Wednesday 23 of February the NESA Netherlands School of Anthropology) has been officially launched with the first Masterclass by Prof. Dr. Marja Spierenburg (Leiden University) and Dr. Anke Tonnaer (Radboud University). The NESA is a graduate program for PhD candidates of the five Dutch universities…

Johan Christensen, universitair docent bij het Instituut Bestuurskunde, heeft 1,2 miljoen euro subsidie gekregen van de Research Council of Norway. Christensen is co-leider van een project genaamd INFLUEX dat de invloed van experts gaat onderzoeken. Naast Christensen maakt ook Valérie Pattyn van het…

Leiden University’s President of the Executive Board, Professor Annetje Ottow, has been reappointed for a second term by the Board of Governors.

As part of its plans to introduce a stricter asylum policy, the Dutch cabinet wants to expand checks at internal borders within the EU. Professor of Law and Society Maartje van der Woude tells Dutch daily newspaper NRC that this is a symbolic measure: ‘Border checks will not counter the right to seek…

Human resources

Antoaneta Dimitrova, Professor Comparative Governance, spoke in an interview with Euronews about the hurdles ahead for Borrisov, the current prime minister of Bulgaria, despite winning the elections.

Quite a lot went wrong during the virtual hearings that courts held during the coronavirus crisis. Researchers from three universities, including Leiden University, concluded that citizens did not always feel heard and that their legal position was compromised.

Europe is working full steam towards a digital identity for every EU citizen. And although it might be really useful to be able to hire a car everywhere in the EU with no hassles, Bart Custers, Professor of Law and Data Science at eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies, sees many loose ends.…

The end of January arrived together with welcome guests from Saxion University of Applied Sciences. As a part of their two-day-long visit to South Holland, almost 100 Saxion archaeology students visited our Faculty.

LUCL member prof. dr. Holger Gzella has been elected as member of the Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe).

Europe is expected to experience a greater frequency of severe floods. Paul Hudson discusses the challenges of flood management The Conversation.

During a working visit to a company that cleans up space debris, the British Prince Charles suggested that a climate agreement specifically for space might be a good idea. Experts, including Leiden Law School’s Tanja Masson-Zwaan, say the idea is wishful thinking.

Social

Mirjam Sombroek, Aart Hendriks and Martine de Vries (LUMC) will work on mapping the ethical and legal aspects of gene therapy. The aim is to establish a best practice of how society can best deal with these therapies. For example with guidelines on how to regulate, reimburse and make these therapies…

Finance

The Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) of Leiden University contributed to the design and teaching of modules of this year’s edition of the Ministry of Defence’s ‘International Military Cooperation Course Africa’.

Dr. Sara Brandellero and Dr. Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues from Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society will lead a collaborative research project funded by Horizon Europe Work Programme on Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society. #DemocracyinAction studies arts and culture-based grassroots…

At a festive book presentation on the 21st of July Prof. em. Henk Versnel received a copy of the volume Coping with Versnel. This historiographical volume highlights the important position of Versnel’s work in the study of religion in the ancient world.

The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden features a small photo exhibition on Mark Driessen's fieldwork research project in Southern Jordan. In this small exhibition you will see a selection of nine photos, made in Udhruh. This ancient Jordanian settlement lies fifteen kilometres east of Petra,…

Hundreds of students and staff from Leiden University gave a ‘whistle concert’ on 11 December against the planned cuts to higher education. Similar protests were held in other student cities on the same day.

How does astronomy benefit you? The new single-episode podcast Cosmic Perspectives explores the impact of Dutch astronomy on society: from building positive international relationships to the transfer of life-changing technology.

On Monday we welcomed our students to the faculty with hearts, chocolate, and asking them to take the National Student Survey (NSE). A combination of Valentine’s Day and the start of the NSE campaign week – encouraging students to take the online survey.

On 31 August 2022, a delegation from the Korean Ministry of Government Legislation visited the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) at Leiden University as part of their official visit to the Netherlands. The delegation’s visit was aimed at exchanging knowledge and experience on interaction…

With Leiden2022 drawing nearer, LeidenGlobal is busy developing extra activities to demonstrate the knowledge that is present in Leiden and to create interaction with a wider audience. With this valorisation, the partnership between several cultural and academic institutions in Leiden matches the theme…

Leiden University organized its first university-wide iftar, an event aimed at fostering connection and dialogue on cultural and religious diversity. This initiative was made possible by the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, POPcorner-FSW, student association SABR, and POPcorner The Hague.

The Air and Space Law (Advanced LL.M.) master’s programme at Leiden University is among ten ‘excellent master’s programmes’ at Dutch universities. This is according to ‘Keuzegids masters 2024’, a guide to master’s programmes in the Netherlands.

