Alumna Nadia Kadhim started in 2017 as a corporate lawyer implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at one of the companies where she volunteered. By late 2022 she had received both a Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Award and was on the Forbes 30 under 30 list with her legal start-up…

Thanks to a €4.8 million grant from the Dutch Research Council, a consortium that includes four physicists from Leiden University will develop a national facility for atomic-scale research into novel materials. This initiative is expected to drive innovation for energy transition.

Beautiful prizes, special speeches, and a reception with live music. The well-attended Leiden Science New Year's reception was a delightful way to start the year 2023. Dean Jasper Knoester opened the event after which it was announced who were chosen teacher and bachelor student of the year.

Heavy! This is the first word that comes to lecturer Marjo de Graauw’s mind when she looks back on the past year. But with her creativity and experience with educational innovation she was nonetheless able to provide her usual high standard of teaching.

Library

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.

At the start of 2025, the Faculty of Science (FWN) will take on their new roles as programme directors. Charlene Kalle, Thijs Bosker, and Maurijn van der Zee will each be responsible for one of the faculty's bachelor programmes. Their appointments are for a term of four years.

Seven hundred and three independent student flats will be built in the entrance area of the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP), close to the University Sports Centre. Construction will begin this year and the accommodation is expected to be completed by the start of academic year 2023-2024.

Education, ICT

Facility

Education

Over the next few years, the Pieter de la Court building will be refurbished. This summer, the first to be tackled is the basement. What will happen?

The Faculty of Humanities has made a festive start to the academic year. On 7 September, staff members were able to meet each other at a drinks party in the Hortus botanicus.

In the coming months, the university will make funds available to young Leiden researchers who want to start small-scale interdisciplinary initiatives. These so-called KIEM funds are earmarked for up to 22 projects of €10,000 each. During an interdisciplinary event on Wednesday 17 May, you can get the…

Find the answers to all your teaching questions on the Science Teacher Platform by SEEDS.

Library, Research

In June, we will be organising an online meeting on the Faculty Strategic Plan (FSP). The FSP sets out the Faculty’s ambitions for the years ahead and describes how we will respond to new developments while still retaining our strengths. May we ask you to give your opinion on our future?

Prof Dr Joke Bouwstra will receive the “ Dr Saal van Zwanenberg Ereprijs” from the “Koninklijke Hollandse Maatschappij der Wetenschappen” on November 14 in Haarlem. Joke is awarded for her innovative contributions to the field of skin delivery science and technology. She shares the price with prof…

Education

Facility, ICT

Education, ICT

Education

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.

Education

Fake news a new phenomenon? Not according to Rens Tacoma and Indira Huliselan. In an NWO project, the associate professor and PhD student will delve into the twisting, scheming and tampering with facts that went on thousands of years ago.

That it was students who started the protests in China against its zero Covid policy makes things more dangerous for politicians. China expert Frank Pieke explains the role of students in China, what makes the protests unique and what might happen next.

Collaborations with funds and foundations enable a lot of research. As Fundraiser for Foundations and Major Donors, Madelon Rolleman seeks out these opportunities for Leiden University. ‘I’m always looking for ways to start my conversations with funds and foundations.’

Winning an award at the start of your studies? No problem! Lieke Vertegaal is 20 years old and a first-year Computer Science student at Leiden University. On November 29, 2021, the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KHMW) awarded her a Young Talent incentive award.

Of the women studying at university, 52% have experienced some form of sexual harassment. For male students, the figure is 19%.

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Islamic Empire expanded at a tremendous pace. Within a hundred years, it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian subcontinent. How did such a rapidly conquered territory become one empire? Professor Petra Sijpesteijn has been awarded a Vici grant…

Her part-time job as a city guide in Dordrecht opened Lotte Hamm's eyes: not business administration, but history was her dream study. This semester she starts her bachelor's degree.

You speak Japanese, know everything about medieval art or understand exactly what Hegel meant. And then you graduate. Many Humanities students find it hard to enter the labour market. A relevant part-time job can help. Therefore, the faculty has been working together with the employment agency Randstad…

Many poor people in Indonesia mainly rely on their family members, neighbours and the local community as a social safety net. One of the forms of aid from the community is called ‘jimpitan’ in Central Java. PhD candidate Ayu Swaningrum researched how this social security system works.

Since the beginning of September, Emma van der Plas (20) is the new student ambassador for CADS. Emma is a third-year student and is currently following a minor in Sustainable Development in Leiden. Her goal? To eliminate the stigmas surrounding anthropology. "When I tell people I'm studying anthropology,…

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a prestigious Starting Grant to Leiden archaeologist Dr Nathalie Brusgaard. With this €1.5 million grant, Brusgaard will investigate how the transition to farming in Western Europe affected the relationship between humans and wild animals. A theme that,…

On January 1st Jasper Knoester started as our new dean. How is he finding it? What kinds of things is he doing and what does his day look like? In each newsletter Jasper gives a peek into his life as dean.

Ed van den Berg started his role as the new interim Director of Operations in September. He will hold the fort until a permanent successor to Dirkje Schinkelshoek has been found. What will Ed be doing exactly, and who is he? We’ll leave that to Ed to tell you...

Democracy is under pressure all over the world. With the #DemocracyinAction project, university lecturers Sara Brandellero and Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues want to investigate how grassroots art projects manage to keep democracy alive.

Looking for a different approach in the ongoing discussions on the ethereal matter of Romanisation, Ana Zora Maspoli joined Miguel John Versluys’ research group as a postdoc guest researcher. While she has been active in our Faculty since February 2022, you may not have met her yet due to the Covid-19…

Does gravity work the same when you look at the largest scales in our universe? That’s what Leiden physicist Alessandra Silvestri will study with a 2 million euro ERC Consolidator grant. ‘We assume that it does, but we don’t actually know.’

Be it in climate change, public health or artificial intelligence, when different disciplines join forces, science often flourishes. The new small-scale Kiem grants will enable Leiden researchers to explore or start collaborative projects with colleagues from other faculties. ‘So seek each other out…

A week after the kick-off of the Healthy University Let's Walk Week 2021, colleagues together already have made 7276 'ommetjes'. The Let's Walk Week was entirely devoted to getting and staying active for our personal, physical and mental health.

The University urgently needs IT talent. The ISSC has therefore started a pilot refer-a-friend scheme: if you recommend someone you know for a hard-to-fill IT job and they are hired, you will receive a 1,500-euro (gross) bonus. ‘So hit us with your golden tips,’ says ISSC director Joop van der Born.

What is the effect of a certain regime on a country’s migration policy? Political scientist Katharina Natter compared the migration policy of autocratic Morocco with that of democratising Tunisia. Her findings challenge some of the core assumptions.

The Leiden municipality wants to make the city centre climate-proof and combat heat stress by greening it. But they want to do this in a way that does justice to the city’s heritage. Researcher Fenna IJtsma delves into historical greenery to offer inspiration.