Until Friday 21 May 2021 (16:00), you can cast your online vote for up to seven candidates for the Faculty Council. Curious who our candidates are and what they stand for?

In a new series we talk to past and present students who were the first in their family to go to university. In this first instalment: novelist and columnist Christiaan Weijts (1976). ‘I always felt as though someone would tap me on my shoulder once they’d discovered my clandestine presence.’

The Surinamese-Dutch language, Parbo Beer and, of course, football. The ‘Dear Aunt Olga’ (‘Lieve tante Olga’) exhibition focuses on the shared Surinamese-Dutch culture. Full of cheer and with life experience to spare, ‘icon’ Aunt Olga (95) leads visitors through a shared history and does not shy away…

On 1 July – Keti Koti, in the year ahead, our university community will be able to reflect extensively on the history of slavery by engaging in research, education and many other activities.

In a collaborative effort between the Leiden Children’s Rights Observatory, the Leiden Law Academy, UNICEF and the Petitions Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a symposium held last week commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the Convention…

We need to dispel the arrogant and misguided idea that modern humans are superior to earlier human species. It is thanks in part to all our predecessors such as Neanderthals that we are who we are today. This is what Marie Soressi, Professor of Hominin Diversity Archaeology, will argue in her inaugural…

Maarten Jansen, professor emeritus at the Faculty of Archaeology, was appointed as Distinguished Emeritus Professor for two years at the University of Bonn. In this position, Jansen, a world-renowned specialist on ancient Mexican pictorial manuscripts, will further expand upon the long-standing collaboration…

The digital society is vulnerable, as we have seen over the past weeks. Our Dean Paul Wouters shares his thoughts and encourages to recover during the time around the holidays.

People in leadership roles are unlikely to discuss leadership skills with their colleagues. But that is precisely what we as a university would like them to do. Because trust in one another’s abilities will make us an agile university that innovates and makes room for talent.

Hydropower plants need not be disastrous for fishermen and nature. For that, we need to place new dams more strategically, but also modify or even remove some existing ones. Valerio Barbarossa and Rafael Schmitt showed that with a computer model of the Asian Mekong basin.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life. This time, Jasper writes his column from Singapore.

After nearly two years of retirement, Wil Roebroeks looks back on a career that began in a time of freedom and ended in a field that has undergone profound academic and social change. ‘I have been fortunate to always enjoy my work,’ he says. ‘That is also my advice to younger generations: above all,…

Professor Remco Breuker plays the leading role in the new documentary ‘Big in Korea’. Over three Sunday evenings, viewers can follow his journey through South Korea. How has the country developed over the past decades? And what is the impact of last December's failed coup?

Julie Külsen is the student member on the Faculty Board, called the assessor, this academic year at Leiden Law School. Who is Julie and what does the assessor actually do? How can she help students? Let’s meet our new assessor!

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Paul Wouters has been involved in open science for 30 years, from his first introduction to a preprint server in 1992 to his recent roles as Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and open science ambassador for Academia in Motion. Wouters is now retiring. He is leaving with high hopes…

What practical steps can we take to resolve cross-border claims to looted art and prevent illicit trafficking in cultural goods? That's what the European Parliament asked Leiden legal scholar Evelien Campfens. Her advice: develop a registration system, issue art with a ‘passport’ and set up a European…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

December 2020 saw the crowning publication of the Landscapes of Survival project by Professor Peter Akkermans. Its main topic is human habitation in marginal environments like the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. ‘The people living here built their own society, and they would not have viewed it as…

We are already halfway through the academic year 2022-2023. And the Faculty Council hasn’t been sitting around doing nothing! Staff members Gert-Jan Lelieveld and Tim Mickler give us an update about the Vision and Strategy Plan and what they are doing in the additional hours available for Council wo…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Jeroen Touwen has been reappointed as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 1 January. ‘The Faculty Board’s role is to serve the organisation: we try to manage the University as effectively as possible with the available resources, so that research and education can flourish.’

