Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing? What kinds of things is he doing and what does his day look like? In each newsletter Jasper gives a peek into his life as dean.

bachelorstudent Serafine Beugelink ontwikkelt kaartspel over elementaire deeltjes en deeltjesfysica. Ze zet succescol haar eigen bedrijf op.

Lectures that focus on dialogue among students can increase their well-being. Lecturers Karin Nijenhuis and Thijs Witty are organising a symposium and teacher professionalisation course on this method of working.

The Institute for Philosophy further expands its knowledge: As of 1 September, Annemie Halsema holds the chair of Wijsgerige antropologie en de grondslagen van het humanisme (Philosophical anthropology and the principles of humanism, ed.). In the coming five years, she will study current societal issues…

This year on June 8-12, the Annual Convention of the Austrian and Central European Centres was organised in Leiden. At this convention, directors and (PhD) students from all over the world come together to meet, have presentations by the students on their topics of expertise, and to get the know the…

Starting 1 January 2023, Matthias Haentjens has been appointed as Professor of Civil Law at Leiden University. His expertise lies in the field of property law, insolvency law, and private international law.

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…

About one and a half million people worldwide die each year from tuberculosis. For thirty years, therapy with antibiotics has been the same, while it takes far too long and can lead to resistant pathogens. Leiden researchers from four institutes are now joining forces to develop more effective and efficient…

A new chair has been added to the partnership between Leiden University and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. Richard Barrett has been appointed Professor of Research in Creative Music (ACPA) as of 1 December 2020. 'For me it is important that music and academia are not placed in an ivory tower.'

March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We spoke to Leiden University’s Diversity Officer, Aya Ezawa, and asked her how we can combat racism and discrimination.

Hoping to learn something about the human brain, Leiden researchers are creating a setup to shoot single photons, particles of light, into someone’s eye. ‘The eye is a passageway to the brain.’

The glasses have been rinsed, the furniture is in place and the six-member board is ready. A very short time to go before De Fusie opens its doors in the Gorlaeus Building. The brand new bar promises to be a nice addition to the social life on campus. ‘We don't just want to run a cosy bar, but also…

The alignment of the James Webb Space Telescope is complete. The space observatory is able to capture sharp, well-directed images with each of its four powerful scientific instruments on board. The MIRI instrument, on which Professor of Molecular Astrophysics Ewine van Dishoeck also worked, was the…

The Faculty of Humanities (FGW) considers it important that both its teachers and teaching methods continue to evolve. Especially in times of budget cuts and decreasing student numbers, it is crucial to keep investing in contemporary and appealing education. The workshops created by ECOLe (in collaboration…

The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), the Danstem Institute from the University of Copenhagen and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne have received 300m euros from the Novo Nordisk foundation. The aim of this new international consortium is to bring stem-cell based therapies…

What do you do if you have a book from the sixteenth or seventeenth century, but you suspect that the binding contains a fragment of a medieval manuscript? University lecturer Thijs Porck has received an NWO grant to experiment with a camera attached to a tube. 'The project boils down to keyhole surgeries…

eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies has officially launched its participation in AI:Liner, a Horizon Europe project that will transform how Europe manages its aging sewer infrastructure through artificial intelligence and digital innovation.

Researchers at Leiden University have created a unique model that mimics how disease develops after a dengue infection. This 'dengue-on-a-chip' model helps them study the virus more effectively. The timing is crucial, as climate change is causing dengue to spread worldwide.

Roll-up solar panels, bendable phone displays, or better computer chips… The EU project STIBNITE investigated the next generation of semiconductors, made from organic materials based on carbon, nitrogen, and boron. The project has now concluded. During the Open Science Debate on 1 July, the group will…

We are pleased to announce a groundbreaking research study delving into crucial aspects of safety and responsibility in the domain of personal care robots, explicitly focusing on robotic lower-limb exoskeletons.

The more data from cancer research we pool, the better we can search for new treatments. But how can we keep patient data safe when sharing it? Leiden researchers will tackle this challenge in a major European project.

Today marks the start of RoRI’s Phase 2. With our international consortium of partners, we’re excited to launch another five years of generating, synthesising and translating ideas and evidence into practical solutions to improve research.

Recently, archaeologist Dr Wei Chu received a grant from the Gerda Henkel Stiftung for an excavation in the Carpathian Mountains. Originally planning for an excavation in Ukraine, his plans were disrupted by the war. ‘We had to change plans really quickly.’

Six researchers from Leiden University have received an ERC starting grant. This grant of on average 1.5m euros will enable the researchers to launch their own project, form their own research team and develop their best ideas.

