Protest is a human right and an important way to hold the authorities to account. But how does the right to protest relate to academic freedom and the right to education?

When a spot in the core group of the Strategy Team became available, she immediately applied for the position. Because as Head of HR, Elice Schöne feels it is important that her department is well connected to the strategic plan.

Eight scientists from Leiden University have been awarded a grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With this Vidi funding, the researchers can set up an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group over the next five years.

Human cells are protecting their proteins from unfolding and aggregating. That's what biophysicist Alireza Mashaghi and his team discovered after seven years of in-depth research into the folding mechanisms of proteins. With an unprecedented approach, the team was able to study the folding of a single…

The Advanced Nano-electrochemistry Institute Of the Netherlands (ANION) consortium will receive 23.6m euros in Gravitation funding for research on important electrochemical processes for energy transition. An additional four consortia with members from Leiden have also been awarded funding.

The social sciences are vital in navigating complexities, fostering understanding and bridging divides. This was celebrated during the faculty opening of the academic year.

In summer 2018 classical archaeologist Hanna Stöger passed away. At that moment she was in the midst of several cutting-edge research projects on the use of space in the Roman city of Ostia. To make sure that her groundbreaking work would not go unpublished, long-time colleagues Hans Kamermans and Bouke…

Nurturing Student Creativity: Innovative Approaches to Sharing Scientific Results. Bridging Generations and Empowering Ethical Exploration in Anthropology Education

Better recognition and rewarding for support staff. Organisations tend to overlook this, despite the crucial role this group plays. A new initiative is set to change this for our faculty. Paul de Hoog explains how FWN support staff will soon have even better opportunities for growth.

On Prinsjesdag, 16 September 2025, the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) opened the new faculty year with a reception at Wijnhaven. The opening was dedicated to the university’s lustrum theme: ‘Ahead of Time’.

For an assignment for the course Medical Anthropology, students were asked to choose a theme related to the Covid-19 pandemic, find information and present their work in a creative way. The results are impressive.

The theme of the opening of this year’s academic year was peace and justice. With the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine, these are turbulent times. During the ceremony those present reflected on what the academic community and universities can mean in times of crisis and conflict.

How the TikTok account came across his publication remains a mystery to researcher Martín Hernán Di Marco. But he is well aware that his work has gone viral. The video has now been viewed five million times and shared more than 100,000 times.

At the 24-th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, held in The Hague 1-6 December, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies played a prominent role, contributing cutting-edge research and expert insights to key debates on international law.

Permission was recently given for all members of the examining committee and co-supervisors at PhD ceremonies to wear academic dress, even if they’re not full professors. How historic is this change?

Without academic freedom, we might not have antibiotics, nor a deep understanding of human behaviour. Literary criticism, climate models, and ecological restoration would be severely limited; just like ethical reflection on artificial intelligence, justice, trauma, parenting, faith and hope. All these…

On Tuesday 5 September, the opening of the faculty year took place at the Kamerlingh Onnes Building. Staff and students gathered in the Cleveringa Room to take part in the interactive part of the programme.

Academics increasingly face threats, intimidation and abuse. The WetenschapVeilig platform has been launched to address this. Academics who are being threatened or intimidated can seek help from the platform 24 hours a day. It’s good that we now have this platform. But at the same time, it’s awful that…

Nadia Bouras will give the Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture on 6 March. She will call for academic freedom for everyone.

The annual conference of the Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) interdisciplinary research programme will take place in The Hague on 7-9 June. As a researcher at Leiden University, why should you be there? ‘Nearly every research study has a governance dimension, but academics often…

Police, administrators and other parties will from now on have access to the advice of the new Academic Advisory Board for the Police. Maartje van der Woude, professor of socio-legal studies, is one of the members of this council.

'Academics who share their knowledge with the outside world on social media are often insulted or even threatened. Especially female academics and academics of colour seem to regularly be the victim of sexist and racist comments.' This is what Ineke Sluiter, Professor of Greek Language and Literature…

How do we balance policy critique with constructive policy recommendations? How do we navigate power relations between policy makers and (disadvantaged) communities, without estranging either? And what are particularly productive methods for translating our medical anthropological insights into poli…

In the new video series 'The World of Linguistics', alumni and academics talk about their passion for their field. Student Aline-Priscillia is particularly curious about how language is processed in the brain.

On Tuesday the 5th of September the Faculty of Archaeology officially opened its academic year. All staff and students were invited to this festive occasion.

Students at research universities and universities of applied sciences are positive about their lecturers’ expertise and the atmosphere within their programmes. Almost one-third report experiencing excessive academic pressure. These are the findings of the 2026 National Student Survey.

Publishing an article as early as during your studies. Master's students of Nanne Timmer and Astrid Weyenberg are doing it. In the new course 'Leiden Graduate Journal Culture and Society' they are creating an academic journal.

The Faculty of Humanities is launching the Programme Standards project with the aim of distributing the teaching effort more transparently and fairly. In June, the Faculty Council approved the Programme Standards project on the condition that it would include enough evaluation moments, a condition that…

Would you like to share your expertise with a wide audience, and in a very convenient way? The Vraag het Leiden (Ask Leiden) video platform is looking for academics who can answer questions sent in by the general public, both young and old, by recording short videos.

On Tuesday 6 September, the faculty year 2022-2023 got off to a great start with Leiden Law Op 1, our yearly talkshow live from the Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw. Together with the Faculty Board, academic staff and students, we looked ahead to the upcoming academic year.

The Steering Committee of the European Network on Teaching Excellence (ENOTE) is delighted to announce that Professor Hester Bijl, Rector Magnificus of Leiden University, will deliver the opening remarks for ENOTE’s first Academic Training Week.

Leiden University is pressing ahead with Open Science and Recognition & Rewards! This is the key message of the new Academia in Motion steering group.

On September 16th, 2024, Dr Arjan Louwen was inaugurated to the Young Academy Leiden. This platform serves to bring young, enthusiastic and driven early career (post-PhD) academics together. ‘I find it a really inspiring and welcoming group.’

The Institute for Philosophy has a new Academic Director: on 1 February, James McAllister was succeeded by Douglas Berger. We asked him about his plans.

Of course, Jan Melissen is proud of the publication of his new book. Even so, one painful memory lingers: because of American interference, he was forced to remove the chapter on citizen diplomacy, diversity and inclusion. ‘It did affect me.’

The theme of the Opening of the Academy Year on 4 September was sustainability and how the university could take the lead as a change agent. How is it going about this and what else can it do? There was also room for a critical note.

Young Academy Leiden (YAL) will change its board this month and welcome six new members. Outgoing chair Rachel Plak and incoming chair Ahmed Mahfouz talk about what the platform has achieved for young academics over the past year and what the plans are for the future.