How to deal with the most challenging design question of your life: what do I want to be when I grow up? The ‘Designing Your Life’ method teaches students how to craft their own future. The project will start next academic year, thanks to a Comenius grant. ‘Everyone interested should be able to borrow…

Cognitive neuroscience gives us a glimpse into our brain activity; it allows us to learn more about ourselves. Or do brain scans actually not say very much about who we are? Philosopher Annemarie van Stee examines four myths about neuroscience and self-understanding.

Gravitation programme grant Co-applicants Bernet Elzinga en Andrea Evers are two of the captains of the six teams, all led by main applicant Anita Jansen, Maastricht University.

Israel was ordered to take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. Giulia Pinzauti, an expert on state conflicts and humanitarian law, explains the significance of the case, the specific details of the ruling and what we can expect to happen next.

Three professors voice their concerns about a vulnerable group in our society: children who come into contact with youth care.

‘‘Stop focusing on the money and start creating a heart for Europe’’ This Friday, the 29th of April, Bernard Steunenberg and his co-authors will launch their book ‘Fit for the Future’. We spoke with him about issues presented in the book, the EU Presidency and why people should read the book.

Two colleagues have each received a prestigious Vidi grant. We spoke to criminologist and Associate Professor Hilde Wermink, and Eduard Fosch Villaronga, Associate Professor of eLaw, about what this grant means to them and their research plans.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro called the COVID-19 disease “a minor illness”. With more than 200.000 confirmed corona cases today (May 18) however, Brazil is quickly becoming one of the world’s emerging coronavirus hot spots. How long can Bolsonaro continue to downplay the corona crisis? We asked…

How has evolution shaped our curiosity? And how does that curiosity ensure that we now have the technological ability to discover whether we are alone in the universe? This was all covered during the celebration of Leiden University’s 449th Dies Natalis.

A safe haven for students, more bicultural staff and more powers for diversity officers. In a national expert meeting at Campus The Hague, administrators, diversity officers, students and staff discussed urgently needed measures.

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.

Controversial environmental organisation Sea Shepherd fights illegal fishing all around the world and is not afraid to take direct action. Alumnus Geert Vons is director of Sea Shepherd Netherlands. How does he look back on his degree in Chinese Studies, and what motivates him in his work? ‘If we don’t…

The genetic code of the new coronavirus has been found: it is closely related to the SARS virus from 2003. Professor of Molecular Virology, Eric Snijder, has been researching coronaviruses for years. We asked him a few questions about the outbreak. ‘It’s still unclear whether this new virus is more…

Studying with an app and exploratory learning in large groups. Two educational innovations that will be possible thanks to the Comenius Programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Chemist Ludo Juurlink and Professor of Science Education Fred Janssen from the Leiden Graduate…

The increasing Technological opportunities of Virtual Reality (VR) increasingly resemble the real world (and more). In Japan VR holidays are very popular and VR porn is emerging.

What does it mean to be in a Dutch prison? What is true about the prejudices about being in jail? Criminologist Marieke Liem has released a podcast on Dutch national broadcaster NPO Radio 1: Hotel met tralies.

Every year in the Netherlands, thousands of children are placed in out-of-home care because their parents are unable to look after them properly or because the children are at risk.

Every year, the city of The Hague and its partners organise the Peace Run. This year a mixed team of staff and students from the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) will take part! The aim of the Peace Run (a 5 or 10km run linking various peace related institutions in the city) is to raise…

Dennis Broeders has been appointed 'Global Chair' at the University of Bath for the year 2023-2024.

As of February, Pepijn Reeser steps down as the project director of the Taalmuseum (the Language Museum). Exhibition designer and project manager Tessa Askamp takes over his role.

Last week Saturday LUC hosted a Symposium about Brexit for students and alumni. Many interesting perspectives were shared by the speakers, as well as comments and questions from the public.

The sixth book in the Business & Law Research Network series, 'Veilig voor de melder' (Safe for the whistleblower), is about the Implementation Test of the Whistleblower Protection Act (Wbk). Professors Yvonne Erkens and Harold Koster received a copy of the book.

Music venue TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht has decided to ban camera glasses following an incident last month. Bart Schermer, Professor of Law and Digital Technologies, spoke to BNR Nieuwsradio about the legal grounds for such a ban.

Prevention measures against corona are strictly enforced on board the train. In the aviation industry, however, it seems as if the rules that still apply on the train no longer apply to the aviation industry. Does the aviation industry have too much power?

On 18 March 2019, Gökmen Tanis shot three people in a tram in Utrecht. He shot a fourth victim after exiting the tram on the 24 Oktoberplein. On 1 July, the criminal trial against Tanis started with presumably only one possible outcome: a life sentence.

