A lecturer winning a prize, an expert appearing in the media or a professor giving their inaugural speech: these are faces we often see. But we rarely see the staff who work behind the scenes to make their work possible. They are now featured in the photo exhibition ‘The forces behind the faces’.

Leiden Mayor Peter Heijkoop visited the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and the Faculty of Science on Monday,

Liveable Planet, the Leiden interdisciplinary research programme on sustainability, has a full presence at the LUGO Sustainability Day on Tuesday 9 May. Professor Jan Willem Erisman will deliver the keynote lecture. You can also ask questions about sustainability research and interdisciplinary collaboration…

Het College van Bestuur laat door een postdoc een eenjarig vooronderzoek doen naar het koloniale en slavernijverleden van de Universiteit Leiden.

The drastic cuts to higher education announced by the Schoof caretaker government will affect us all. Although not everything has been finalised, and elections for the Dutch House of Representatives will be held on 29 October 2025, we aim to keep you informed of all developments on this website as best…

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The conflict between Israel and Hamas has had a clear impact on Leiden University. Students and staff are angry or scared, feel unsafe and are experiencing group pressure.

Today, 13 May 2024, Leiden University’s Executive Board is publishing the advice of the committee that investigated reports of unacceptable behaviour and breaches of academic integrity. These reports were about a professor from the university and their partner (a former member of the university staf…

Annetje Ottow is stepping down as President of Leiden University’s Executive Board on 1 September 2025 after almost five years in the role. She looks back at the highs and lows – and ahead to what’s next.

Leiden University’s Executive Board has appointed Erwin Muller as Vice Rector of Organisational Development. In this role, he will help further professionalise and improve the university’s organisation as per the Strategic Plan.

Leiden University will not enter into any new research partnerships with companies in the fossil fuel industry that are not intensively and demonstrably committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Current projects can, however, be completed.

All Leiden University staff will receive an invitation on 17 October to fill in the Personnel Monitor. Why is it important that everyone completes it? And what has happened with the results of the last Personnel Monitor? Vice Chairman of the Executive Board Martijn Ridderbos explains.

Speaking for the Executive Board, Timo Kos reflects on the university’s security policy and what lies ahead. ‘We want to keep our buildings open, but we also need to be able to guarantee the safety of everyone there. It’s a real balancing act.’

On Wednesday 7 June 2023, Dr Yvonne Erkens, Kate Verhoeff, Emma Snel, and Fleur Walravens of the Department of Labour Law in Leiden, gave a presentation on The Database of Business Ethics for the Oxford Business and Human Rights Network (OxBHR) at the University of Oxford.

Leiden University and four other Dutch universities will appoint 51 PhD candidates to conduct solution-oriented research for and with the African continent.

Two of eLaw’s Advanced Masters students, Dimitra Laskari and Vasilis Xynoglas, presented their research on the Metaverse and Personal Digital Twins at the Neurocognition and the Reproduction of Space conference in Shanghai, China. The students presented on the rules for the Metaverse under the GDPR…

Carlotta Rigotti, post-doc researcher at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, and Alexandre Puttick (Bern University of Applied Science) presented some research outputs of the Horizon Europe BIAS project during the European Workshop on Algorithmic Fairness '23.

On 27 May 2025, the Executive Board decided to establish a Committee on Human Rights / Conflict Zones.

Luris supports and advises researchers and societal partners on knowledge transfer, research impact and public-private partnerships between researchers and society. The organisational structure of Luris is changing to help us better meet the changing needs of our researchers and civil society. Read…

Professor Sarah de Rijcke became the new Rector Magnificus of Leiden University on 15 January 2026. She introduces herself and shares what motivates her to take on this role.

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on teaching at universities over the past two years. Through force of circumstances, lecturers have adapted much faster to a digital future. On 7 June Leiden Teachers Academy’s annual Education Festival (working language is English) will present insights on this ‘new n…

Background information on the published updates.

The Leiden Register of Programmes lists all degree programmes that the University offers. The Executive Board is responsible for these programmes. There are two sections to the Register. The first section comprises a framework document that describes the nature of the teaching at Leiden University…

Professor Steven Truxal was invited to address the 15th European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) Forum of Directors General in Paris on 6 December 2022.

On April 10 -11, the annual national event NWO ICT.Open 2024 takes place in the Beatrix Theater in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. The event brings scientists from all ICT research disciplines and industries together to learn, share ideas, and network.

Leiden University no longer wishes to collaborate with fossil fuel partners that are not demonstrably committed to achieving the Paris Agreement targets. Exceptions will be made only if a collaboration demonstrably contributes to the energy transition. This proposal by the Executive Board was discussed…

From academic freedom to security and medical breakthroughs: during Leiden University’s 451st Dies Natalis, the speakers reflected on the role of universities in a world of social and geopolitical tensions.

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, is well represented at a number of activities in Leiden this week concerning Technology and Society!

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.

A national walkout will be staged on Monday 13 May. Leiden Scholars for Palestine has called on students and staff from Leiden University to meet at 11.00 at the Lipsius building in Leiden and the Wijnhaven building in The Hague.

Turkish and Syrian students met Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl to discuss how the university can support students who have been affected by the earthquake.

The internal auditor appraises the effectiveness and reliability of the internal organisation of Leiden University. We work in close collaboration with an external auditor during the financial audit of project reports and the financial statement. The various audits provide a clear picture of what is…

On 15 October 2021, the EFTA Court held its annual conference in Luxembourg, this year under the title 'People in the EEA'. The EFTA Court is in charge of cases arising under the law of the European Economic Areas (EEA) in the EEA/EFTA states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Christa Tobler was invited…

Leiden University, together with the Open University and Universities of the Netherlands, will take up residence in the Spui building at Grote Marktstraat 48-50/Spui 3 in downtown The Hague from 2025. The partners signed the leases on 7 November.

Three new initiatives will provide a more diverse view of Leiden’s academic history, literally and figuratively: a historical study on the background of students and scientists, a new book about the Academy Building, and two new sculptures of female scientists, Ewine van Dishoek, Professor of Molecular…

Finance, Human resources

On Wednesday 6 March, eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies will be hosting Professor Margot Kaminski, an eminent scholar from Colorado Law School, for a research morning on her new paper on Participatory Data Governance, co-authored with Dr Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor at eL…

Leiden University has a Security Measures Steering Committee. Each security measure comprises different elements and therefore requires a multidimensional approach; for example, additional camera surveillance or installing card readers.

Black-and-white photographs filled with solemn young men and distinguished professors line the walls of the Grand Auditorium. Young women are missing from the photos; women rarely obtained PhDs 50 years ago. And this article is about that group, the PhD candidates between 1966 and 1972, who were invited…

The Durham Declaration was presented at the Climate Symposium marking the Coimbra Group’s 40th anniversary on 26 March. Leiden University is proud to be one of the first signatories of this declaration.

A group of nine activists from Students for Palestine occupied part of the Academy Building on Wednesday 26 November. Outside, a group of around 30 demonstrators chanted slogans and called on the Executive Board to sever ties with Israeli universities.

Management, Leadership

The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) alliance signed a collaboration agreement with the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology on 23 September.

Over 30 ambassadors strengthened their ties with researchers and university leaders in a recent visit to Leiden University. Cross-border collaboration (both literal and figurative) was the theme of presentations and a tour of the Hortus botanicus.

The outline agreement proposed by the new cabinet will have serious consequences for higher education and research. If the plans go through, there will be significant cutbacks in our sector. We will keep you up to date with developments on this page.

If you notice something you think may be unethical or illegal, you can discuss this in confidence with the confidential counsellor.