Lecture, VVIK lecture

On Wednesday 27 September we will be holding a debate for students and staff on our links with the fossil fuel industry in relation to the topic of sustainability. All students and staff of the university are cordially invited. If you’re still not sure about whether to attend, these four questions and…

The brief removal of Rein Dool’s ‘cigar-smoking white men’ painting generated a storm of reactions last November. Students, staff and alumni reflected on this at a symposium on Friday 26 May.

Mark Rutgers has been reappointed as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. After a first term where the focus was mainly internal, it’s time to look outwards.

Leiden University has set up two committees to consider issues that are the focus of much attention within our community and society at large. They are the Knowledge Security Committee and the Fossil Fuel Industry Collaboration Committee. Former dean Joanne van der Leun will chair both.

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.

Didactics

Leiden University will set up further activities with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Het zal niemand ontgaan zijn dat de digitale dreigingen blijven toenemen. Uit monitoring door onze cybersecurity-experts blijkt dat er continu wordt geprobeerd om ook onze systemen binnen te dringen. Wat doen wij daartegen en hoe kan jij als medewerker bijdragen aan onze cyberveiligheid?

We take it for granted that water comes out of the tap and electricity out of the socket. But that isn’t always the case. Last Tuesday began like any other day, with our board meeting in the morning. But things were soon to change.

In Harper’s Magazine, reviewer Dan Piepenbring discusses the latest book by professor Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman. ‘Spycraft’ showcases how and why messages were ciphered in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England.

Nadine Akkerman recently appeared as a guest on a BBC podcast and the History Extra podcast to discuss her book Spycraft. In these interviews, she delved into the fascinating world of espionage, sharing insights from her research and highlighting key themes from her work.

Medewerkers van de Universiteit Leiden trappen maandag 10 maart de estafettestaking af van de Nederlandse universiteiten tegen de kabinetsbezuinigingen.

Leiden University contributed to colonialism and slavery through its research and teaching. And governors and residents of Leiden had an active role in colonial networks. These are the findings of two explorative studies presented on 3 April.

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.’

Young Dutch people’s reading skills have been declining for years. The main reason for this is that many have difficulty with reading at greater depth. Teach pupils to read actively in order to construct meaning is what Leiden researchers Paul van den Broek, Christine Espin and Anne Helder write in…

Conference

A safe haven for students, more bicultural staff and more powers for diversity officers. In a national expert meeting at Campus The Hague, administrators, diversity officers, students and staff discussed urgently needed measures.

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.

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’.

Conference, Annual Conference of the Flemish-Dutch Society for Early Modern History

The Mapping Slavery project will place markers that tell the story of Leiden’s slavery past. Why is this important and what does it mean for today’s society? Before the markers are placed, a panel came together on 24 March to discuss the slavery past of not only the city but the University too.

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

Lecture, LUCIS What's New?! Series

Didactics

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

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…

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.

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…

Thijs Porck, university lecturer of medieval English at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHS).

History student Lydia Boer has won the Uitgeverij Verloren/Johan de Witt incentive prize. She receives the prize for her bachelor’s thesis The marriage between Johan de Witt and Wendela Bicker: a political affair?

Leiden University is publishing a list giving an overview of its research collaborations with the fossil fuel industry.

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.