Leiden University no longer wishes to collaborate with fossil fuel partners that are not demonstrably committed to achieving the Paris Agreement targets. Exceptions will be made only if a collaboration demonstrably contributes to the energy transition. This proposal by the Executive Board was discussed…

Corinne Hofman’s term as Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology has finished. After 11 years she leaves the Faculty Board to fully focus on her research once again. On Thursday September 20th, during the final Dean's Lecture, a series she initiated, she was lauded by her successor, Dean Jan Kolen, Study…

The Netherlands Institute in Morocco is moving to a new location in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. Following a complete renovation of the building, the doors of the new NIMAR Rabat will open in September 2016.

The Executive Board has adopted a new Code of Conduct on Integrity for staff. This new code encompasses all the existing regulations within Leiden University, including in the field of research, behaviour towards students and purchasing. 'This Code of Conduct is a very clear statement,' commented Rector…

Professor Annetje Ottow will be appointed President of the Executive Board of Leiden University on 8 February 2021. She will be the first woman to be appointed to this post at Leiden University.

Professor Simone Buitendijk, Vice-Rector Magnificus and member of the Executive Board of Leiden University, will be taking up a new position as Vice-Provost (Education) at Imperial College London on 1 August 2016.

‘Collaboration is increasingly important,’ Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker said at the 445th Dies Natalis of Leiden University on 7 February. But, as he heard from a number of Leiden researchers, this is contingent upon a firm disciplinary basis. A novelty of this year’s celebration was a joint dies…

In 2017, Leiden University secured ties with numerous foreign partners. This is how we bring foreign talent to Leiden, and ensure our students and scientists can gain experience across borders. In this article, we look back on four foreign trips.

During the official opening of the 2018-2019 Academic Year on Monday 3 September, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will talk about Europe and the future of our continent in a turbulent and unpredictable world. He will do this in the form of a lecture and a discussion with Imane Maghrani, an alumna of World Politics…

The Uzbek Ambassador Mr. Vladimir Norov visited Leiden University on 17 April. Mr. Norov met with the rector magnificus Professor Carel Stolker and attended the exhibition

At the end of the year we always compile a list of our most interesting, most popular articles from that year. In the crazy year that was 2020 one topic was at the forefront of everyone’s minds: coronavirus. Fortunately, there was also room for other stories.

Tineke Schutte made her debut as beadle at Maartje Schoorl's inaugural lecture on 29 April. A unique moment because she's the first female beadle in the history of our university.

Leiden University mourns the victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels. These attacks are an assault on our democratic society. We will continue to defend our European values of freedom and tolerance against all attempts to undermine them.

Video conferencing from your sitting room and algorithms on social media that know your interests: new technology is an increasingly integral part of our lives. At the same time there is a growing call to protect our privacy, and this is causing friction, at the University too. In part because of the…

Leiden researchers have made an important contribution to the successful ‘Beyond the Nile’ exhibition in the American J. Paul Getty Museum. They also contributed to the exhibition volume that will be presented to Rector Magnificus Carel stolker on 5 September.

On 26 October, Leiden University held its first online signing ceremony, signing an agreement with China’s top university Tsinghua to establish a joint PhD programme to co-foster young researchers in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.

A high-ranking delegation from China visited Leiden on 6 November. The party of some 25 officials from the CPPCC – a Chinese advisory body comparable with the Dutch Senate - visited the Leiden Observatory, the Hortus Botanicus and the Asian Library.

‘We can see further than the end of our noses.’ This is what the presidents of the three Zuid-Holland universities in the LDE Alliance say in ScienceGuide. Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam have been working together within the LDE Alliance for seven…

The Board of Governors is pleased to announce that Professor Cisca Wijmenga has been appointed by outgoing Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf as its new member.

On 19 May we received the sad news of the sudden and unexpected death of Willem van Beelen, at the age of 64. He had been the University's beadle for 27 years before retiring on 29 February this year.

On 9 June the deans of Leiden University met for the 500th time with the Rector Magnificus for the Board of Deans. An informal, inspiring and contemplative meeting without a strict ending time, say deans and former deans.

On the 442nd anniversary of the foundation of Leiden University, and at the start of the Leiden Asia Year, lawyer Jan Michiel Otto, an expert in the field of law in developing countries, delivered the first Dies lecture. He compared demagogues in Asia who call upon Muslims to turn against their governments…

Our university recently joined the European university alliance Una Europa. Staff from the 11 affiliated universities met in Leiden last week to discuss our collaboration.

