The African Studies Centre Leiden’s Research Programme for 2025-2029 is called ‘African Trajectories: Past Dependencies and New Directions’. Building on its former programme, it extends the recognition of Africa’s pivotal role in world affairs. The continent’s global significance has become increasingly…

The project aims at contributing to the safeguarding of Palestinian cultural heritage and the enhancement of economic situation through tourism development, by presenting and managing one of the most important archaeological resources, the archaeological site of Tell Balata.

Managers in the public and semi-public sector work in an increasingly complex and unpredictable environment, which demands new knowledge and competences but also offers tremendous opportunities. This was the view presented by Zeger van der Wal, professor by special appointment in Public Administration…

The CADS Asia Research Cluster extends the legacy of the Institute’s Asia focus into the future, as an important hub in international networks on the study of Asia and through active engagement with colleagues in Asia. Within the Institute the Asia Research Cluster offers a platform for anthropologists…

By comparing the archaeological evidence at Sedgeford and other sites located on both English and Continental coastal zones, what evidence is there for a shared maritime culture between these North Sea communities? Also if evidence is found, can we reveal to some extent a separate coastal identity to…

This part of the research programme is carried out by Prof. Dr. René Cappers. It focusses on the continuities and changes in the use of plants at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, as well as on their implications as proxy evidence for the climate change c. 6200 BC. Parallel to the design of the other…

With effect from 1 September, Dirkje Schinkelshoek, M.A., will succeed Gert-Jan van Helden, M.A., as member of the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Science in the position of portfolio holder for Operational Management.

Serious forms of anxiety concerning other people’s opinions can hinder teenagers at school in social interactions or carrying out tasks. Psychologist Anne Miers is looking for ways to reduce this so-called ‘social anxiety’.

On September 10th 2019 Bart Custers, professor of Law & Data Science at eLaw, was invited by the Committee for Infrastructure and Water Management of the Dutch parliament. In a round table discussion, this committee of the House of Representatives wanted to discuss the access to public transport data…

Great news! Leiden University ended up as 7th most sustainable university in the world, according to Green Metric. Meaning, that Leiden University moved one place up in the rankings. In this memo, participation in this ranking is evaluated, points for improvement are given and an ambition suggestion…

On Wednesday, 5 September 2018, the second group of employees of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) started the managerial track of the Data Science course given by Leiden University (LCDS).

This year, the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) attended the first days of the 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

On 17 October 2019, the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management organised a first stakeholders meeting on microfibers from textile in the LEF Future Center. The meeting was prompted by a report of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in April of this…

Recently a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) - Leiden University and the Mulawarman university in Samarinda, Kalimatan province, Indonesia. The MOU will be effective for a period of five years and covers the intention to collaborate in…

The Executive Board and Management Board of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency will meet from 13 to 15 December, with Rick Lawson as Acting Chair.

The world is becoming increasingly digitised, and the information one has easy access to is often rather overwhelming. In particular, the accumulative nature of the archaeological practice has resulted in huge quantities of data being produced. But how to prevent these from becoming dust-collectors…

Jeroen Wolbers is Assistant Professor of Crisis Governance at the Institute for Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University. In the coming 4 years, Jeroen will study command tactics during sudden-onset crisis operations with his Veni grant. He will investigate how crisis managers can deal with fr…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Prof.dr. F.F.S. van der Tak (RUG)

A global outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) caused issues today with our video conferencing software and video management platform. This resulted in: For the video conferencing software: Problems with joining meetings and group chats. For the video management platform: Delays in transcription and…

You pour a scoop of ditch water in the DNA scanner, and voilà: you know exactly which plants and animals the ditch accommodates. Well, it is not that simple yet, but according to PhD candidate Kevin Beentjes, we can already use DNA techniques to monitor the quality of freshwater. For his PhD research,…

Isotopic insights on human diet from the later stone age to Neolithic in Northwest Africa, Morocco

Global Challenges is the research programme of the Leiden Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology.

Plastics have become an integral part of modern society due to their versatility and durability.

