Education, Organisation

On Tuesday 25 November, Leiden University is holding the first of four sessions on ‘Building Academic Freedom’. Students and staff are invited to a conversation about today’s hot-button issues.

How do you get fit after these challenging times? How do you actively start a healthy lifestyle? Healthy University Leiden would like to address these topics during the upcoming from #COVID to #GOFIT Week, which will take place from 21 to 25 June 2021.

Leiden University is awarding an honorary doctorate to virologist Marc van Ranst. Van Ranst has been one of the main advisers of the Belgian government during the Covid pandemic. German Arabist Beatrice Gründler will also receive an honorary doctorate for her work in the field of Oriental Manuscript…

And there you are. A couple of suitcases with you, in a new (unknown) country. You've arranged a room in advance. You know which university you're attending. But other than that ... Evert-Jan, master's student in Encyclopaedia and Philosophy of Law, studied at the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas in…

On Wednesday 7 June, the EPFR research program had its annual research day (toogdag). The venue we had for this year was the Gravensteen, a beautiful historic building right by Pieterskerk.

Dr. Vanessa Newby (ISGA) and Dr. Catherine Jones from St Andrews won a grant worth over €23.000 from the RSE Saltire Facilitation Network Award entitled: ‘Worse Things Happen at Sea’: The Governance & Security of the Ocean. The grant will comprise three workshops in 2022: one in Leiden, one in Edinburgh…

Care conferences for long-term residents (15+ years) in forensic mental health care are widely appreciated by all parties involved. Research by Leiden University shows that the demand for these meetings is so great that the supply cannot be met within the desired time frame.

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…

The Steering Committee of the European Network on Teaching Excellence (ENOTE) is delighted to announce that Professor Hester Bijl, Rector Magnificus of Leiden University, will deliver the opening remarks for ENOTE’s first Academic Training Week.

The Student Living Room at the KOG will soon officially open its doors. All Leiden Law School staff and students are welcome to come and see this new space during the official opening event on Tuesday 23 May at 12.00 hrs. A free lunch will be provided for all, we’ll raise a toast with a glass of bubbles,…

Several media published articles on the latest research from a team including Thijs Bosker, Associate Professor Environmental Sciences, last week. The research has shown that whales in the vicinity of Auckland New Zeeland consume three million microplastics a day.

Research

I am a Lecturer in Contemporary Military History and Security Studies, teaching in both the History and International Relations programmes here at Leiden. I grew up in Yorkshire, England and was interested in history and international politics from a young age. In 2003 I went to the University of Cambridge…

Time really does fly: it’s one year since the Student Living Room was officially opened! Masterminded by the Student Support team, this initiative soon took centre stage as the place for students to come together, relax and enjoy a well-earned break from their studies.

Do we break the silences in our research participants’ stories? When is it ethical to write and not write about what remains unspoken in the social worlds we study? And when we encounter silences, how do we document them? These were just some of the many questions discussed during the vivid and inspiring…

How do you set up successful interdisciplinary collaborations? That is the central question of a triptych of Leiden symposia in 2024. The final part, on 6 June, looks at cooperation and decompartmentalisation between public institutions. In addition, there will be information on the new round of Kiem…

It is mid-July and as I sit in my office in the Herta Mohr building, I notice how quiet it is around campus. Yet, this is in direct contrast with a flurry of activity by LUCSoR colleagues and students in recent weeks. I highlight just a few examples here.

On October 12th, the LACDR PhD-Postdoc event will be organized in castle Oud Poelgeest.

With her background in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Leonie Siepmans brings a unique perspective to the corporate world. Find out what an anthropologist does in a big company.

Research

Leiden's iGEM team has won high honours at the Grand Jamboree in Paris. The biology students came second in the Overgraduate category with their project PHAse Out. They also took home awards for Best Biomanufacturing Project, Best Wiki and Best Entrepreneurship as well as a Gold Medal. To top it all…

On 28 October 2025, the FSW Education Festival returned, and brought together teachers, researchers, and students for an afternoon full of inspiration, dialogue, and hands-on learning.

On February 15th 2018 former students in Methodology & Statistics (M&S) of Leiden University share their current and previous professional activities to provide M&S students an insight into their career perspectives.