In two moving articles, Dutch newspaper Trouw has reported on the lengthy detention of Abu Zubaydah in Guantánamo Bay. Zubaydah was tortured over a period of many years. Helen Duffy, Professor of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and also Zubaydah’s lawyer, recently booked a major victory…

Organisation

On Friday, June 28, 2024, emeritus professor Rudy B. Andeweg passed away. His passing marks the loss of an important figure within the field of political science, not only nationally, but internationally. Here we remember an outstanding researcher, inspiring teacher, capable administrator and an involved…

Lecture

The Leiden Leadership Centre (Leiden University), the Centre for Leadership Ethics and Organisation (Queen's University Belfast) and the Journal of Change Management will be organising a symposium and a special issue on multi-level leadership for the collective good. The complexity and dynamics of societal…

The annual commemoration of the nation’s war dead on Dam Square and at Waalsdorpervlakte, the Dutch apologies for historical slavery and the Cleveringa Lecture itself: our relationship with history is often ritualistic, Cleveringa Professor Frank van Vree will say in his inaugural lecture on 27 Nove…

From Roman ships to the ‘Gordon’ cavalry mask. Alumnus Tom Hazenberg was involved in spectacular finds that put the Dutch frontiers of the Roman Empire on the map. His mission is to give heritage back to the people.

On 7 and 8 November 2024, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), the Institute of Security & Global Affairs at Leiden University, and The Netherlands’ National Coordinator for Security and Counter Terrorism (NCTV) partnered to host a ‘Blue-Sky’ Terrorist Exploitation of Artificial…

Seven researchers from Leiden University have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. This will enable them to start their own project, build their research team and put their best ideas into action.

People need to get to know each other to see the positive side of migration, according to photographer and documentary maker Koen Suidgeest. Since the end of September, Suidgeest has been the new city photographer for the region of Leiden. His goal is to photograph as many cultural identities as possible…

Framing Poland through the lens of post-socialism, as is common in the social sciences, has become outdated. This label no longer captures the rapid changes that have taken place since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Ola Gracjasz's research shows that people are redefining their national identity, blending…

An archaeologist as a modern-day shaman. An unexpected comparison Professor by Special Appointment of Public Archaeology Luc Amkreutz will make in his inaugural lecture.

Rather than one key and one strong lock, biology often uses tens or hundreds of weaker links to bind parts together, such as cells membranes. This allows for selectivity and also reversibility: the binding can also be undone. Researchers first caught this phenomenon using spheres or colloids, and published…

The child benefits scandal caused significant harm to families. The independent Hamer Commission specifically investigated the link between the scandal and the removal of children from their homes. Public Administration student Benito Walker was a member of this commission and shares his experiences…

The Master of Medicine at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has won the national biennial award for best educational innovation in medical teaching. It was awarded the prize by the Netherlands Association for Medical Education (NVMO) for its MasterMinds Challenge (MMC).

Following the retirement of Roswitha Manning, a vacancy arose at Faculty of Archaeology for the role of Research Policy Advisor. We found one in the person of Jimmy Mans, a well known face for longer-serving Faculty staff. In this interview we reconnect with Jimmy, who calls himself ‘a homegrown Leiden…

Doing a PhD on the side? External PhD candidates, like Joost Van der Helm, just get on and ‘do it’. Besides his hectic job as a justice at the Court of Appeal in The Hague, Van der Helm managed to still find time to write a PhD dissertation.

When following a course on archaeology of the Crusaders, five archaeology students were presented the unique opportunity to create a small exhibition at the National Museum of Antiquities. The coronavirus situation made a complex task even more challenging. ‘We had to work through the lockdown with…

An atomic vandal has finally been caught! Scientists from Leiden University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Laboratory have uncovered the mysterious cause behind the rapid corrosion of platinum electrodes. This breakthrough paves the way for more affordable green hydrogen production and…

An internship at the Police Academy in Apeldoorn. This will be possible for the first time for third-year students of the bachelor's programme Security Studies as of September 2021, now that Leiden University and the Police Academy have joined forces. ‘The internships offer students a unique opportunity…

Researchers from the Institute of Psychology have secured NWO Open Competition XS grants, each worth up to €50,000. One of the projects explores how making music together can enhance cooperation. Discover more about all five research projects.

Traces of the past remain hidden in rivers, lakes and seas. In his inaugural lecture Martijn Manders will explain why underwater archaeology is important to understanding our history.

During the guest lecture on 9 February, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Rob de Wijk and Frans Osinga discussed the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan. The crises in eastern Ukraine and the increasing tensions around Taiwan highlight the challenges the West faces in deterring aggression in the new era of key dynamics…

Professor Pieter ter Keurs has spent his entire career studying collecting. Now, he is retiring. ‘I hope the focus on collections will carry on.’