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

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…

Every six years, the research conducted at all law schools in the Netherlands is evaluated during a research evaluation. On 6 and 7 October, it was Leiden University’s turn to be evaluated. The aim of this ‘site visit’ is to allow the committee to get an idea of the faculty research climate, the research…

Based upon an academic partnership between the Universities of Birmingham in the UK and Leiden in the Netherlands, Universities and Society at the End of Empire and Beyond (UniSoc) uses these two global seats of learning as a starting point to examine the role of universities in the transition from…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

This column is different from all my previous ones. Normally I highlight one day from the previous two weeks, from early in the morning to late at night. Today, however, I want to look back on the past two weeks, the past few months, in fact. They have been coloured by the most difficult case I have…

A fragmented political landscape, permanent pressure from current affairs and an increasingly political civil service: our government faces many challenges. This makes it all the more difficult to make important decisions about pensions or the climate. Research and good education can help meet the challenges…

In mid-March 2020, the global coronavirus outbreak changed everything in the Netherlands. Staying at home as much as possible and the 1.5 metre rule became the standard. One year on, we reflect on the past year with four Leiden Law School ‘insiders’. What kind of year did they have? And what are their…

Its idyllic setting and white sandy beaches have made the Maldives a hotspot for tourists. This provides an income but is a problem for the fragile natural environment. Students from various universities worked with the local people to make the soil more fertile. How did they go about it?

The Netherlands is losing plant species that rely on pollination by insects. Leiden environmental scientist Kaixuan Pan demonstrates this after analysing 87 years of measurements from over 365,000 plots. The news is alarming for our biodiversity and food security. ‘75 per cent of our crops and 90% of…

An image has great powers of persuasion. It is said that ‘a picture is worth more than a thousand words’. But these days, images can easily be manipulated with severe consequences. ‘Perhaps it’s time to reconsider the value we attach to images’, says Elize de Mul, whose PhD thesis deals with ‘digital…

CML grants three Stans Awards each year, for the best student thesis, best PhD paper, and best outreach from the past year. The CML staff nominated students and colleagues and this year’s jury Prof. Martina Vijver & Prof. Willie Peijnenburg made the final decision.

What role did inequality play in the past? On Friday 5 December, Master's students in history presented their answers at a conference they organised themselves.

Houses, warehouses, wells, a mooring and even a stable. All of this can be seen on the oldest known map of the island of Dejima acquired by Leiden University Libraries (UBL). The map provides a highly detailed picture of a tiny living environment on the isolated island.

This year too, the faculty year was opened in the Hortus Botanicus. In the centuries-old garden, staff and students met with drinks and snacks.

On Wednesday, 30 August 2023, the graduation ceremony took place in Leiden University’s Academy Building. The ceremony was a momentous occasion, attended by distinguished guests, faculty members, and the proud families and friends of the graduates. The event celebrated the hard work, dedication, and…

The Guggenheim Fellowship is a prestigious award for US nationals. There are more than 3,000 applications every year, and this year only 188 were honoured. Professor Jonathan Silk is one of these 188, the first ever at Leiden University, and he tells us more about the fellowship and what he will do…

Nowadays they can cause the fall of ministers, but once upon a time receipts were a new phenomenon. Associate Professor Robert Stein is to receive a grant from NIAS to map their origins.

What does GenAI mean for assessment and teaching formats? During the Education Kick-off 2026, course coordinators discussed new guidelines from the Psychology Board of Examiners and explored alternative forms of assessment and AI tools for education.

On January 30th, students from the interdisciplinary LDE minor "Co-creating a Healthy Society" presented their findings to external clients, such as the Municipal Health Service (GGD) and the Municipality of Leiden. The minor started two years ago. Led by Sandra van Dijk and Coen Wirtz, it is now a…

On 2 December, the Municipality of Leiden will apologise for the role previous administrations played in colonialism and slavery. A further study will be carried out.

On March 20, our institute held a highly engaging Strategy Day, bringing together colleagues to discuss key topics for LACDR with respect to governance, team collaboration, and career paths. The day was marked by insightful debates, interactive activities, and opportunities for informal exchange, all…

The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities strategic alliance celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2022. At the ‘The Next Ten Years’ anniversary celebration in the Faculty Club on 12 April, the partners looked back on their achievements and ahead to the major social challenges of the next ten years.

The results of the 2025 university elections are in. Who will represent us in the participation organs?

Volgens het Europese Hof van Justitie zijn de regels van de FIFA die de basis vormen voor miljoenentransfers in het wereldwijde profvoetbal in strijd met de Europese wetgeving. Stefaan Van den Bogaert, hoogleraar Europees Recht, sprak met het AD en RTL over de mogelijke gevolgen.

'How can public leadership contribute sustainably to solving societal problems?'

Time really does fly: it’s one year since the Student Living Room was officially opened! Masterminded by the Student Support team, this initiative soon took centre stage as the place for students to come together, relax and enjoy a well-earned break from their studies.