Psychology teacher of the year is Anouk van der Weiden. The master thesis awards are for Irina Verhülsdonk and Christel Klootwijk. Eliška Procházková receives the PhD publication prize; Katja Cardol and Judith Tommel the PhD wild card: the Open Science Award. Conny Binnendijk earns the OBP prize and…

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…

Biological chemist Nathaniel Martin and his team received an NWO grant to examine how blocking a specific enzyme in our body, NNMT, could be helpful in the treatment of some cancers. Trials with mice have been promising, and together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Martin wants to take the next…

It is with the greatest sadness that we have learned of the unexpected passing of Emma de Rijke. Emma was a student in the MA Asian Studies, having finished the BA China Studies just before she enrolled in the MA program in February 2024.

In Bronze Age Europe many bronze objects such as axes, swords and jewels were deliberately left at specific spots in the landscape. PhD research by Leiden archaeologist Marieke Visser shows that these practices were expressions of people’s relationship with the world around them. ‘It was a completely…

In April 2025, Ms. Esther Rachow from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem presenting her ongoing doctoral research at an Austria Centre Leiden lunch-time talk. She answered a few questions about her visit below.

After 7.5 years, Jan Kolen is stepping down as Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology. For him, it does not feel like a dramatic moment. ‘It is part of the role: you pass the baton on to someone else.’ He adds with a smile: ‘And I will remain connected to the faculty, so it is not really a farewell.’

It is with great sadness that we inform you that Kavien Begikhani, former student at Leiden University College, passed away on 27 November at the young age of 27. The college community remembers Kavien’s kindness and his commitment to peace and justice for people who suffer from oppression.

Stimulating the vagus nerve, which provides a direct link between the gut and brain, makes people pay less attention to sad facial expressions. This research study by psychologists Katerina Johnson and Laura Steenbergen is published in the journal Neuroscience.

As the father of a family with four children, he already visited the Hortus regularly. Now Tom Schreuder also comes there for his work. Every day he travels from Lisse by bike. The new Director Operations calls it a ‘perfect match’.

How can you increase the effectiveness of inspectors using responsible artificial intelligence (AI)? This is the question the Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) Lab AI4Oversight is tackling. By developing algorithms and methods, they try to provide optimal support for, for example,…

Why is the sky blue? Why are most people right-handed? Why are spiderwebs so strong? These are just some of the questions arriving at Postbus 71, a Leiden2022 project where everyone can ask their questions. Friso de Hartog, the driving force behind Postbus 71, is busy answering as many questions as…

With the start of the new academic year, the Social Resilience & Security programme proudly presents their yearbook. In the yearbook, you read about the programme’s interdisciplinary research building bridges between institutes, its educational activities such as the new Minor ‘Violence Studies’ and…

Dr Claire Achmad has taken up the role of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Chief Children’s Commissioner from 1 November 2023, for a term of five years.

CWTS will get a new board of directors for the coming three years, starting on 1 January 2024. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Leiden University has appointed Ludo Waltman as scientific director and Tjitske Holtrop, Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner and Clara Calero Medina as deputy directors.…

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, has hosted the second Horizon Europe BIAS Project co-creational workshop geared towards discussing fairness in the hiring process and identifing desirable requirements and functionalities of the Debiaser.

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.

What do scholars, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, the police, the National Rapporteur Human Trafficking, Victim Support Netherlands, and the Violent Offences Compensation Fund have in common? They all work with victims, each from their own expertise. High time to combine that knowledge,…

Another year's end draws near. And what a year it has been! On December 12th staff and students of the Faculty of Archaeology came together to celebrate and reminisce. Professor Joanita Vroom got us in a festive mood by telling tales of Byzantine banquets, while a chef served historical dishes to sa…

From a new generation of antibiotics and more-effective vaccines to a map of dark matter and new light on Hindu traditions. Four researchers from Leiden University have received a prestigious €2.5m ERC Advanced Grant to develop their research.

Last Friday, Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2020 ½ and 2021. The 186 students received their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree’s in LUC’s interdisciplinary honours programme Liberal Arts & Sciences: Global Challenges. Under the silver-…

Research conducted by the University of Leiden and the University of Curaçao found that the rights of undocumented children in Curaçao, mostly from Venezuela, are severely under threat, which does not trigger rigorous actions by the Curaçaoan and Dutch authorities.

