Healthy communal meals that also prevent food waste. On 4 March, Hague alderman Robert Barker came to see what was cooking at the LUC Community Kitchen, a partnership between students and The Hague Market.

Maryam Alqassab, an assistant professor at ICLON (Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching), helps train new PhD supervisors and knows how demanding the role can be. When asked to contribute to an online handbook for PhD supervisors, she didn’t hesitate: ‘Everything supervisors do or are involved…

How can we help our students build resilience and prevent unnecessary stress? And how do we break the taboo on failure? These and other questions are what study advisers, lecturers, deans and student support staff discussed at the staff symposium on student well-being at PLNT.

Education

Leiden University is committed to creating a pleasant working environment for its staff. It may nevertheless happen that you find yourself unable to work due to a temporary or long-term illness or disability. The university occupational health physicians can help you reduce health risks and give you…

Leiden University is committed to creating a pleasant working environment for its staff. It may nevertheless happen that you find yourself unable to work due to a temporary or long-term illness or disability. The university occupational health physician can help you reduce health risks and give you…

Public procurement is not a hot topic for the average citizen. That’s a pity, says PhD candidate Erik Plas, who did research on the fair spending of public money: 'If a council project goes completely haywire, because it costs more than expected, it could even mean that local taxes will have to be r…

The 2025 Grassfields grant has been awarded to Skill’Ed, an interfaculty initiative aimed at supporting students in developing transferable skills and preparing for the job market. Skill’Ed was selected by the review committee for its strong alignment with our educational vision and strategic plan,…

bachelorstudent Serafine Beugelink ontwikkelt kaartspel over elementaire deeltjes en deeltjesfysica. Ze zet succescol haar eigen bedrijf op.

The Honours Academy celebrates its tenth anniversary. How did the institute develop over time, and what are aspirations for the future? We speak with the current Dean and a predecessor who was there at the Academy's founding. A conversation about identity, inspiration, and impact ensues. ‘It is about…

On 6 January 2025, Leiden Law School celebrated a special milestone: our 450th birthday! Our special anniversary year got underway with a panel discussion with Bonnie Honig, as well as a celebratory toast.

The JUL board 2025/2026 consists of five colleagues:

During the HALON hacking competition, 28 teams had one goal: to find as many vulnerabilities as possible in the systems of Dutch higher education institutions. Research software engineer Chris Handy participated on his own and ended up in second place in the category ‘Vulnerabilities found at the highest…

As you know, the faculty is working on a new follow-up strategy with six themes. Each theme now has its own writing team. Every week we speak with one of these teams about their work, and share the highlights. On this page you can find the current article and an overview of all articles on the follow-up…

Izra ter Weer's mother had studied English Language and Culture in Leiden and was always so enthusiastic about her studies that Izra decided to follow in her footsteps. After completing a Master's degree in Linguistics, she now works as a consultant at strategic consultancy firm Sprenkels and organises…

A number of organisational changes have been implemented in the faculty office of the Faculty of Humanities. This has led to the creation of BAS: the department responsible for Policy, Advice and Strategy. Department heads Marcel Belderbos and Tim Lamers introduce themselves and the new department.

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.

Wat zie jij als je verderkijkt? Hoe ziet studeren aan de Universiteit Leiden in 2075 eruit? We nodigen je uit om mee te doen met Verderkijkers.

There is a lot of discussion about international students and Dutch universities. The Cultural Anthropology and Sociology of Development programme is an international bachelor's programme. Forty per cent of our students come from outside the Netherlands. We ask five students how they feel about studying…

The world is currently beset by many problems. The armed conflict and continuing violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories is resulting in numerous casualties. This is giving rise to many emotions and reactions worldwide, and also greatly affecting our own university community. We have seen…

After a big two-day conference, the Growing Up Together in Society consortium has officially begun. Researchers from seven universities will spend the next decade looking at how young people grow up as engaged and resilient adults. Leiden psychologists explain how they will do so.

