The infection rate is rising again in the Netherlands, which means it may also be rising among Leiden University’s students and staff. How is the University responding? And what dilemmas is it facing? We spoke to our Rector Magnificus, Chief Security Officer and two other administrators.

Everyone has been watching the attack on Ukraine, a war on the European continent, with a sense of foreboding. It will bring devastation, loss, suffering and worry and it raises questions. With these words, Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl opened the meeting on the war in Ukraine at Wijnhaven on Thursday…

He’s sometimes called Your Safeness. Leiden law alumnus Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet and the driving force behind the Dutch Safety Board, returned to the University yesterday for the symposium ‘A critical safety watchdog?’ to mark his 80th birthday. With a host of dignitaries…

Irene Battisti is the discoverer of the year 2019. The physicist won the C.J. Kok Public Award for her research into microscopy and superconductors.

The Council of Ministers has appointed Jan Willem Erisman, Professor of Environment and Sustainability at Leiden University, as chair of the new Scientific Climate Council (WKR) from 1 March. This council will advise the government on climate policy.

Prof. Dr. Jasper Knoester has been reappointed by the Executive Board of Leiden University as Dean of the Faculty of Science. His second term will run until 1 January 2030. Knoester’s reappointment has broad support within the faculty. His approachable leadership style and people-focused approach have…

Students were able to continue their studies in September 1945 after the University had been closed for several years during the Second World War. This moment was celebrated for four days, with the traditional cortège, commemorative services and a party in the Botanical Garden. Queen Wilhelmina was…

Leiden or The Hague? Dutch or English? These two questions decide which introduction week new students at Leiden University can best choose: EL CID, HOP or OWL.

It’ll be a sight to behold: 54 begowned beadles striding through the streets of Leiden. The beadles from 14 universities will gather in Leiden on 25 and 26 August for the 30th National Beadle Day.

The University of Copenhagen and Trinity College Dublin will become members of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) with effect from 1 January 2017. The LERU, of which Leiden University is one of the founders, aims to promote the interests of scientific research and teaching.

Professor Janice Bellace (Warthon, University of Pennsylvania) gives the Social Justice Lecture this year. The title of her lecture will be: ‘Social justice, business and labour rights and the role of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to influence corporate behaviour of multinational enterprises.’…

The red carpet treatment of expats, terrorism studies and women professors who took over the Senate Chamber. These are the best read articles of 2018.

After nearly 70 years, the Leiden Observatory has a new telescope. A crowdfunding action in March brought in the 20,000 euros required to build a solar telescope. On 19 September Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker officiated at the opening.

Almost 81 years after his famous protest speech against the German occupation, Leiden professor Rudolph Pabus Cleveringa will be remembered in his Groningen birthplace of Appingedam. A statue of him will be unveiled there on 12 November amid various other activities.

Leiden’s Rapenburg canal was transformed into a magical open-air stage for the jubilee edition of the Leiden Canal Concert, as hundreds gathered to celebrate 450 years of Leiden University. The concert featured an orchestra made up of students and staff performing alongside local artists.

To discuss this question, chairmen, members, and secretaries of the Research Integrity Committees (Commissies Wetenschappelijke Integriteit, CWI) of almost all Dutch universities gathered at the Leiden Observatory on 21 April. Also present were members of the committees from Leuven, Brussels, Ghent,…

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.…

Not one, but two initiatives won this year's Van Bergen prize. The prize was awarded during the university's Diversity symposium on 22 January. One of the winners is OpenUp, an interactive symposium on coping with stress and fear. Students are invited to tell their stories. The Hague Campus' study advisers…

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).

On Tuesday 8 April, the CV of Failures exhibition was officially opened by Hester Bijl. Members of the university community share their personal stories during the exhibition. They offer an honest insight into the rejections, setbacks, and unexpected turns that have shaped their journeys.

90 international postdocs for Leiden-Delft-Erasmus

Professor P.F. (Paul) Wouters has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences with effect from 1 January 2019. Wouters has been appointed for a period of three years and succeeds Professor Hanna Swaab, whose second term of office as dean expires this year. Swaab will remain…

On 22 January, 15 inspirational lecturers – including Annemarie Drahmann and Joris Larik from the Institute of Public Law – received the Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO) from rector magnificus Hester Bijl. This qualification is awarded to lecturers who demonstrate strong teaching and didactic skills…

Leiden or The Hague? Dutch or English? These two questions decide which introduction week new students at Leiden University can best choose: EL CID, HOP or OWL.

