Scientists regularly appear in the media. They participate in science cafés, write a popular-science book or visit school classes. In that way, they want to convey their knowledge and enthusiasm to society. But do they succeed? To answer that question, a new website is launched, with a toolbox full…

Professor Jasper Knoester has been appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University. He will take up the role on 1 January 2022. Knoester is currently Dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering at the University of Groningen. He succeeds Paul Wouters (Dean of the Faculty of Social and…

Een orang-oetan lacht niet gauw hard om een video waarin een soortgenoot dat ook doet. Een peuter doet het meer dan een volwassene, een Japanner weer iets minder. Chris Riddell leerde uit zijn vele experimenten ook dat geduld loont. Hij promoveert 16 september.

On International Women’s Day 2020, the first edition of the Leiden Top 50 was revealed, a list of 50 women who made a difference in Leiden in 2019. Among them three women from our Faculty: Martina Vijver, Felienne Hermans and Irene Groot.

From 14 to 29 PhD candidates, seven actively involved faculties and, above all, lots of innovative interdisciplinary research, all with data science as the common denominator. The university’s Data Science Research Programme (DSO) has proven so successful that after five years on a start-up grant it…

On 9 October 2023, Carlotta Rigotti and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga participated in the BIAS webinar on citizen science and AI technologies, namely the first awareness-raising activity of the Horizon Europe BIAS project. They discussed online citizens’ engagement on tackling gender and intersectional biases…

PhD students Alex Brandsen and Wouter Verschoof-van der Vaart are both doing a project within the university’s Data Science research programme. The are introducing terms like ‘text mining’ and ‘advanced machine learning’ into archaeology. ‘These techniques will make archaeology more efficient and ch…

A film and quiz at the Old Observatory, a film whose ending you decide or a political satire in The Hague. These are some of the options at Science & Cinema, the 444 edition, a special programme during LIFF, the Leiden International Film Festival.

Dutch politics has long been a paragon of stability. Think, for example, of our party system until, say, the last decade. At the same time, we also see occasional changes and significant shifts. Society has changed and this is reflected in, among other things, how we vote and how policy is made. About…

In September 2017 the Institute of Political Science (Leiden University) will launch a new bachelor’s programme: International Relations and Organisations (IRO). It will taught in English and be based in the city of The Hague. The three-year IRO programme is aimed at international, as well as internationally-oriented…

Professor Mariska Kret has received the Mercator Sapiens Stimulus, a new science prize from the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW). The prize consists of a sum of 1m euros.

Professor Annemieke Aartsma-Rus from Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) has received the Ammodo Science Award for her research into the muscular disease Duchenne.

The MSc Life Science & Technology receives a bronze medal in EW Best Studies 2023. Every year, Elsevier selects the top programmes in higher education. A medal means that students are above-average satisfied with the quality of their programme.

Dr Irene Groot (LIC) has been appointed professor of Surface and Interface Science with effect from 1 March. The appointment is an honour for Groot. 'It feels like recognition of your research, teaching and leadership qualities.'

Alongside several other authors, Guus Kroonen, University Lecturer in Linguistics, published an article in the well-renowned academic journal Science Magazine. The article,

Is it acceptable for an algorithm to make mistakes? Quinten Meertens investigated this at Leiden University and the UvA and has been nominated with his research for the prestigious Christiaan Huygens Science Prize. The winner will be announced on 11 October. In April, Meertens received his doctorate…

The Executive Board has appointed Professor Hubertus Irth as Interim Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University. Professor Irth will take up his post on 15 September 2019, replacing Geert de Snoo, who has been appointed as Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW).

The Leiden Science Run 2019 is dedicated to Scholars at Risk, a programme of the UAF, an organisation for refugee students. This programme offers endangered scientists a temporary opportunity to continue their research work in a safe academic environment.

Out of fifteen Senior Teaching Qualification certificates (SKO) awarded by the University this year, four go to the Faculty of Science. With congratulations from Rector Hester Bijl, the enthusiastic lecturers receive the certificate for their exceptional commitment, skills and impact within the Univ…

Each year, Latin American diplomats meet the researchers and students from Leiden University who specialise in their region. This year, they visited the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. ‘The social and behavioural sciences have improved our understanding of social unrest.’

Math girls Jeanine Daems and Ionica Smeets have received the Mr. K.J. Cath prize during the opening of the academic year in Leiden.

In what way is constructivist logic able to account for both the role of the judging agent in inference and the universal claims of logical validity?

