Amanda Henry is a Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology and a guest staff member at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. She studies the role of plant foods in human evolution, including by using plant microremains from archaeological contexts as markers of diet. She is currently serving as Vice Dean…

You may already have seen them in the larger restaurants in the teaching buildings: simple yet tasty hagelslag or cheese sandwiches. Students asked and the University Services Department (UFB) has delivered with its new Pure Basic line. Now there is a lunch for every budget.

Playgrounds often fail to accommodate children with autism, according to researchers Carolien Rieffe and colleagues. They have published an essay offering practical advice on how to make all children feel safe and welcome for Autism Week (Dutch) and World Autism Autism Awareness/ Acceptance Day on 2…

Thijs Witty is an assistant professor at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Peter Verstraten is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Arthur Crucq is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. He lectures about topics such as art and anthropology, art theory, representation and style, regarding fields as diverse as architecture, ornament, painting, sculpture and textiles. In recent years he published…

Wouter Wagemakers is a specialist in Italian renaissance art and architecture, and lecturer at the Centre for the Arts in Society. At Leiden University, he teaches a survey course on European renaissance art and architecture, 1300-1550; and co-teaches seminars about Rome, the Global Renaissance, and…

Laura Bertens is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Paula Harvey is an external PhD candidate and lecturer at LUCAS.

Michael Lew is the co-head of the LIACS Computer Systems, Imagery and Media Research cluster, which is one of the two main research groups at the Computer Science department at Leiden University.

Fons Verbeek has a background in Computer Science and Biology; he has a PhD in Applied Physics. His research topic is Image Analysis with a focus on microscopy imaging. His research stretches from feature extraction and segmentation to classification strategies in the domain of the life-sciences.

My research focuses on the role of authenticity in science museums and on measuring the impact of science communication.

During the Opening of the Academic Year 2024-2025, we asked guests for their wishes and ideas for Leiden University's anniversary year in 2025.

Genes predict whether you have a propensity for an illness but environmental factors often have the last word: nutrition, air pollution, lifestyle, stress. The exposome as both culprit and chance. Large-scale research is being carried out into this at Leiden. Thomas Hankemeier, Professor of Analytical…

In a new study published in PLOS One, Leiden archaeologist Anastasia Nikulina, together with an international team from France, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, challenges the long-held belief that early humans had minimal impact on their environment before the rise of farming.

Una Europa, an alliance of 11 top European universities, provides annual seed funding for new research and teaching projects. Assistant Professor Carmen van den Bergh applied for funding with her Flemish and Italian counterparts. Thanks to this funding and the support of Erasmus+, students can now take…

After three years of covid postponements, the time had finally come on Wednesday 29 June 2022: Carel Stolker’s last speech as Rector Magnificus was buried according to tradition under the ginkgo tree in the library at the Kamerlingh Onnes building.

I am a university lecturer in English-language literature and culture, specialising in the history and development of Gothic, Horror and Science Fiction, and recently also Noir, from about 1750-present. In my research I explore social and ethical questions relating to these genres.

Dr. Gerlov van Engelenhoven is an assistant professor at Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), teaching courses on postcolonial memory, law & culture, and cultural interaction. His most recent book is titled Postcolonial Memory in the Netherlands: Meaningful Voices, Meaningful Silences.…

Liselore Tissen (Ph.D.) is a postdoctoral researcher at LUCAS and is affiliated with Delft University of Technology (Mechanical Engineering), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science. She is the task lead for ethics, digital research,…

My research themes are Korean syntax, critical discourse analysis, second language acquisition in Korean, and teaching Korean as a foreign language. My current research project aims to investigate how the discourse construction of inter-Korean summits in the South Korean press has diachronically changed…

Annetje Ottow is the first female president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, which means a return to her Alma mater.

A lot of municipalities work with a points system to encourage construction projects to take biodiversity and creating green areas into account. But this way of working also benefits local neighbourhoods and residents, master's student Marije Sesink discovered. She based her study on The Hague.

Connecting worlds, enhancing research and teaching, and providing innovative solutions to complex social issues: that is the idea behind interdisciplinary research. In that respect, a huge amount happened at Leiden University in 2023.

Interest groups seem to be going to court more often to force politicians to act. How often do they do so? And how successful are they? The Kiem project ‘Litigation in the name of public interest’ is compiling a database on this.

Neanderthals were able to outwit straight-tusked elephants, the largest land mammals of the past few million years. Leiden professor Wil Roebroeks has published an article about this together with his German colleague Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser in the Science Advances journal.

Over 30 ambassadors strengthened their ties with researchers and university leaders in a recent visit to Leiden University. Cross-border collaboration (both literal and figurative) was the theme of presentations and a tour of the Hortus botanicus.

Leiden University is celebrating its 450th anniversary in 2025 with a feast for the eyes, ears and spirit. The anniversary year opens with an extra special Dies Natalis on 7 February. Highlights includes an alumni festival, three exhibitions and a canal concert.

This month, Leiden University’s Joanne van der Leun steps into the role of Chair of Una Europa’s Board of Directors. She does so at an important moment of transition for Una Europa.

Leiden University is taking a major step forward in the energy transition with the expansion of the thermal energy storage (TES) in the Gorlaeus Building. This expansion is needed to be able to heat and cool all the new and renovated buildings on the Campus Square of the Faculty of Science sustainably.…

Education, Research

Leiden PhD candidate Mona Shahab climbed Mount Everest two years ago to raise money for the education of disadvantaged children in Egypt. She made it to the top and posed there with the University flag. She recently presented the flag to Rector Carel Stolker.

Eight university vegetable patches will soon join the display at the Hortus botanicus. The sun shone down on almost 40 enthusiastic students and staff as they started work on the new Community Garden there earlier this month.

Soil ecologists Emilia Hannula (Leiden) and Elly Morriën (UvA) received the Golden Medal of Teylers Tweede Genootschap on 5 November. They received the prize for their submission to a competition on sustainable soil management.

Four promising young researchers will be able to conduct two years of research at a university abroad thanks to a Rubicon grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The Leiden laureates are Renske Janssen, Girija Josh, Anne van der Meij and Yana van der Weegen.