Timo Kos has been appointed Vice President of Leiden University’s Executive Board and will take up the role on 1 March 2025. He succeeds Martijn Ridderbos, who will join the board of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) on 1 January 2025.

Leiden University strengthens the collaboration with the Chinese Xi’an Jiaotong University. The Chinese delegation visited the Faculty of Science to talk about collaborations in the field of life science and data science.

Leiden or The Hague? Dutch or English? These two questions decide which introduction week new students at Leiden University can best choose: EL CID, HOP or OWL.

Following a pilot introduced earlier this year, today nine high-ranking universities from across the globe, have signed an international agreement for a virtual exchange whereby they offer their students the option of taking online elective courses and gain credits for their bachelor or master degr…

Rianne Letschert, Universiteitsbestuur in Maastricht krijgt de opdracht een nieuw meerderheidskabinet te formeren. Ondanks haar Haagse outsiderstatus tonen partijen vertrouwen. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, is te gast in Pauw & De Wit om te praten over de nieuwe formateur.

On 29 January, the Mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, was awarded Leiden University’s Scaliger Medal. The longest-serving Mayor of Leiden was presented with the medal by the University’s longest-serving Rector Magnificus, Carel Stolker. Lenferink was awarded the medal in recognition of his achievements…

During the farewell reception on 29 August, the Faculty of Science will say goodbye to Dean Geert de Snoo. On 1 November 2019, he will continue his career as Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Colleagues talk about his significance for ecology, about his contribution as a…

This interdisciplinary project applies data science techniques to qualitatively and quantitatively visualize the interaction between the University and the city of Leiden (Town&Gown) from 1575 onwards. One of the possible angles for follow-up research is diversity, especially from the international…

In some cases, PhD candidates are permitted to follow a PhD track that involves conducting research and receiving supervision at two institutions: Leiden University and another university. There are two arrangements of joint supervision.

The Flentrop Organ is the third organ to have been built for the Great Auditorium in the Academy Building in Leiden.

The Europa Institute has been the beneficiary of a generous grant from the H.L. Wesseling Fund. The Fund was established in memory of Professor Henk Wesseling (6 August 1937 – 18 August 2018), Dutch historian, Professor of contemporary history at Leiden University, and former rector of the Netherlands…

A delegation from Leiden University, headed by Vice-Rector Hester Bijl, was in China from 9 to 11 October. During the visit to different universities and partner organisations, existing bonds were reinforced and new contacts made. These agreements will make the future exchange of students and researchers…

The university is home to many pearls of research institutes that do not make the news every day. The Executive Board visited one such pearl, the Institute of Philosophy, on Tuesday 1 July. It resulted in an inspired conversation.

Inspiration from outside and best practices from inside the University. These were the most important ingredients of the symposium on inclusivity organised by the Diversity Office at Leiden University on 22 November.

The organ in the Academy Building is 25 years old. University organist Jan Verschuren and tuner Bert Crama talk about the long history of university organs, improvising with short cortèges and their love for this organ.

From ‘challenges’ at ministries to reflection sessions where students coach each other. Students, study advisers and other employees shared their best practices regarding labour market preparation at the Employability Working Conference on 24 January.

Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative law, travelled to São Paolo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro from 14 to 18 March with a delegation from Leiden University with the aim of strengthening ties with Brazil. During the visit agreements were made on future academic collaboration and…

By working together with external social partners, the knowledge of our scientists finds its way into society.

In 2021 many of our students and staff won fantastic prizes and were awarded important research grants. This is our traditional review of these successes as the end of one year marks the beginning of another.

In 2025 hebben medewerkers en studenten van de Universiteit Leiden veel mooie prijzen ontvangen en belangrijke onderzoekssubsidies binnengehaald.

How does online learning strengthen the quality of higher education and what are the barriers to implementing this more broadly? Minister of Education Ingrid van Engelshoven talked about this issue with pioneering lecturers and students from Leiden University, Erasmus University and Delft University…

Leiden’s beadle, Willem van Beelen, is retiring on 29 February. How does he look back on his career and what do those in the know have to say about him?

From virtual education to a friendly meeting place where refugees and Dutch students can get to know one another. Investing in refugees is in the interest of the whole of our society. This was the message of the students who opened the Academic Year of Leiden University on 5 September.

The University Council meeting on 2 June was largely dominated by the demonstration, occupation and policing in The Hague last month.

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?