Giving lectures, marking exams, essays or theses, supervising students and PhDs, doing research and, as if that wasn’t enough, also trying to raise the necessary funding. There is a limited number of funds for academic research and a large number of applications. Many of our researchers therefore experience…

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The integrity and reliability of academic research are of fundamental importance to the University. All parties, both within the University and outside, must be able to have confidence that our research is conducted in a scrupulous, fair, verifiable, impartial and independent manner.

The LGBT+ Network offers a platform for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer staff and students at Leiden University.

Environmental scientist Alexander van Oudenhoven has been chosen as Discoverer of the year of the Faculty of Science. Vice Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl announced this during the faculty’s New Year’s Reception on 10 January. Biologist Changsheng Wu won the prize for best dissertation of 2016. Computer…

As from April 2023 all students at Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam will start using the eduXchange portal to register for a minor.

By adding their signature to the collaboration agreement on 31 May, Leiden University, TU Delft, space research institute SRON and NWO confirmed the move of SRON from Utrecht to South Holland. From 2021, the headquarters of the space research institute will be located on the Campus of Leiden Univ…

In this Inspirationlab, Prof. Simone Buitendijk and Prof. Edwin Bakker share their visions on the future of open education. How does open education influence Leiden University's strategy? And what can we say about its relevance and impact? Registrations for The Future of Open Education are now open!

Staff and student mobility, a cooperative education programme and the possibility of a joint research center in artificial intelligence and data science. A delegation from Chinese partner XJTU paid a fruitful visit to the Faculty of Science in the last week of October.

For the first time ever, more women than men have been awarded PhDs at Leiden University. In 2019, 226 women defended their dissertations as opposed to 207 men. More women were also awarded a distinction: seven of the thirteen ‘cum laude’ distinctions were awarded to women.

On Monday, 4 September the new bachelor programme Security Studies had its official start.

In a few weeks’ time Carel Stolker will be retiring as Rector Magnificus. In a double episode of the Science Shots podcast, we take stock: what were the key lessons, how has the coronavirus crisis been and of course, what will he do to avoid the post-retirement void? Stolker shares his experiences in…

The Council of State in the Netherlands has drawn up a programme of reflection to evaluate the role of the highest administrative court in the child benefits scandal and to learn lessons for the future.

At Orientation Week Leiden, a record 1,378 new international students got to know the city and one another. From a cracking karaoke party to fishing plastic out of the canals – see what they got up to in the photos!

Leiden University’s Department of Labour Law and Social Security is proud to announce that the International Labor Rights Case Law Journal (ILaRC) is set to publish its tenth volume this year. A valuable initiative of Paul van der Heijden, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Labour Law and former…

Stéphanie van der Pas won the Leiden University Thesis Awards 2014 with her thesis

From the new Hortus botanicus podcast to conference call bingo: all the students, lecturers and other members of staff from Leiden University had to switch at breakneck speed to working and studying from home this week. That meant decluttering offices, getting your head around remote teaching and installing…

After seven years, the Faculty of Science said goodbye to Geert de Snoo as dean During on 29 August. This happened with a pub quiz, a special edition of Our Talents & Discoveries and no less than two decorations. Take a look at the pictures for an impression!

A respectable 5,023 runners took part in the Leiden Canal Run on Friday 5 April. They raised the sum of €22,302 for various Leiden charities.

The new book, ‘Njord in de Oorlog’ (Njord during the War), describes how the Leiden student rowing club was affected by the Second World War in a detailed series of personal stories. On Monday 16 November, Njord president Rosalie ten Wolde presented the first copy to Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker.

Saskia Bruines, alderman for Education, Knowledge Economy and International Affairs in The Hague, and Erwin Muller, Chair of Campus The Hague, opened an exhibition about 20 years of Campus The Hague on 4 September. The exhibition in the Atrium of City Hall in The Hague focuses on the links between the…

Leiden University is entering into a strategic partnership with the Leiden student associations and the Local Chamber of Associations (PKvV). The parties are committed to maintaining and strengthening the existing good relations between them.

This week, Leiden University bade farewell to Henri Lenferink, who is retiring after 20 years as mayor of Leiden.

Professor Kurt Deketelaere (KU Leuven and LERU) will receive the first Scaliger Medal, a new award offered by Leiden University to honour people or organisations that uphold the University’s values in a unique manner.

Monday 25 May saw the visit to Leiden of President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, accompanied by Queen Beatrix and Princess Máxima. Following a talk in the Academy Building on strengthening democracy in Latin America, the President signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

Covid year 2021 might have felt somewhat less strange than the year before, but the virus still left its mark on University life and our students and staff. Fortunately there was also room for research, visiting dignitaries and in-person classes. And our social media accounts weren’t only about covid…

Carel Stolker will retire as Rector Magnificus of Leiden University on 8 February. As a retirement gift he is setting up a fund for first-generation students and academics. You too can donate.