interview will have a new format and also a new name. With the acronym GROW (Gesprekken over Resultaat, Ontwikkeling…

Symposium | Leiden2022

Conversation

Study information

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

Should Leiden University cut its ties with the fossil fuel industry forthwith? This was the main question in a debate between students and staff. The answer was clearer for some than for others.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will retire on 8 February. If there’s one theme running through his career, it’s the links between the University and society. In this series of pre-retirement discussions, Stolker will talk one last time to people from within and without the University. In this edition…

Lecture

447th Dies Natalis

A delegation from Leiden University recently embarked on a knowledge mission to various NGOs, universities and government organisations in Indonesia. New partnerships were formed and important knowledge exchanged, and researchers from Leiden gave guest lectures.

Conference

Conference, Education Festival 2022

Festival

University ceremony