Life returned to something resembling normal after Covid but other crises soon took its place. These great challenges are also being felt at the University and our researchers are working on solutions. The nitrogen crisis, problems with young people’s services and an increasingly urgent climate crisis:…

De Leiden Lawcast: de facultaire podcast door en voor studenten. Iedere aflevering bespreken de hosts een actueel onderwerp met een interessante gast die het onderwerp belicht vanuit hun wetenschappelijke of juridische expertise. Na een mooi startseizoen in 2022 hebben Irem Çakir en Hamza Duprée het…

The Dutch police face complex challenges, from organised crime and polarisation to digitalisation and new forms of crime. To deal with this effectively, they need innovation and intensive collaboration, says Professor by Special Appointment of Police Studies, Monica den Boer, in her inaugural lectur…

It may seem as though adolescents do as they please, but they are more sensitive to their parents’ opinions than they would appear. The adolescent brain reacts strongly to parental criticism or praise. These are the results of a study by an interdisciplinary research group of psychologists and neuroscientists…

Have you ever experienced the feeling of awkwardness when attending a party where you didn’t know anybody? Ever felt shy at a party within the first few minutes? While this feeling is labelled loosely as feeling socially anxious, social anxiety disorder goes to a much further extent.

The Leiden University Visual Ethnography collection has been added to Alexander Street Press, an educational streaming video service. The master’s specialization Visual Ethnography has supported many talented individuals to produce inspiring films. About 70 master’s thesis films of the past 8 years…

Marijke Kooijman recently joined the Institute for History as a postdoctoral researcher within the NWO-funded project 'Roman Fake News? Documentary Fictions in the Roman Empire' under the supervision of Rens Tacoma. Below, she introduces herself.

In a new video series for the Corpus Kids Academy, researchers Marieke Bos and Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam explain how the adolescent brain develops and how anxiety works. 'We wanted to present the information simply, while still preserving the complexity.'

Sandra Manickam recently joined the Institute for History as a researcher in the ERC Starting Grant project ' COMET. Human Subject Research and Medical Ethics in Colonial Southeast Asia', under the supervision of Fenneke Sysling. Below, she introduces herself.

Four FSW researchers received good news at the end of 2025: they will receive an NWO-XS grant this year.

Lecture

Scientists have discovered that starlings and parrots can imitate the complex sounds of Star Wars droid R2-D2 remarkably well. Their study reveals how the structure of a bird’s vocal organ determines its vocal abilities – and how citizen science helps uncover it.

How wonderful would it be to use art, technology and science in Ukraine's recovery? Young Ukrainians currently residing in Poland get guidance to develop creative programmes and activities that can later be implemented. Leiden astronomers Pedro Russo and Kateryna Frantseva cooperate in the project.

As you know, the faculty is working on a new follow-up strategy with six themes. Each theme now has its own writing team. Every week we speak with one of these teams about their work, and share the highlights. On this page you can find the current article and an overview of all articles on the follow-up…

Arnold Tukker and Mingming Hu (CML) will look for urban resilience solutions in the Dutch-Chinese ReSURE2 project that received 1.1M euro.

Leiden University and African Child Policy Forum hold ‘ground-breaking’ workshop on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and human rights in Africa

How can young people grow up successfully and contribute to the present and future society? The consortium that is researching this will receive 22 million euros within the scope of the Gravitation programme.

Waarom is empirisch-juridisch onderzoek van belang voor de rechtspraktijk en het wetenschappelijke onderzoek? Op die vraag kregen masterstudenten van de afstudeerrichtingen civiel recht, ondernemingsrecht en financieel recht antwoord tijdens het congres over empirisch-juridisch onderzoek en het privaatrecht…

Leiden is proud to announce that the city has been selected to host the 33rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), scheduled for 25-28 August 2027.

Together with Leiden University’s central HRM department, the department of Health-, Medical- and Neuropsychology has started a new HR pilot. For all colleagues a simplified and improved ‘Annual Interview’ is being introduced.

For the twelfth consecutive year, Leiden University College The Hague has been awarded the 'Top Programme' quality label by the Keuzegids Universiteiten 2025. With an impressive overall score of 89 out of 100 points, the Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (BA/BSc) programme has earned five…

Better recognition and rewarding for support staff. Organisations tend to overlook this, despite the crucial role this group plays. A new initiative is set to change this for our faculty. Paul de Hoog explains how FWN support staff will soon have even better opportunities for growth.

How do we balance policy critique with constructive policy recommendations? How do we navigate power relations between policy makers and (disadvantaged) communities, without estranging either? And what are particularly productive methods for translating our medical anthropological insights into poli…

The city of Leiden has a unique combination of knowledge institutions. To ensure this knowledge flourishes and the city gains the maximum benefit from it, the Leiden City of Knowledge partnership was launched five years ago. A new partnership agreement will be signed on 11 November.

