Leiden PhD candidate Jo-Anne Verschoor discovered that nearly twenty percent of the bacterial strains she studied could degrade plastic, though they needed some encouragement to do so. ‘Bacteria are just like people,’ says Verschoor. Her research was published in the journal Communications Biology,…

The University Council is the central participation body at the University. It is looking for a new chair as of 1 September. Until then Charlotte de Roon is at the helm. She talks about her experiences as chair of the University Council.

With which questions do you go to HR, and when should you contact the department Personnel ? What about leave arrangements? And what about career development? In this series, an HR colleague answers a different question every time. We’re kicking off with Elice Schöne, Head of HR at FWN.

Lawyer and human rights activist Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You is the new Cleveringa professor.

Research

Amid rising polarisation and discrimination, lawyer and human rights activist Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You wants to show in her Cleveringa Lecture on 26 November how dangerous exclusion is.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has, within the framework of Research along Routes by Consortia (NWA-ORC), awarded the research project Next Generation Immuno-Dermatology (NGID) with a prestigious grant of 11.7 MEuro. NGID is a nationwide, large-scale project to unravel novel biomarkers for six different…

‘Don’t forget us. Don’t stop talking about Iran.’ In a packed lecture hall at the new Spui Campus in The Hague, a panel discussion was held this Tuesday on recent developments, tensions and the wave of state violence in Iran.

Tineke Schutte made her debut as beadle at Maartje Schoorl's inaugural lecture on 29 April. A unique moment because she's the first female beadle in the history of our university.

On 5 October, mediator Johan Remkes presented his report on the nitrogen crisis and what he thinks is the best way forward. Leiden University professor and nitrogen expert Jan Willem Erisman responds to Remkes’s recommendations. ‘It’s a step in the right direction.’

Imagine no one in the Netherlands would eat animal products anymore, what would happen? And would it contribute to more climate justice? That is the theoretical exercise that environmental scientist Jan Willem Erisman and landscape architect Berno Strootman are taking up. 'Sometimes you have to think…

‘A Muslim and a Jew in the house of God.’ This is how historian Nadia Bouras introduced her recent conversation with colleague Sara Polak in Leiden’s Hooglandse Kerk. They discussed the rising tensions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. ‘Dare to ask each other questions.’

From memorials to the armed forces to memory stones for individual victims. It was only later that the Holocaust took a central role in Western remembrance culture, Cleveringa Professor Frank van Vree notes. ‘Nationalists and human rights activists both invoke the experience of the Holocaust.’

How can the university decide which partners to work with and why? This is a question many of us have, both within and outside our community. The advice presented by the Temporary Committee on Assessing Ethical Aspects of Collaborations should provide answers.

Give organisms like plants and animals the freedom to move, interact and meet their own needs, and they will thrive on their own, says Professor Geert de Snoo. Our interference often ends up doing more harm than good.

Glorious sunshine, dozens of enthusiastic academics and huge numbers of Leiden residents ensured that this year’s special jubilee version of 3 October University was a great success.

Every year, Leiden University hosts the Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture to mark International Women’s Day. This year, historian Nadia Bouras will speak about academic freedom, class and being a woman in academia. And that is just as relevant to men, says lecturer and organiser Looi van Kessel.

Chemotherapy, but without hair loss or extreme fatigue. It may be possible if the toxic drug only becomes active where it is ‘switched on’ by light. Matthijs Hakkennes has helped bring that idea closer to reality and obtained his PhD cum laude. ‘I received many thank-you emails from China and Bangla…

The University Council meeting on 2 June was largely dominated by the demonstration, occupation and policing in The Hague last month.

If you come to work by car, you can apply for a parking subscription for one of Leiden University’s parking areas. The subscription is simply added to your LU Card. You can then use your LU Card to access the parking area.

Our Research Funding Community continuously gathers intelligence that helps with preparing proposals efficiently and to give them the necessary competitive edge. All grant advisors are happy to share this information, and to guide you throughout the process. For quick reference, this page summarises…

Via Microsoft 365 and OneDrive you can work from all kinds of places and on different devices without having to use Remote Workplace.