This thesis investigates the application of deep learning techniques in image analysis across various domains, focusing on four main themes: feature extraction, classification, segmentation, and integration, demonstrating the transformative potential of these technologies.

Human impact and plant subsistence in Dutch wetlands during the Late Mesolithic and Early and Middle Neolithic (5500-3400 cal BC)

Promotors: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Prof.dr. H. Leirs (Univ. Antwerpen), Co-promotor: H.H. de Iongh

One of the key objectives of The Europe Hub is to bring together scholars and students with a joint interest in the European Union. To this end, The Europe Hub regularly organises events such as conferences, roundtables, lectures and book launches.

This omnibus brings together some old and some recent works by Jos Gommans on the warhorse and its impact on medieval and early modern state-formation in South Asia.

This volume sees the publication of fifty-six early Old Babylonian letters from ca. 1880 BCE. They were found by legendary Iraqi archaeologist Taha Baqir in 1941 at the site of Tell ed-Dēr, ancient Sippar-Amnānum, in central Iraq.

Promotores: Prof. dr. G.R. (Geert) de Snoo, Dr. E. (Ester) van der Voet

Living labs make it possible for citizens to participate in research for sustainable development of their environment. This way citizens, together with scientists and stakeholders, create local conditions for food production, healthy environment, and biodiversity.

How do technological systems impact the environment? And can they be designed in a more sustainable way? The Resources and Energy research program studies the importance of resources and energy for our society and aims to guide the shift towards a sustainable circular economy.

The department of World Archaeology combines research and education about regions all over the world, from Human Origins to the Middle Ages, and from Europe, to Asia, Africa and the America’s. That broad range in time and space makes the department a dynamic pluriform community with many different approaches,…

In contemporary India, the regional state of West Bengal has often been perceived as somewhat of an aberration in the wider context of a rather chaotic democracy, as the Left Front (spearheaded by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, CPIM) demonstrated a rare instance of political stability, decisively…

It is well-known that humans have significantly transformed ecosystems since their adoption of agriculture. However, in a deeper past, prehistoric hunter-gatherers may already have altered and modified their niche in ways that had major impacts on ecosystems.

Promotores: E. van Dijk, G.R. de Snoo. Co-promotor: H. Staats

Microwear and starch grain analysis on experimental and archaeological grinding tools from Central

“JARAK: the commoditization of an alternative biofuel crop in Indonesia” was a research program from 2010-2014 in which researchers from Indonesia and the Netherlands collaborated.

Conservation of biodiversity is one of the main challenges today. A higher degree of biodiversity results in ecosystems that can withstand adverse conditions and better provide essential ecosystem services. This is the case for both agricultural and natural systems.

'Re-territorialising skills? Insights from ethnography on solidarity-economy food activism' is written by Cristina Grasenni and published in the Special Feature: Original Article Agriculture (re‐)territorialisation: Balancing the promotion of local products and international trade in Europe.

Today, 189 out of 193 officially recognised nation-states have a written constitution, and 75% of these have been ratified since 1975. How did this worldwide diffusion of constitutions come about?

As a non-invasive genetic method, eDNA based approaches have become an important component of ecologists' and environmental managers' toolkits for biomonitoring in conservation and an increasingly important source of ecological knowledge.

Tero Alstola defended his thesis on 21 December 2017

NIMAR facilitates and stimulates research and cooperation between the Netherlands, Morocco and third countries on the basis of equal partnership.

The recently introduced nature-originated deep eutectic solvents, so-called natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are considered as truly green solvents, which composed of natural ingredients found abundantly in organisms.

The Human Origins group at Leiden University studies the archaeology of hunter-gatherers, from the earliest stone tools in East Africa, more than three million years old, to the origin of sedentary societies towards the end of the last ice age.

With a Master of Statistics & Data Science you have good job perspectives: statisticians and data scientists are highly sought after in various industries such as food and pharmaceutic industry, in governmental organizations, and in healthcare. Qualification to become a PhD candidate is a definite…

The Faculties of Leiden University have developed several themes for research cooperation between Leiden University and its Indonesian partners.