Sandra Palmen studied tax law at Leiden University and built a career within central government, currently as State Secretary. She was one of the first to raise the alarm about the child benefits affair and is now righting the wrongs.

As of 1 September Miranda van Eck will be the new Scientific Director of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research. She succeeds Hubertus Irth, who led the institute since 2016. Van Eck has been appointed for a period of four years.

On 1 January 2022, Joop van Holsteijn was appointed Scientific Director and, as Chair of the Institute's Board, will represent the Institute of Political Science at faculty and university level.

The Young Academy has gained a new Leiden humanities scholar as a member. University lecturer Greek language and literature Tazuko van Berkel will be appointed as a member as of March.

For her research into complex family problems, an assistant professor in Forensic Family and Youth Care Studies Sabine van der Asdonk has won the Gratama Science Prize 2021, a prize for talented young researchers from the universities of Leiden and Groningen. The jury praised Van der Asdonk’s excellent…

The Fritz Zwicky Prize 2022 for Astrophysics & Cosmology has been awarded to Prof. Ewine F. van Dishoeck for her pioneering, decades-long work in astrochemistry and molecular spectroscopy, as well as for her leadership within the astronomical community. The award was announced today by the European…

Nienke van der Marel has been awarded the New Horizons Prize in physics for her pioneering research on planet formation. This prize is given to young, promising researchers in physics or mathematics. The astronomer and her colleagues found the first observational evidence for 'dust traps' in disks around…

Gabrielle van den Berg became the Academic Director of LIAS on 1 September 2025: “I hope I’ll be able to make a real difference.”

Lecture

The Executive Board is delighted to announce that Joanne van der Leun took up the position of the university’s Academic Lead International Affairs as of 1 January 2025.

The Meijers prizes are awarded each year for the best published article from each faculty research programme. Reijer received the prize for his contribution to the programme ‘The Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Law & Governance’ with his article ‘Digitalisering en de (dis)balans binnen de trias politica’…

De coalitie houdt woensdag en donderdag topoverleg over de koopkrachtdaling van 6,8%. Het kabinet wil deze ongekende koopkrachtval compenseren, maar hoe kan dat effectief en enigszins betaalbaar?

Hundreds of millions of Chinese workers have moved from the countryside to the city. This social transformation has birthed a tradition of migrant worker poetry, professor Maghiel van Crevel states in Jacobin.

On 10 March students of the advanced master's in International Children’s Rights and the Dutch Child Law master's watched the documentary Shadow Game with filmmaker Els van Driel.

Facility

We are saddened by the news of the unexpected passing of prof.dr. Pieter Sjoerd van Koningsveld on 28 July 2021.

World Heritage status comes at a cost to the local population’s human rights. PhD Candidate Sophie Starrenburg explains the drawbacks of poetic terms such as ‘the cultural heritage of mankind’.

Vincent van Heuven passed away unexpectedly on Friday 6 February 2026 at the age of 76 at his home in Kûbaard (Friesland), the Netherlands.

As of 1 September, Tim van Surksum will take on the role of assessor for our faculty. The 22-year-old second-year Mathematics student is excited about his appointment.

Organisation

Trump caused a lot of controversy in his first month as president. University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe discussed the new administration’s decisions in various media.

Alumnus Anoma van der Veere did Japanese studies and talks in this interview about his studies in Leiden and his work as a researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre and as Japanese correspondent in Tokyo.

From painful joints to intense fatigue: a third of rheumatism patients suffer serious effects from this chronic condition and rely long-term on medication. Leiden psychologists are to receive a subsidy from the Netherlands Arthritis Foundation to investigate whether placebo techniques can help patients…

The members of the Board of ALTEX Edition, the ALTEX Editorial Board and ALTEX Editorial Office elect the winner of the annual award out of all main articles published in the previous year; articles including members of the Board of ALTEX Edition or ALTEX Editorial Office as first authors are excluded.…

Contrary to what one might expect, societal actors influence China’s foreign policy. PhD candidate Sabine Mokry investigated how Chinese academics and think tanks impact the authoritarian leadership’s views on what constitutes the country’s national interest in the international arena. On 14 November…

What makes South Korean films successful? In the first part of the video series 'The World of the Korean Wave', University Lecturer Peter Verstraten discusses the recent success of South Korean cinema.

Alumnus Sam van Raalte followed his passion into freelance journalism.

MA International Relations: Culture and Politics student Annick van Rinsum created a play as a method to research her master’s thesis. “Through writing this play, I aim to contribute to our understanding of International Relations Theory. I’m specifically interested in the question how our theories…

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe of Leiden University reflects in Global News Canada on the global implications of Donald Trump's foreign policy.

We regret to share the news that our colleague, friend, and former professor of Assyriology at Leiden University, passed away on 15 May 2021.

Anne Marieke van der Wal-Rémy recently joined the Institute for History as a lecturer in International Relations. She introduces herself.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to French writer Annie Ernaux (1940). In an explanation, the Swedish Academy praises Ernaux 'for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory'.

Eline van Slijpe wrote her Master of Philosophy thesis on intergenerational justice: does the current generation have obligations towards future generations? With this thesis she won the biannual J.C. Baak Prize.

On Monday 2 March at 16:00, the Faculty of Archaeology opened the travelling exhibition Archaeo‑Sexism. The exhibition will be on display throughout the month in the F0 corridor of the Van Steenis Building, as part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on 8 March.

Writers are not just storytellers: with their novels, tales and critiques they broaden the social imagination, reflect on societal developments and sometimes put new themes on the map. This can easily lead to a conflict because writers and literati often think very differently about issues such as…

Buying chocolates as a sign of love, getting the best deals on Black Friday and putting on a spooky costume for Halloween. In recent years, these holidays and traditions have taken off in the Netherlands, even though they originated on the other side of the ocean. Why are we so excited about American…

University Lecturer in History and International Studies Andrew Gawthorpe discusses on The Conversation the newly signed US-Ukraine economic partnership agreement.