Are you moving to the Netherlands with your partner and looking to build your own career here? Whether your partner will be working at Leiden University or elsewhere, this page is for anyone relocating to the Netherlands and exploring job opportunities. Here you’ll find useful tips, resources, and links…

What do you need to record a knowledge clip in the studio? You can find below a checklist of the materials you need to bring to a studio recording. Keep in mind that this checklist depends on the kind of video you want to record. Always discuss the specifics for producing such a video with your video…

If we want to show the impact of our research, we can’t do so without science communication. But how do you go about communicating science? Where do you start as a science communication novice? And how do you take your communication to a higher level? On this page, you will find websites, articles,…

Our Research Funding Community continuously gathers intelligence that helps with preparing proposals efficiently and to give them the necessary competitive edge. All grant advisors are happy to share this information, and to guide you throughout the process. For quick reference, this page summarises…

Bachelor, Master

Via Microsoft 365 and OneDrive you can work from all kinds of places and on different devices without having to use Remote Workplace.

Congratulations on your awarded grant. Here is a checklist of what to do next and who you will need to involve to get your project started.

If your work allows it, you can work partly from home and partly from a university location. How exactly this combination looks for you depends on your own work and that of your team.

Many Leiden University employees engage in ancillary activities. The University stimulates such activities because we believe that the right place for a university is at the very heart of society. Ancillary activities bring together research, teaching and society. However, there are some limits on what…

For the academic year 2025-2026, nine (teams of) teachers will receive a Grassroots or Grass shoots grant. Here you can read about their projects.

LaTeX is a system for document preparation. It gives the user control over typesetting, references, complex formulas, and more. It is widely used in communication and publication of scientific documents in many fields.

The Terms of Employment Individual Choices Model gives you some freedom to select your own terms and conditions.

Management, Research, Working effectively, Transferable skills

In the Netherlands, children attend school from the age of 4 and are legally required to do so from the age of 5. Elementary school, or primary education (basisschool), lasts 8 years.

How do you fulfill a chairing position during a team meeting? How do you visualise a dataset for a presentation? How do you write the introduction to a scientific article? All Science students can find the answers to these and many more questions in the 100+ skill modules on the digital Science Skills…

By day, Roeland Merks works on mathematical models that describe cells and complex systems. In the evenings, he opens the door to a different world. In his home and art space De Spelonk, contemporary art, experimentation and curiosity come together — right at the intersection with his scientific per…

ICT

A lot is going on in the world right now, and our university regularly faces big issues and dilemmas too. Then it can be tricky to switch off. For me, exercise is a way to unwind. We want our staff to be able to relax too and are therefore offering various events and workshops that should help.

During the last couple of months, Leiden University has conducted many constructive discussions with the University Council and many other experts and groups from the academic community. Based on their input, the Executive board has decided to create a preliminary policy regarding our ties to Israeli…

We asked a lot of everyone last year. The Personnel Monitor showed that the workload was high in 2022 and Covid took its toll. I therefore think everyone deserves some downtime. Time away from the daily grind.

Security

Finance

On November 25th, BPS students Bart van Lieshout (right) and Scott Engels (left) received Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg Research Prizes from the KHMW. This annual prize is awarded to students who have written a master's thesis in the pharmaceutical and medical sciences field.

No joke: on 1 April, the antique Van de Wall telescope was relocated to the atrium of the Gorlaeus Building. Have you spotted it yet?

We’ve been using BAS InSite, the university’s new basic administration system, for a month now. The transition to a single integrated platform for all HR, financial and administrative tasks went smoothly, for the most part, but also created a few challenges. ‘It’s not just a technical change; it also…

The freedom to be who you are – woman, man, homosexual, heterosexual, transgender, religious, atheist, and so on – is perhaps the Netherlands’ greatest attribute. The principle of equality and the right not to be discriminated against are in the very first article of our constitution. Yet there is a…

AI is already widely being used in HR processes, but it’s unclear whether these applications contribute to fair and inclusive decision making. Leiden researcher Carlotta Rigotti is involved in BIAS, a big consortium research project that aims to provide answers and develop a new, trustworthy AI app…