Claire van den Helder (fourth-year Cultural Anthropology student) and Orestes Kyrgiakis (second-year Cultural Anthropology student) won the Pieter de la Court Medal 2021. The Pieter de la Court Medal is an initiative for students by students and is awarded annually to students who voluntarily contribute…

Digitalisation can make a huge contribution to a greener future, but it must also be as sustainable as possible. To make significant progress, more collaboration and national leadership will be needed. Leiden University has therefore signed the Digital Sustainability Manifesto, which was presented on…

On 10 May 1940, the Netherlands was taken completely by surprise by the attack of the German army. Wasn’t it? In his dissertation, Wouter Linmans debunks the idea that the Second World War took the Netherlands by surprise. ‘From 1935 onwards, all major political parties wanted to invest in the military.’…

South African poet Antjie Krog will be the writer in residence at Leiden University in autumn 2021. Krog is famous for her poetry collections and books, which are often inspired by the history of South Africa. In her role as writer in residence, she will give the annual Albert Verwey Lecture and a series…

SAILS and CAIRELab, the LUMC’s AI expertise centre, recently held an event that gave healthcare professionals and computer scientists the chance to meet. The meeting proved fertile ground for new collaborations.

In 2022, Leiden will be the European City of Science. University lecturer Jaap de Jong has created special assignments for the journalism master's students to celebrate this: they will go into the city to visualise knowledge from the city.

Medical drugs are expensive to make and can have an adverse effect on the environment. Researchers Stefano Cucurachi and Justin Lian have developed a framework to help the healthcare system assess the economic and environmental sustainability of medical compounds.

Despite increasing attention to inclusion, loneliness statistics are not improving for people with intellectual disabilities. University lecturer Paul van Trigt will use an ERC Consolidator Grant to conduct research into friendships between people with and without intellectual disabilities. What does…

How can we tell whether and how a prehistoric weapon was used? How can we better understand the dexterity and combat skills involved in Bronze Age spear fighting? A research team from Leiden and Göttingen University present a new approach to answering these questions: they simulated the actual fight…

Recently, Engin Yüksel gave a lecture on Russian military concepts from 1853 to the present day and his observations on the Russo-Ukrainian war at the Faculty of Humanities, premised on his recently completed doctoral research.

Our annual strategic conference was held this year on 15 and 16 June in Soesterberg, and has now become a tradition at our university.

Professor Jan Willem Erisman is happy with the freedom at our University. But frameworks are needed, he believes. That is why he makes a proposal for such a framework from the perspective of his own profession. In fact, he makes a proposal for a wonderful ambition for Leiden University.

An evening program in the University Library and Middle Eastern Library in Leiden for everyone who has something to do with the Middle East; from Tajikistan to the Mahreb and from Istanbul to Sanaa. View the oldest books and clay tablets from the collection and listen to the most fascinating stories…

Eline van Slijpe wrote her Master of Philosophy thesis on intergenerational justice: does the current generation have obligations towards future generations? With this thesis she won the biannual J.C. Baak Prize.

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

On 6 March, this year’s Thorbecke Lecture was held in Leiden. Christoph Van der Elst of the Faculty of Law and Criminology at Ghent University delivered the lecture entitled: ‘The digital economy and the digital organisation’.

The antibiotic EVG7, developed in Leiden, has proven capable of fighting the dangerous gut bacterium C. difficile with only a minimal dose. What’s more, the bacterium is far less likely to return, a major issue with existing antibiotics. The research was published in Nature Communications.

‘We have to have accountability.’ That was Roberta Metsola’ for her audience on Thursday evening. The President of the European Parliament had come to the Wijnhaven building to speak with students.

Leiden Law School is organising a summer conference on Law and Artificial Intelligence as part of the interfaculty and interdisciplinary research programme on Artificial Intelligence (SAILS) at Leiden University.

The new open access book The Science of Citizen Science bundles insights into science that is conducted together with citizens, to promote this growing form of science.

Professor of International Relations Daniel Thomas is clear: anyone taking peace in Europe for granted is shutting their eyes to reality.

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, participated in the Horizon Europe BIAS Project international co-creational workshop geared towards discussing fairness of AI applications in the hiring process and ALTAI requirements.

The successful PRINS (PRactising INternational Studies) project offers International Studies students an introduction to the world of practice. In the last semester of their bachelor’s programme, they work as consultants for real-life clients, ranging from Rabobank to Greenpeace. We took a look at the…

From more natural beaches to research on how peace advances biodiversity. Two Leiden research projects have been awarded funding from the European Biodiversa+ partnership. These are grants for interdisciplinary research on restoring biodiversity.

On 11 January 2026, our esteemed and much-loved former colleague, Prof. Dr Marc Spijker, passed away.

On 26 January, Rowie Stolk, Laura Hanrath and Marloes Noorloos spoke at the lecture ‘The Right to Demonstrate under Scrutiny’. This discussion session, part of the university lecture series Community. Conversation. Connection., was organised in response to difficult questions about the right to demo…

Teaching people to recognize subtle, real-world expressions will help them understand and trust others better. The aim of Mariska Kret is to develop an interactive virtual-reality training tool (E-VIRT) for a broad group of users, including patients. Kret provides a brief description of her idea for…

In 2024, the Herta Mohr building was brought into use. The Faculty Office was the first group to be housed in the new building. Towards the end of 2024, a workplace satisfaction survey was conducted among these staff members. With the relocation of LIAS to Herta Mohr in September 2024, the building…