Leiden Law School takes great pride in announcing that the University of Strathclyde has bestowed an honorary doctorate on Professor Ann Skelton, Professor of Children's Rights in a Sustainable World at Leiden Law School and Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. This prestigious…

Jonathan Todres appointed as Rotating Honorary Chair in Enforcement of Children’s Rights 2024/2025

Paul Behrens and his team have won the Frontiers Planet Prize of half a million euros for their research into the effects of switching to a plant-based diet.

The Herta Mohr Building is leading the way in sustainable innovations, for both Leiden University buildings and beyond. It is the university’s first fully gas-free building and the new Thermal Energy Storage system alone will cut carbon emissions by 150,000 kg per year. The building has an ‘Excellent’…

On 22 April, all students and staff of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences received an invitation to join the conversation about the faculty vision and strategy plan. They could do that by attending one of the feedback sessions on 10, 11 and 12 May. Those sessions were a success: the Faculty…

The Sustainability Monitor 2024 reveals that Leiden University has again taken significant steps to become a more sustainable and future-proof university. Since 1990, its carbon emissions have decreased by 50 per cent and, compared with 2019, its natural gas consumption has dropped by 32 per cent. Its…

When a challenge or question presents itself, our first reaction is often: ‘Let’s organise training’. But is that always the best solution? The working day often offers plenty of informal learning and development opportunities

Since September, Jelle Oonk has been the chair of the Science Faculty Council. Jelle is a third-year student, combining Physics and Astronomy studies with this responsible role. Time to get to know him better. Five questions for the new chair.

Maria Moser, Mischa de Jong, and Ander Damiano Delliturri are the newly appointed student representatives on the Programme Committee (OLC). This committee provides advice to the Executive Board and the Faculty Board on various educational issues, including the development of Course and Examination Regulations…

With great shock, we have learned of the sudden passing of Midas Berkenveld. Midas was a second-year Biology student; in 2022, he had already successfully completed his bachelor's degree in Linguistics.

Op 8 oktober organiseerde het Leiden Healthy Society Center een inspirirend kenniscafé over de rol van vaders in de opvoeding van hun kinderen.

Higher education research improves the quality of education. And these investments more than pay for themselves in terms of well-being and prosperity. This is what Professor of Education Science Roeland van der Rijst will say in his inaugural lecture.

Master's students of Vitality & Ageing work together with older individuals in the so-called ‘Living Lab’ to combat loneliness. You can watch four brief video’s that show their creative solutions for the course ‘the older individual’ that is coordinated by health psychologist Sandra van Dijk and former…

At Leiden University many staff members and students value making sustainable and responsible choices in their personal lives. Making these choices in our professional lives may feel a bit more complicated. But is that feeling justified? Archaeologists Gerrit Dusseldorp and Roos van Oosten share their…

Studying in the small hours, jotting down info on cards, revising together; everyone has their own methods for studying. And no sure guarantee exists for study success. Still, it can't hurt to occasionally ask fellow students if they have any tips. For example from Sabine Pennings – bachelor’s student…

Six researchers from Leiden University have received an ERC starting grant. This grant of on average 1.5m euros will enable the researchers to launch their own project, form their own research team and develop their best ideas.

Why do violent incidents occur in prisons? And how do staff respond? Assistant Professor Esther van Ginneken will use a grant from the NWO Vidi Talent Programme to conduct research into these and other questions. She intends to make use of virtual reality.

Last week, Ajay Gandhi, Assistant Professor at the Leiden University College, wrote an article about how spider's webs can explain the dynamics of social beings.

The new Ehrenfest multi-storey car park at the heart of the Leiden Bio Science Park was opened today by the Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board of Leiden University, Martijn Ridderbos. The car park, an initiative of the University, should improve accessibility and quality of life on the campus.

Six professors or associate professors from Leiden University have officially been appointed 'Medical Delta Professor'. Their inauguration took place at the Medical Delta Conference in Delft on 8 April.

Sustainability researchers can play an important role in the energy transition. But what if their partners are not (yet) sustainable and science itself has adverse effects? This is the subject of an online talk by researcher Thomas Franssen on 16 December with a discussion afterwards. ‘Clean energy…

With an ERC grant, anthropologist Jasmijn Rana will explore how outdoor groups address the lack of diversity and how ethno-racial inequalities are experienced and resisted in Europe's outdoor spaces.

Let’s take a look behind the scenes of the Faculty Board. Our assessor, Hannah Saberi, shares her typical working week.