A ‘world class institute’ with a ‘vibrant atmosphere’, doing research on a continent that is ‘becoming increasingly important’. That is how Annetje Ottow, president of Leiden University’s Executive Board, described the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) on its 75th anniversary celebration on 8 September…

Facility, Organisation

Depression and anxiety disorders among youth are causing major problems worldwide. The mechanisms involved are still unknown, however. Moji Aghajani – Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education and Child Studies - aims to provide new insights with his research "Youth mental health meets big data…

From 1 March 2025, a new university ‘fossil fuel collaboration’ committee will assess potential new collaborations with the fossil fuel industry and determine whether they comply with the Paris Agreement.

The results of the 2025 university elections are in. Who will represent us in the participation organs?

One of the aims in the development of the university’s new strategic plan is to foster a dialogue between as many students, staff and external stakeholders as possible about which topics and ambitions should be included in the plan. At the beginning of May we therefore invited all our students and staff…

The university elections will be held from 17 to 21 May 2021. Students and staff can shortly put themselves forward as candidates for the University Council, Faculty Councils or Department Councils.

Dutch citizens are not opposed to additional earnings and financial gifts for people on welfare, but believe it is important that there should also be an obligation to look for a job. This was the outcome of a research project on the opinions of Dutch people regarding the implementation of welfare p…

Prof. Annetje Ottow and Assist. Prof. Seda Gürkan visited the College of Europe campus in Bruges on 22 March 2024.

Leiden University continued to reduce its carbon footprint in 2021 by being more careful with natural resources and making structural reductions to its energy consumption. This is what it says in the Sustainability Report 2021.

A festive opening with plenty of orange, a well-attended lecture by Ionica Smeets and an unforgettable party for staff and students. We celebrated the opening of the new building together. Join us as we look back on this exciting week of celebrations.

Jasper Knoester startte op 1 januari als onze nieuwe decaan. Hoe gaat het met hem, wat doet hij precies en hoe ziet zijn dag eruit? In elke nieuwsbrief geeft Jasper een inkijkje in zijn leven als decaan.

On 4 May, Leiden University remembered the victims of the Second World War from our university community. Alumni, students and present and former staff of the University came together for this Hour of Remembrance.

Professor Johan Rooryck, currently executive director of cOAlition S, will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Tromsø for his commitment to open access in science. He will be awarded the honorary doctorate on 1 September.

The Mindlab theatre and discussion programme will start at the Faculty of Humanities at the end of September. University lecturers Tazuko van Berkel and Sara Polak were moderators at the first session.

What hidden nature is there in our cities and how can we use such organisms? This is what the HiddenBiodiversity project will be exploring over the next four years. The project’s kick-off meeting was held at the Hortus botanicus on Monday 26 September.

As of 1 September 2024, the cum laude honour will no longer be awarded for the Master’s in Medicine. The Executive Board recently decided to grant an exemption to the Leiden University/LUMC Faculty of Medicine. This decision is in line with other medicine programmes in the Netherlands.

Joëlle Koning has been appointed as Head of Student Affairs (OSZ) in the Faculty of Humanities from 1 July.

A research team from Leiden University, in cooperation with Bureau Boekhoorn Sociaal-Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Advies (BBSO), is to evaluate Dutch counterterrorism legislation.

The Executive Board has appointed Judi Mesman as third Leiden University professor.

We are living in turbulent times. Various conflicts in other parts of the world at times give rise to feelings of anxiety, unrest and anger in our country too. We also see this happening in our academic community.

Leiden Child Law Department at Leiden University in the Netherlands formally entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)

Is your strategic vote actually strategic? How can the Netherlands form a stable government? And what should the next government do about migration, defence and the housing crisis? This is what our experts have to say.

Prof. Hanneke Hulst has been appointed Scientific Director of the Institute of Psychology by the Board of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. She will start on 1 February 2024 for a period of 3 years, succeeding Andrea Evers and interim director Serge Rombouts.

Leiden University is going to partner with the Asian Development Bank, a bank committed to regional development. President of the Executive Board Annetje Ottow signed a memorandum of understanding on this unique partnership in Manila on 27 April.

During the last couple of months, Leiden University has conducted many constructive discussions with the University Council and many other experts and groups from the academic community. Based on their input, the Executive board has decided to create a preliminary policy regarding our ties to Israeli…

The proportion of professors at Leiden University who are female has risen slightly to 32.0%. These are the results of the Women Professors Monitor 2024 released by the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH). This puts Leiden University above the national average of 28.7%.

As the end of the year approaches, the new University Sports Centre (USC) building is nearing completion. Vice-President of the Executive Board Timo Kos visited the USC, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, to see how work is progressing.

Emeritus professor Willem Otterspeer received a royal honour from mayor Henri Lenferink on Tuesday 20 September. The university historian was appointed Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Education

Staff and students who want some quiet time out will now have a low-sensory room available to them. Lipsius 1.38 has been specially designed to help people relax.

In this episode, we talk with Leonie Vreeke and Nina Komrij about the Cool Little Kids research project. CLK explores the effectiveness of training parents of anxiety prone toddlers to prevent their children from developing anxiety on a later age. Want to learn more about their research and discover…

Mayor Peter Heijkoop is busy getting to know his city better. On Monday 7 July, he visited the Faculty of Humanities. ‘A few hours and you can see how important this is.’

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

Because of the pandemic, we hardly saw him walking through the corridors. Yet Joost Barendse chooses a second term as assessor. ‘Last year was so much fun and educational. So being an assessor for another year is something I can't refuse.’

How correct are mathematical theorems? And is all the theory around them correct? To find out, mathematics student Dominique Lawson converted a mathematical theorem into computer language. ‘This allows a computer to understand the theorem and check whether the proof behind it is entirely correct.’ The…

Organisation

Leiden University is introducing 15 interfaculty themes to improve its visibility and strategic positioning. These themes can now be found on our website.

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…

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

Welcome to the Expertise Centre for Teaching and Learning (ECOLe). Here you will find information on didactics, teacher development, teaching innovation, assessment and the use of teaching tools at humanities. Have a question or need advice? E-mail ecole@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

How can our university really become inclusive? This is what students and staff discussed at our annual Diversity & Inclusion symposium. ‘It’s moving from a have-to to a want-to’

So much has happened this year! 2023 was an eventful year in which several wars raged about which our experts could offer interpretation. It was also the year in which the government made apologies for the slavery past. Leiden humanities scholars were at the forefront of this with their research on…

It is exactly one year ago that the university had to close, bang in the middle of the academic year. Suddenly, on that third Monday in March, we found ourselves at home, working and studying online – many of us from that cramped attic or student room. The momentous coronavirus year in pictures.

It was announced in December that a new draft urban development plan for the Humanities Campus is now ready. In drawing up this plan for the various buildings, outdoor space and traffic routes on campus, the facilities and layout of the buildings themselves were, of course, also considered. Discussions…

‘You’re in it together,’ says Pascal Haazebroek, Director of Studies of Psychology. ‘You have an influence on your education; you’re part of a university, so come back to campus now that you can,’ urges Kirsten Buitelaar, student member of the Board of Education. Read this double interview about lecturers…