As part of its plans to introduce a stricter asylum policy, the Dutch cabinet wants to expand checks at internal borders within the EU. Professor of Law and Society Maartje van der Woude tells Dutch daily newspaper NRC that this is a symbolic measure: ‘Border checks will not counter the right to seek…

Almost two weeks after the general elections in the Netherlands, negotiations between the leaders of the four parties who were expected to form a new coalition government are still not going smoothly. Ronald Plasterk, appointed as ‘scout’ to explore possible alliances, has said he will need one more…

In the aftermath of the childcare benefits affair in the Netherlands, the treatment of citizens by public authorities is more often a subject of discussion. This also applies to the period within which citizens can lodge an objection to a government decision.

Het rapport van de Commissie Sorgdrager naar aanleiding van de Hawija-zaak, wijst uit dat Defensie niet transparant is over eigen fouten. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, bevestigt in Nieuwsuur dat ‘Defensie een patroon laat zien van verkeerd en onjuist informeren van de Tweede Kamer.’

Vanuatu, a Pacific island state vulnerable to rising sea levels and increasingly violent storms, initiated a resolution to be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday 29 March 2023.

Ticketmaster – the largest ticket sales company in the world – is under fire from both consumers and Dutch MPs. The reason is the sale of tickets for the Lowlands festival, where resale tickets are costing at least 100 euros more than the original ticket price of 300 euros. Political parties GroenLinks,…

eLaw colleagues Bart Custers and Helena Ursic have a new publication in the peer-reviewed journal The European Data Protection Law Review.

With a grant from NWO, Thomas Hankemeier will develop new methods to better understand the dynamics of the building blocks of life, such as cells, enzymes, and metabolites. He does this together with the University of Amsterdam and a number of companies.

The Faculty of Humanities is proud to launch its new D&I Calendar for the academic year 2024-2025. This calendar is an effort to build awareness and cultural understanding of important religious holidays and other special observances of the diverse groups within our academic community.

Since 1 November 2022, Brechtje Paijmans is endowed professor of Conflict Resolution and Legal Protection in Education. Dutch trade journal Mr. interviewed her about her appointment.

Nederland Circulair! is organising the week of the circular economy, for the second time. This is a great setting for Leiden University to promote several of the university’s circular initiatives. We will kick off with an initiative by alumna Noortje Schrauwen: Raw material beachcombing.

Where do Humanities alumni work after they graduate? And how should they prepare to enter the labour market? According to three Humanities alumni and their employers, the answer is: ‘Find the biggest challenges the world has to offer – they hold all kinds of possibilities for ambitious people.’

As of 1 September 2024, the cum laude honour will no longer be awarded for the Master’s in Medicine. The Executive Board recently decided to grant an exemption to the Leiden University/LUMC Faculty of Medicine. This decision is in line with other medicine programmes in the Netherlands.

Amazing discoveries by Jean Jacques Hublin of Early modern Humans in Morocco.

On 8 July 2021, The Francophone Association of Ombudspersons (L’Association des Ombudsmans et des Médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF)) launched their online course platform (CLOM) and training course 'Faire vivre les droits de l’enfant: des clés pour l’action'.

The United Nations fall short in their recently published guide to address hunger without surpassing the 1.5-degree climate threshold. This initial version is a significant step, according to a group of researchers including those of Leiden University. However, they miss an essential topic: reducing…

The Faculty of Humanities is proud to launch its new D&I Calendar for the academic year 2023-2024. This calendar is an effort to build awareness and cultural understanding of important religious holidays and other special observances of the diverse groups within our academic community.

In May 2018, Malek F. stabbed three people in The Hague. According to Malek F., he was told by a ‘big bird’ in the sky to randomly stab people. His lawyers registered a plea of insanity with the court because of his mental condition. In the end, the court sentenced Malek F. to involuntary commitment…

From 26 to 30 June 2017 a summer course on Europeanisation of administrative law in the Member States of the European Union will be held by the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

In a recent Physics World podcast, PhD candidate Felix Frohnert from Leiden University explains how his team uncovered hidden connections in scientific literature by using machine learning routines. With this information, it’s possible to predict promising new research ideas in quantum physics. Listen…

FIFA's new rules were introduced after the Diarra case in which a footballer wanted to unilaterally terminate his contract while it was still running. Stefaan Van den Bogaert, Professor of European Law, says in Dutch RTL news that he believes the new rules are ‘too restrictive’.

In SustainaBul, 16 higher education institutions are ranked on sustainability each year. Leiden University has managed to keep its fifth place. A good position, but with room for improvement.

I would like to start with my “personal safety risk”. In the last years I noticed it is becoming more accepted to listen to music using earphones in the hallways, offices and laboratories. But how does this affect our safety and should we accept this?

Tuesday May 24th, the LACDR Annual Spring Symposium was held.

Minister Silvania of Curaçao has announced that Germaine Rekwest, who was awarded a PhD from Leiden University in September, will support him on treaty policy for Curaçao. The minister announced this in his travel report.