The Leiden African Studies Assembly (LeidenASA) held its Annual Meeting on 12 December. LeidenASA is the network of Leiden based Africa-researchers. Fifteen researchers gave pitches on their projects, and sketches of Leiden University's Africa strategy were outlined.

Erik de Maaker wrote a monograph on how Garo, an indigenous community of the extended eastern Himalayas, experience and negotiate such disparities. The book shows how relatedness is reinterpreted as religious practices change, and communally held land ends up being privately controlled. Erik de Maaker…

As an exchange student, alumna Jessica Ma was already looking for a bridge between statistics and the real world. In Leiden, she gained the experience to follow her interests and, after a few detours, she landed her ideal job with Disney in the United States.

Leiden University is seeking bids from developers for housing in Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid, the Oegstgeest part of the Leiden Bio Science Park.

Young researchers met this month for the fifth Science Communication Summer School. ‘This is the first time some participants get to meet other researchers who also enjoy science communication. It’s great to see’, says Julia Cramer, one of the coordinators.

From research on stellar winds to sign language: an impressive seven researchers from Leiden University will receive a prestigious Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Imagine no one in the Netherlands would eat animal products anymore, what would happen? And would it contribute to more climate justice? That is the theoretical exercise that environmental scientist Jan Willem Erisman and landscape architect Berno Strootman are taking up. 'Sometimes you have to think…

Associate Professor Paz González had two things she wanted to improve for students: collaboration and publication opportunities. Her solution? A scientific journal for and by students. She received a Senior Fellow Comenius grant to put the plan into action.

In the ‘Educatips’ column, Psychology lecturers share their most important insights about teaching. This month: Ambra Brizi uses AI to encourage students to reflect and think more critically. ‘What are the limitations, and what is the potential of this technology?’

This masterclass examines the idea of disegno in relation to the early modern decorative arts by investigating the collection of Italian design drawings in the Rijksmuseum. Meaning both design and drawing, disegno was a fundamental concept in the development of artistic theory in early modern Europe…

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

Memorandum of Understanding Signed Between the Child Friendly Justice European Network and Leiden Law School - Child Law Department

Earlier this year, we proudly presented the menu of activating teaching methods. Are you using it yet? We want to encourage you to apply activating teaching methods within the courses you teach, and therefore promote active participation among students.

Library, Social

In the context of Panama’s independence month, the Panamanian Embassy in the Kingdom of The Netherlands decided to recognize Natalia Donner’s contributions to the study of Panamanian history and culture, as well as her role in a massive repatriation project.

At the end of the 7th century something curious occurs in Northwestern Europe. Suddenly, people start burying the dead next to their dwellings instead of in communal cemeteries. Professor Frans Theuws recently published a book on this phenomenon. ‘We wanted to know if the study of these farmyard burials…

Editors: Irene Hadiprayitno and Rizal Shidiq (Leiden Institute for Area Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands)

During a recent event, the Leiden Institute of Environmental Sciences presented the breadth of its research on biodiversity.

Social

A new study reveals how ancient Chinese farmers managed soil fertility and water resources over thousands of years. By analyzing carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in millet crops, the research provides long-term isotopic evidence of farmland management practices in the Guanzhong Basin—the political…

You can hardly avoid it if you want to quickly implement satellite internet. Elon Musk's company Starlink is "all-powerful in space" (Volkskrant). Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant wrote an extensive article on the situation and the possible dangers and alternatives. For this, they interviewed several experts,…

The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) has appointed Jos Raaijmakers, professor of Microbial Interactions and diversity, as a new scientific member.

In May 2021, Professor Bart Custers, Dr Mark Leiser and Dr Eduard Fosch Villaronga (all affiliated to eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies of Leiden University) will teach a course on Law and Technology at Haifa University, Israel.

Research

The government, the people and the country were in desperate straits. This about sums up the state of affairs in the Disaster Year of 1672. It was 350 years ago, and to mark the occasion PhD candidate Roosje Peeters collaborated on a series of letters to and from a key political figure Johan de Witt,…

PhD

Lecture

Here you can find questions and answers about the employee experience survey.

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of our former colleague dr. Karin Willemse, who passed away on Saturday 18 March 2023.

More focus on diversity in Antiquity, workshops for students with disabilities, and a card game to share stories about diversity: these and other projects will receive funding from the JEDI Fund in 2023.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza or the global rise of the far-right: topics that stir up emotions but are also regularly discussed in classes at Political Science. Moreover, with a diverse group of students, there is a great diversity of life experiences, backgrounds and opinions.…

As part of a wish fulfilment from Make-A-Wish, Leiden University recently welcomed a very special guest. Together with her best friend, Yuliia participated in a practical session on February 24th, where they studied the brain of a calf.

Are you working with film, photo, sounds, creative coding, drawings or other unconventional method in the social sciences and humanities? ReCNTR has a new 2-year multimodal seminar. Check it out and apply by November 15th!

Alexander van Drooge even voorstellen

Education, ICT

The Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) of Leiden University contributed to the design and teaching of modules of this year’s edition of the Ministry of Defence’s ‘International Military Cooperation Course Africa’.

Research

Research

Deadline approaching: Applications are still open for the Summer School ‘The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance’ (16 - 20 June 2025) for Master-level and PhD students. Application deadline: 15 May 2025.

Do you practice public engagement? The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has just released a unique set of open-source materials designed to be used in public engagement training workshops.

Lecture, China Seminar Series event

There is a real chance of war closer to home, political and military leaders in Europe have warned. What does Frans Osinga, Professor of War Studies, think about the threat and what we should do?

Masses of hamburgers, steaks, cheese and a lot of eggs: Americans love their animal products. But researcher Oliver Taherzadeh discovered that only a relatively small group of high-volume consumers need to modify their diet to achieve an enormous environmental gain.

It was a memorable start to September. While Leiden marked the opening of the academic year, The Hague celebrated the launch of three new degree programmes. Students were welcomed on a blue carpet rolled out at the entrance to the lecture halls.

Should we ban snack bars from neighbourhoods where residents are overweight or have diabetes? At the Common Sense about Health knowledge festival, scientists, civil servants and other professionals discussed how South Holland can become healthier. The Healthy Society Map makes it clear where there are…

Changes to halt further biodiversity loss are more urgent than ever and feasible, says IPBES, the United Nations biodiversity panel. In two reports released this week, the panel calls on governments worldwide to develop coherent policies that address biodiversity, climate change, water, food and health.…

The Citizen Science Netherlands (CS-NL) network was officially launched this month with the aid of an Open Science NL grant. The new vision for this network was presented on 28 May.

How do you rebuild a field of science after years of war? In June, a remarkable gathering of Ukrainian and Dutch astronomers took place at Leiden’s Old Observatory, aimed at jointly developing a recovery plan for Ukrainian astronomy.