There are lots of important items on the education and teaching agenda for 2024. Reaccreditation for the Law programmes including Notarial Law and Tax Law degree programmes, preparations for the implementation of the Kernvisie Bachelor, a new online teaching platform and a Teaching Fair, to name just…

All Political Science graduates have good reasons to be proud of themselves, having successfully completed their studies and having demonstrated considerable personal growth. This October, fifteen bachelor students can be extra proud: their theses were nominated for a thesis prize. In the class of 2023,…

‘AI can’t do half as much as people think,’ says computer scientist and psychologist Roy de Kleijn. He tries to teach robots seemingly easy things, and keeps on discovering how smart human intelligence really is. Three things that computers are no way near doing.

Two Leiden Science researchers received an NWO-XS grant for their research. Both projects are highly promising, but also high-risk. Macrophages that trap bacteria and data storage made from 2D materials convinced the board of their potential.

In the coming academic year things will hopefully gradually return to normal, so that teaching can again take place as far as possible on campus. Even so, hybrid teaching is here to stay. We talk to Niels van de Ven, former lecturer at Leiden Law School and now Education Manager at the Centre for Innovation…

On 28 and 29 April 2022, the fourth annual PhD Workshop on European and International Insolvency Law took place, organised by the Foundation Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (BWILC). A shared first prize was awarded to Gert-Jan Boon (Leiden University) and Theodora Kostoula (European University…

Complex research with a generous sprinkling of jargon: PhD defences can be difficult for non-experts to follow. In the compulsory new lay talk, PhD candidates begin by explaining their dissertation in words of one syllable. And it’s not just the PhD’s family and friends who appreciate this.

An incredible quantity of archaeological reports are stored in digital archives. If you want to search for information in them, you have to do this manually. And that is a real chore. Archaeologist Alex Brandsen has now used deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to develop a search engine…

A child who receives fewer nutrients in the womb than their identical twin brother or sister is more likely to have developmental problems later in life. This is what researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) write in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. This study shows that unfavourable…

Would you be more likely to take the train for your next work trip, instead of flying, if you automatically got a first-class ticket? For many Leiden University academics, the answer is yes – according to research looking at what motivates academic staff to choose trains over planes.

The first results of the National Student Survey (NSE) show that Leiden students are still satisfied with their degree programmes. On average they are slightly more satisfied than in 2021. Satisfaction with their lecturers and study guidance has also increased compared with 2021.

Michaël Peyrot has been appointed professor of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics with retroactive effect from 1 January. He is looking forward to passing on his love for the subject to a new generation of students.

On July 28, 2022, our dear colleague Daniëlle Hamstra passed away after a short sickbed. Daniëlle had been associated with the Clinical Psychology Section since 2010, initially as a student in the research master's program and subsequently as a lecturer and PhD candidate.

A team of three Leiden tax law students have reached the finals of the most prestigious worldwide moot court competition in the field of international and European tax law.

Postdoc and linguist Evelyn Bosma receives the Keetje Hodshon Prize for her dissertation. For her research on the multilingualism of Frisian children, Bosma previously won the Klokhuis Science Prize and the Campus Fryslân Science Prize.

Researchers at LIACS have found a vulnerability in open-source code that’s been used around the world for over 15 years. They’ve also developed an AI-based tool to fix the problem automatically. ‘You really can’t afford to lean back.’

How do cells repair their damaged DNA—and what happens when that process is hindered and cancer arises? Sarah Moser has taken a closer look during her PhD, uncovering surprising insights that could help improve future cancer treatments.

The nominees for the IRO thesis prize 2023 and the Prof. Dr. J.Th.J. van den Berg-prijs 2023. Who wrote the best bachelor theses in Political Science?

Two Leiden University science communication projects have been awarded a WECOM grant through the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA). One project is a study of the history of the deaf community in the Netherlands and the other is of a condition that causes people to lose their way.

Would you like to take a walk with a fellow student who you don’t know? That is the idea behind Walk & Talk. With this new initiative, International Studies aims to provide more opportunities for social contact.

11th CREAN Children’s Rights Research PhD Symposium

During the annual Teaching Fair, teaching staff in the Faculty of Humanities met up to exchange tips & tricks and attend workshops.

Leiden University's International Honours College, Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) experienced empty halls and empty classrooms this past year on the residential campus on the Anna van Buerenplein in The Hague due to the global pandemic. Dr Paul Hudson designed a Covid-proof course that enabled…

With the rise of AI, interest in computational linguistics and language models has taken flight. But machines are far from being able to go it alone. In her inaugural lecture, Professor Carole Tiberius will stress the importance of research on word combinations. ‘We know a great deal but there is a…

The Faculty of Humanities is launching the Programme Standards project with the aim of distributing the teaching effort more transparently and fairly. In June, the Faculty Council approved the Programme Standards project on the condition that it would include enough evaluation moments, a condition that…

Biological chemist Nathaniel Martin and his team received an NWO grant to examine how blocking a specific enzyme in our body, NNMT, could be helpful in the treatment of some cancers. Trials with mice have been promising, and together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Martin wants to take the next…