In addition to computers and laptops, you can also apply for a tablet, video card, additional monitor, additional hard drive, additional working memory, ergonomic keyboard, or mouse.

More and more people are experiencing work pressure due to digital means of communication. Media like e-mail and Signal (WhatsApp) ensure that we can be reached day and night, which can cause an increased sense of work pressure and always being 'on call'. In February 2023, the new digital communication…

Over the past five years, medical anthropologist Annemarie Samuels has studied palliative care in different parts of the world. Over the next five years, she will focus on end-of-life care in the Netherlands. 'Everyone has the right to good care at the end of their life, but what that means differs…

How do opinions form and change in large groups of people? That's not just a sociological question, it's a mathematical one. PhD candidate Federico Capannoli studied opinion dynamics. He defended his thesis on November 19.

Since the opening of the SSH labs in the Sylvius Building, more and more researchers are starting in the state-of-the-art lab spaces. What research are they doing, and how do they like the new facilities? Read about their experiences.

Steel production is likely to take up a large portion of our future carbon budget. Capturing CO₂ from coal-based production won’t solve the problem. Technologies that rely on renewables are more effective, but not enough to get to net zero.

The ISSC's ICT helpdesk receives dozens of questions from staff and students every day. A collaboration between TNO, LUCL and the ISSC aims to determine whether a specially designed chatbot could provide support in this area.

PhD candidate Joeri Schoenmakers works at the LIC and describes how his days revolve around new experiments, oxygen-free reactions and supervising students. The mix of freedom, variety and a close-knit team means he enjoys both his research and his teaching role every single day.

Collaborating and learning from other fields – that is what bioinformatician Hannah Augustijn enjoys most about doing research. During her PhD at Leiden University, she developed new ways to search within bacteria for the antibiotics of the future.

Who is the real creator when a musician uses AI? This was the burning question for Adam Lukawski, himself a composer. During a fascinating premiere at Amare, The Hague’s cultural hub, he demonstrated what cocreation sounds like.

The Compulsory Identification Act (WID) stipulates that employers must establish the identity of employees when they enter their employment. This also applies for employment agency staff and interns. When you start work at the University, you therefore have to show a valid identity document. A copy…

During a reorganisation, the University does its utmost to avoid redundancies, regardless of whether these relate to the University as a whole, to an institute or to a department of a faculty or service.

Nearly 100 students from Leiden University, University of Applied Sciences Leiden and mboRijnland worked together to improve the health of Leiden-Noord. They presented their ideas in Het Gebouw community centre.

If you’re experiencing too much work pressure, talk about it to your colleagues and your manager. This is the only way we can jointly work towards a solution. How do you raise the issue of work pressure? And what can you do to prevent work pressure from getting out of hand?

ICT

Maurijn van der Zee searches for insecticides that protect crops without harming wildlife or leaving residues in our food. His GREENSHIELD project received funding from the NWO Open Technology Programme.

Each month, we publish an article showcasing how social science research and education contribute to solving societal challenges. Researchers, lecturers, students, and societal partners work together to make knowledge accessible and to make a difference. Through open science and engaged education, we…

Career development, Leadership

If you are pregnant, as your employer, we will do everything in our power to protect your health and that of your baby. Both during your pregnancy and while you breastfeed.

Leiden University offers postdocs a stimulating environment to further develop their academic careers. Here you will find more information regarding facilities for research, teaching, and career guidance, as well as answers to questions such as: What training courses are available? How do I combine…

How do fats and enzymes in the brain contribute to multiple sclerosis? In his PhD research, Daan van der Vliet combined chemistry and neuroscience to gain new insights into how brain disorders develop.

The working language at Leiden University is Dutch. As not all employees at the University have the same level of Dutch language skills, there are various ways of working together.

PhD candidate Alex Tutwiler, from the Faculty of Archaeology, has received a grant from Archol, via the P.J.R. Modderman Foundation, to investigate how child labor shaped the bones of Dutch children between the 17th and 19th centuries. Using CT scans, she aims to build a more comprehensive picture of…

The University aims to be bilingual, and provides its information in Dutch and English wherever possible. This has consequences for the information provided on the University websites.

Staff development is an important key to promoting staff and student well-being at Leiden University. By following training courses and workshop, you can gain knowledge outside your own field of expertise.

Leiden University appreciates it if you explain your work to a wider audience every now and then. We encourage media contributions and have people and tools to help you with this.

Once every three years, you can offset the cost of purchasing a bicycle for yourself or a battery for your own electric bike through the Terms of Employment Individual Choices Model.

Organisation

How do you write a good news article? Here are a number of guidelines to help you.

The outline agreement proposed by the new cabinet will have serious consequences for higher education and research. If the plans go through, there will be significant cutbacks in our sector. We will keep you up to date with developments on this page.

Career development, Personal development, Working effectively

Slowly but surely Open Science is becoming a standard in scholarly research, making it more open, collaborative, transparent, and after all FAIR, from its planning stages to publishing and re-use of data.

Do you need a new desktop or laptop? Does your work require a customised device? We’ve listed all the possibilities below.

How do you combine the growth of wind energy with the protection of vulnerable seabirds? With her master’s thesis on this delicate balance, Sofie Hajer won the 2025 Unilever Research Prize. Her work provides new insights into how ecology and policy can strengthen each other.

In early 2026, two new programme directors will begin their roles at FWN. Joost Broekens will take charge of the bachelor’s programme in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI), while Sander van Kasteren will become programme director of the MSc in Life Science and Technology (LST).

During her studies, professor Carmen Vleggeert-Lankamp developed a deep passion for spinal surgery. From exploring unknown fields and supervising PhD candidates to providing appropriate care for patients and making the most of data: her fascination remains strong to this day.

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…

Children are suffering disproportionally from the coronavirus measures. They feel depressed more often compared to other age groups. But what about the legal perspective? Are children’s rights being violated?

Playing with nitrogen and fire to show school pupils how exciting science can be – that’s what the student volunteers of Stichting Rino do alongside their studies. ‘If there’s even one child who gets interested in science, that’s what it’s all for.’

One week ago a group of Dutch men were attacked out of the blue by another group of Dutch tourists on the Spanish island of Mallorca. One of the victims later died as a result of his injuries. The Spanish police know who the suspects are, but those men are in the Netherlands.

Opting more often for mocktails or soft drinks rather than beer or wine, talking to others about their drinking and pointing out the ban on drugs. Leiden University’s new covenant on alcohol and drugs for study associations encourages providing more alcohol-free alternatives.

From telescopes to science fiction: in just one semester, students with no background in physics or astronomy get to explore the universe. The first group of students started last month in the new minor Our Universe.

Should criminal law have a greater role in protecting this democracy? In his inaugural lecture, Professor Jeroen ten Voorde urges caution.

These are turbulent times in the UK. The cost of living is high, leaving many people struggling to make ends meet, and these past few months have been tumultuous in terms of politics. University lecturer Anne Heyer explains what impact this can have on people's political perceptions and participatio…