Leiden University and the Leiden Bio Science Park can make a significant contribution to the earning capacity of the Netherlands. This is the finding of the National Investment Agenda presented today.

How did early humans use their hands, and what can that tell us about our shared past? Cora Leder, newly awarded recipient of the NWO PhD in the Humanities grant, is set to find out.

A fresh vision on publishing, a broad set of quality criteria for education and research and plenty of opportunities to share good practices and learn from each other. These are all on the 2025 agenda for Academia in Motion: our university-wide programme that brings together Open Science and Recognition…

How do politics and play relate to each other? Six Leiden academics hope to find an answer to that question over the coming years. They have received an NWO grant of 750,000 euros. Professor Sybille Lammes and University Lecturer Bram tell us how they plan to spend the money.

Book launch and panel

The university is exploring how to improve our educational logistics. Deputy Director of Operations and project leader Joop van Pijkeren answers five questions about the project.

The first staff symposium on Student Wellbeing – from abstract idea to practical tips – will take place on 15 March 2022. Why have we chosen a practical approach and what can you expect? Sonja Wagenaar (SEA) is project manager and she tells us more about it.

In May, the University concluded that a smaller programme of construction would be possible for the Humanities Campus. The new criteria were presented, which will have an impact on the surrounding area. During two meetings held in May and June, local residents, business owners and other stakeholders,…

As of 1 September Miranda van Eck will be the new Scientific Director of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research. She succeeds Hubertus Irth, who led the institute since 2016. Van Eck has been appointed for a period of four years.

On International Women's Day (8 March) we take time to consider female emancipation and participation. What does this day mean for Leiden University, and how does it tie in with our aim of becoming more diverse and inclusive? We talked about these issues with Annetje Ottow, who recently became the…

Violette Defourt came to Leiden for her master’s just before Covid hit. Four years later, she is leading her own biotech company, which aims to radically speed up diagnostics.

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.

Her office is a bit tucked away in a corner of the building, but her department is always buzzing with activity. Since May 2024, Renate Rijbroek has been our new Head of Facility Management. There was no slow start: ‘We are working hard towards the official opening in September.’

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.

The youngest institute of the Faculty of Science has had a real growth spurt in recent years. It is up to Martina Vijver as the brand-new scientific director to secure that growth and further develop CML. 'This is a challenge that I am really looking forward too,' says Vijver. 'Together with my colleagues…

An introduction to Japanese language and culture: pupils in the enrichment classes at De Morskring primary school in Leiden and De Vink primary school in Voorschoten get this opportunity. Pupils in years 6, 7 and 8 who could do with more of a challenge follow these classes.

Have you ever seen your friend smiling, and suddenly you started grinning too? PhD student Chris Riddell is researching how and why we copy body language. As a new Face of Science, he will take us along on his research journey for the coming year.

The new university Strategic Plan Innovating and Connecting 2022-2027 was presented during the Dies Natalis on 8 February 2022. Colleagues and students from our faculty also made contributions, inspired by the vision and strategy process underway in our faculty since 2019.

Bringing together chemists and physicists to thoroughly investigate how electrochemical processes work on the smallest scale. That is the goal of the new Advanced Nano-electrochemistry Institute of the Netherlands, or ANION for short. The consortium receives a Gravitation funding of 23.6 million euros…

The Executive Board proposes to take the decision to suspend the existing institutional student exchange programmes with two Israeli universities, and until further notice not to engage in any new exchange programmes with Israeli universities that have comparable links with the Israeli military (the…

Arts and culture

What is it like to participate in the Erasmus+ grant programme as a Master's student from Ukraine? Yevhenii Radchenko did an eight-month internship at Leiden University in 2018. Soon after, he returned as a PhD candidate. 'You have little to lose, but a lot to gain.'

As of 1 September, archaeologist Amanda Henry has been appointed Full Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology, where she will hold the chair in Evolution in Hominin Diets. The appointment marks a new chapter in her academic journey, building on her longstanding research into ancient human diets and…