Since 1 November 2025, Prof. Dr. Luc Sels has been the new president of Leiden University's Executive Board. In a message to our university he introduces himself and shares his first impressions.

Study information, Workshop

Thesis assessment is carried out according to faculty standards with associated assessment forms and manuals.

Andrea Warnecke joined the Institute for History in August 2021 as an Assistant Professor in the History and International Studies section. This year, she will get a tenured position. Below, she introduces herself.

From cities that sometimes deviate from national foreign policy to the direct influence of geopolitics on local developments, PhD candidate Pieter Jeroense, director of VNG International, examined seventy years of the internationalisation of Dutch municipalities and observed notable trends.

When Sjoerd van Trigt, a student of International Studies, is not in the lecture hall, you can find him at Rowing Club Asopos de Vliet. He trains there seven times a week. Soon, he will be leaving for a six-month stay in Japan.

Professor Henk te Velde started as interim dean of the Faculty of Humanities on 1 March. Mark Rutgers' successor is faced with the task of getting the faculty back to financial health.

Andrea Cortellari, a 2020 graduate of the MA program in Middle Eastern Studies at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies, wins the best MA thesis prize by the Society for Turkic, Ottoman, and Turkish Studies.

The Faculty of Humanities' Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund provides small grants to initiatives in support of diversity and inclusion, with specific emphasis on creating an inclusive learning environment.

On Monday 2 March at 16:00, the Faculty of Archaeology opened the travelling exhibition Archaeo‑Sexism. The exhibition will be on display throughout the month in the F0 corridor of the Van Steenis Building, as part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on 8 March.

The Leiden Faculty of Science has appointed three new professors. Daniel Rozen, Frank Takes and Matthijs van Leeuwen were appointed on 1 April.

Debate, Roundtable

Lecture, COGLOSS lecture

Conference

Rafał Matuszewski has been elected Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) in recognition of his academic leadership and outstanding scientific achievements in the fields of ancient Greek history and classics.

Randal Sheppard recently joined the Institute for History as a lecturer in International Relations. He introduces himself.

Lecture, Book presentation

Karen Smith recently joined the Institute for History as a lecturer in International Relations. She introduces herself.

In an inclusive learning environment, every student feels welcome, valued and respected.

Anne Marieke van der Wal-Rémy recently joined the Institute for History as a lecturer in International Relations. She introduces herself.

Matthias Lukkes recently joined the Institute for History as a PhD candidate within the NWO-funded project ‘Revisiting the Invention of Africa, 1590-1720’ led by Michiel van Groesen. Below he introduces himself.

While the United States continues to carry out drone strikes, and China conducts large-scale cyber and information operations, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers live in trenches, and NATO sends tanks to the Donbas front to force a breakthrough. Has war changed dramatically in recent decades as a result…

Conference

Lecture, Global Questions Seminar

Professor Joanita Vroom, together with the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR) offered the course Byzantine Rome in September 2023. The course, co-taught by Vroom, Letty ten Harkel and various guest lecturers, investigated the transition of the city of Rome from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages,…

With ongoing protests across Iran, many are asking whether the regime is on the brink of collapse. Three Leiden experts share their perspectives.

Walter Gam Nkwi is lecturer at the Institute for History, University of Leiden since 1 September 2019. He also lectures at the Den Haag campus. Walter introduces himself below.

Mariska Jung, Jasmijn Rana and Looi van Kessel receive a €10,000 KIEM grant for "Hope springs eternal" - an innovative project that brings together students, academics and social movements to investigate Dutch protest culture.

Puck Rouffaer has won the Volkskrant-IISG thesis prize with her master's thesis on psychiatrist Coen van Emde Boas. Leiden University student Nina Witteman made it into the top 3 with her thesis on the history of malaria.

Lunch Seminar

Exhibition

At the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), scholars have been studying the Indian subcontinent with attention and expertise for more than 100 years. This part of South Asia is an economic giant with a population of over two billion. Nira Wickramasinghe, Professor of Modern South Asian Studies,…

Matthew Broad recently joined the Institute for History as a lecturer in International Relations. He introduces himself.

Kenan van de Mieroop recently joined the Institute for History as Assistant Professor. Below, he introduces himself.

Lecture, Studium Generale

After two years of corona restrictions, it was ‘back to normal’ in 2022. Migration, elections, the history of slavery, Russia, and Ukraine were much-discussed topics. We compiled an overview of the most-read news items and other events of the past year.

Hybrid Workshop: In person and online on 26 – 27 January 2023.

Dominique Moïsi, a professor at King’s College London, will be the first holder of the Owada chair. ‘In the present international context of polarisation and divisions within societies and amongst nations, any effort at bringing Asia and Europe closer to each other is truly important.’

Lukas Milevski is a lecturer in International Studies at the Institute for History. He introduces himself.

Book launch and panel

Organisation

Giles Scott-Smith is the new dean of LUC (Leiden University College) in The Hague. He succeeds Judi Mesman and starts on 1 July. Scott-Smith: ‘Joining LUC as Dean is a serious honour, and I follow in the footsteps of three Deans who I respect and admire.’