Ayo Adedokun, Assistant Professor at Leiden University College (LUC) in The Hague, is one of the four finalists in the running for the title ‘Teacher of the Year 2022’. The yearly election is organized by the Interstedelijk Student Overleg, the largest national student organization in the Netherlands,…

The lecture halls in the Lipsius were full of curious secondary school students in January. During a special profile selection afternoon, they were introduced to the faculty and language studies. ‘I had no idea that Hebrew and Arabic were similar.’

Nearly all students have faced many challenges this academic year. Students Nasreen Javanjoo (Religious Studies) and Marcos Cordova (Literary Studies) talk about their experiences of studying in the time of coronavirus.

No more lectures and exams for the Radio Astronomy course taught by Michiel Brentjens. The corona crisis is a moment of reflection that has changed his whole way of teaching. Instead of being in front of the class, he lets his students build a radio telescope with paint cans.

Suddenly there they were, the Russian soldiers near the border of Ukraine. Since then, reports of tensions between Russia on the one hand and the United States and Europe on the other have dominated the news. What is going on? An interview with Russia expert André Gerrits.

On 15-16 June, Jos Gommans, Marieke Bloembergen, and Carolien Stolte will organize an international conference entitled “India in the Making of the Global Esoteric: 1200-2000”. The conference asks: why is it always India that has been imagined as a wonder, and what did that wonder mean, intellectually…

Doing research in archaeology is more than just gathering data and publishing a paper. Nowadays, there is a growing trend in producing well-defined and responsible data management plans. They help to navigate the process and result in good data management practices which in return benefit the researchers…

All persons making use of Leiden University buildings and grounds must comply with the general University house rules. These are listed in the Regulations on the Use of University Buildings, Grounds and Other Facilities, and are intended to guarantee order and safety for guests and staff alike.

From health to migration to climate: 25 interdisciplinary research and education initiatives received a Kiem grant in 2024.

Eleven researchers from Leiden University have been awarded an Open Competition Domain Science ENW XS grant by the Dutch Research Council for their research projects. They are researching how to make software faster and greener, improve cancer detection and reduce anxiety by manipulating the biological…

From historical understandings to new treatments: during the Public Day of the Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition, curious visitors learned how rapidly research into brain disorders is evolving. ‘I found the neurosurgery and the research on organoids on chips particularly fascinating.’

Last week (25-29 October) was Healthy University Week 2021 ‘Time to Recharge’. A week devoted to vitality, with a programme packed with activities guaranteed to give you energy. Over 1,000 staff from Leiden University and the LUMC signed up for the daily energisers, relaxed during a yoga session and…

Sexual harassment was the theme of the recent annual symposium of student ambassadors to the Leiden-Bollenstreek police in collaboration with the police and the municipality. An extremely important issue to students − if the 100 places being claimed as soon as the symposium was announced was anything…

From 14 to 29 PhD candidates, seven actively involved faculties and, above all, lots of innovative interdisciplinary research, all with data science as the common denominator. The university’s Data Science Research Programme (DSO) has proven so successful that after five years on a start-up grant it…

Each year, around forty women in the Netherlands lose their lives, most often at the hands of a (former) partner or family member. Judges, lawyers and survivors now turn directly to Professor Marieke Liem for expertise. For her, this is telling: ‘The time has come for greater knowledge and a coordinated…

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.

Almost three years after receiving her honorary doctorate, Dr Graça Machel returned to Leiden University. Over the course of two days she spoke with students, researchers, and other interested persons, about human rights – particularly those of women and children – in a world in which these are continually…

Echoing corridors, chaotic lessons and the obligatory chit-chat in the playground: for pupils with autism, an average day at school is exhausting. As a result, many of them feel lonely. Elijah, an expert from personal experience, says: ‘In the breaks, I’d sit on my own in a room.’

It’s not healthy but we often do it anyway: sit hunched at our computer for hours on end. But exercising and relaxing at work doesn’t have to be complicated. These staff members have come up with fun and easy ways to help their colleagues stay fit and healthy. ‘You don’t need sportswear and won’t end…

The Greek diasporic queer poet Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) has been recognized as a central figure in world literature and literary modernism. On December 9th, a symposium around his work will take place at Leiden University Libraries. This will be combined with the launch of Maria Boletsi's book…

A more inclusive and diverse society is what Talisha Schilder, Hawra Nissi and Chiraz Hassoumi spend many hours a week working towards. Their hard work led them to being nominated for the ECHO Award.

Workshop

Conference, Final conference