Writing a master’s thesis in Political Science is a demanding yet rewarding journey. Every year, students deliver impressive research that showcases their analytical skills and academic rigor. This year, one thesis stood out for its exceptional quality. On 31 October 2025, during the master’s graduation…

Movement behaviours, such as physical activity, sleep, and the amount of time we sit each day, impact our health. Recently, more researchers are looking at the influence of these behaviours combined, but this is a challenging task. For example, it is difficult to monitor in what way movement behaviours…

This book discusses theories of crisis management and the radical right, to shed light on how responses to crisis influence radical right parties in their presence, discourse, and evolution. The book offers a comparative perspective by examining case studies with various traditions of radical right…

An international research team consisting of Katharina Riebel as leading PI and two international collaborators were awarded a Human Frontier Science Program grant for their proposal ‘Seeing voices’: the role of multimodal cues in vocal learning.

Morning yoga, having your resumé checked at the information market, or dancing for inclusiveness: just a small selection of the activities of the first Science PhD Day on Thursday 18 April. Around 120 PhD candidates from all eight institutes of our faculty attended the day. 'A great success', according…

For her research into migration policy under different political regimes, Katharina Natter has been awarded the Gratama Science Prize for young, talented researchers.

Ever did something for the first time and got an award for it? Sabine Wenzel did. Her research about the surface of zinc oxide won her the Surface Science Young Investigator award.

The Environmental Sciences Research Prize 2012 has been awarded to CML researcher David Font Vivanco by the Environmental Scientists Association of Catalonia.

In relational databases you can store information and data without losing the relationships between those data. They are therefore useful tools for computer scientists. There is, however, a gap between the relational database research community and data scientists. This leads to inefficient use of databases…

Professor Michiel Kreutzer has been appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University. He will take up the role on 1 January 2020. At present, he is Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Director of Education at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Delft University of Technology.…

Are you a frontrunner at your faculty when it comes to Open Science, or do you want to be? Do you like organising workshops?

The Faculty of Science of Leiden University and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) signed an exchange agreement on Tuesday. This Erasmus+ student mobility agreement allows all students of the Faculty of Science and DTU students to follow courses at both universities from September 2017 on.

Starting 1 September, three new Programme Directors will begin at FWN. Daan van der Es, Reinout van Weeren, and Amineh Ghorbani will each be responsible for a master's programme in our faculty.

Vegetarian cafés/ Vegetarische cafés

In the Dutch EenVandaag-article 'Waarom we nog altijd beter luisteren naar witte mannen en hoe we dit kunnen veranderen' (Why we continue to listen more carefully to white men and how we can change this) cultural anthropologist Jasmijn Rana (Leiden University) and Jens van Tricht (author and founder…

Researchers from Leiden University have investigated the living conditions of Dutch fighters in Syria. Their report is central to a panel discussion on Tuesday, 24 May.

Vacature (vrijwillig/stage)! 💬 Jij gaat het klimaat centraal zetten tijdens de verkiezingen van maart 2021. 📈

De deadline voor de scriptieprijs van de Stichting tot Gedachtenis is verlengd tot 4 januari

Leiden research into the properties of platinum receives a TOP subsidy of 780.000 euros from the The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO. Aim of the project is a more efficient and sustainable use of the rare metal.

Met de H.E. van Gelder Onderzoeksbeurs wordt beoogd interdisciplinair onderzoek naar munten, bankbiljetten en penningen van een impuls te voorzien. De beurs heeft een waarde van € 10.000 en stelt de onderzoeker (m/v) in de gelegenheid een publicatie voor te bereiden en aan de hand daarvan vervolgonderzoek…

Course

Op dinsdag 10 januari 2022 zijn tijdens de facultaire nieuwjaarsreceptie de jaarlijkse Meijersprijzen en de scriptieprijzen uitgereikt.

More than 60 European researchers and industry partners have set out their roadmap for the application of graphene in marketed products. Leiden chemist Grégory F. Schneider believes that graphene and other layered materials can in the future be used for DNA sequencing applications.

On 16 September, the Rapenburg canal will be the setting for the Night of Art & Sciences. There will be plenty of things to do, including for international students and staff. We have selected four great acts in advance.

For her research into complex family problems, an assistant professor in Forensic Family and Youth Care Studies Sabine van der Asdonk has won the Gratama Science Prize 2021, a prize for talented young researchers from the universities of Leiden and Groningen. The jury praised Van der Asdonk’s excellent…

The new interdisciplinary bachelor's program in Science for Sustainable Societies starts in the 2025-2026 academic year.