Festive start of the academic year
On September 8, 2026, staff and students of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences gathered in the Agora Building for the festive opening of the academic year.
New faces and mocktails
This year's faculty opening offered a varied programme for both staff and students. While Bart Barendregt, Dean of the Faculty, put the new faculty board members through a series of questions on stage, the sound of cocktail shakers could be heard from the mocktail bar, where students gathered after their lectures.
Marcella van den Bos, the new Secretary to the Board of Psychology, looks back on a successful event: "I thought it was a truly perfect faculty opening. I am still fairly new to the organisation and found it an incredibly valuable afternoon. It immediately gave me a clear picture of the faculty."
Casimir Award for Educational Innovation
As is tradition, the plenary programme also featured the presentation of the Casimir Award, which recognises teaching teams that excel in educational innovation and renewal. Three teaching teams from different institutes were nominated. The award was presented to Redevelopment of the First-Year Course Social Theories from the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. Congratulations go to Sander Hölsgens, Siddharth Divakaruni, Nikki Mulder, John Boy, Jason Irwin, Liselotta Janke, Marit Pauwels, Sarah Bozuwa and Jasmijn Rana.
Exploring the faculty's themes
Following the plenary programme, members of the FSW community had the opportunity to meet one another and explore the faculty's five profile themes. Various themed zones had been set up throughout the ground floor for this purpose.
The AI for Humanity and Society theme featured an AI quiz in which participants enthusiastically waved red and green flags. During Julian van der Kraats' presentation, ChatGPT was crushed several times, while LUchat received enthusiastic praise. Under the theme of Sustainability, participants used tokens and engaged in lively discussions at the Climate Casino. The Health and Well-being theme attracted considerable interest with the Space Maze, which had previously featured at Lowlands festival. Within the Future Generations theme, visitors could embark on an expedition into their inner world and explore a children's activity book. For the Social Transitions theme, participants could work together with Jenga blocks.
Both students and staff indicated that they found it inspiring to discover the faculty's strategic profile themes in such an interactive way.
The afternoon took place with atmospheric sounds of an ensemble from the Leiden Student Choir and Orchestra Collegium Musicum, in the lantern-lit central hall of the Agora Building.
