Digitalisation can make a huge contribution to a greener future, but it must also be as sustainable as possible. To make significant progress, more collaboration and national leadership will be needed. Leiden University has therefore signed the Digital Sustainability Manifesto, which was presented on…

As of 1 October, David Holmes has been appointed full professor of Pure Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute (MI). His work lies at the intersection of algebra, geometry and number theory.

How should the Quran be read? The manuscript of this holy book makes different interpretations possible. Researcher Marijn van Putten has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of two million euros to explore centuries-old recitations.

Sunshine, ice cream, coffee, and plenty of good vibes. Once again, students and staff made the most of the We are Science Week. Relive some of the highlights with our photo report!

For four years, Vicky Beckers examined thin slices of wood under a microscope, mapping the anatomy of two plant families. Her research helps identify different wood species, benefiting both the timber trade and archaeology.

The annual conference of the Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) interdisciplinary research programme will take place in The Hague on 7-9 June. As a researcher at Leiden University, why should you be there? ‘Nearly every research study has a governance dimension, but academics often…

Medical drugs are expensive to make and can have an adverse effect on the environment. Researchers Stefano Cucurachi and Justin Lian have developed a framework to help the healthcare system assess the economic and environmental sustainability of medical compounds.

Gabrielle van den Berg became the Academic Director of LIAS on 1 September 2025: “I hope I’ll be able to make a real difference.”

In cryptography, the sky is the limit according to the new professor Mathematical Cryptology Léo Ducas. He already designed several cryptosystems as part of his research at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), some of which might soon be adopted as new international standards. Since December,…

In the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, students from across the globe build and race boats powered by sustainable energy. Leiden public administration student Damiaan Bertrams has entered with a team from Delft University of Technology.

Leiden artist Jos Agasi gets to create the artwork for the atrium of the new Gorlaeus Building. His work was chosen from several entries and will be a real eye-catcher in the building. The artist has a fascination for light and uses it to create works of art with all kinds of materials, objects and…

Last year, Dr. Henk van Steenbergen received a Grass Shoot grant to completely redevelop the research master's course 'Experimentation I: Programming Psychological Experiments'. The revised course was taught for first time last block and has just come to an end. Time for a brief recap.

Alumna Tiziana Lippiello became the first female rector magnificus of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice last year. In this way, she hopes to contribute to emancipation in the academic world: 'We need more women here.'

Thursday 19 February – Snow, board games, a ski lift and more board games. And in between, a bit of work. That’s Jasper’s winter sports day.

When discussing the history of Islam, the focus is almost always on the history of the Sunni majority. University Lecturer in the history of Islam, Edmund Hayes wants this to change. His new ERC-funded project , focuses on the development of the early Shia community.

What was life like for people with disabilities in the Middle Ages? University lecturer Krista Milne delved into medieval manuscripts and found more than thirty images of assistance dogs of all shapes and sizes. Now, a Vidi grant is enabling her to expand her research to include the question of what…

How do social science disciplines collaborate in the field of health and well-being? How do we collaborate within our Faculty? And how do we collaborate with our societal partners in Leiden? These are topics that really resonate with many of our researchers, as was clear at the Food for Thought FSW…

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.

Panic disorder is associated with changes in the brain, both in children and adolescents and in adults. This is the main outcome of the largest brain study ever conducted on panic disorder. Lead researcher and coordinator of the study, Moji Aghajani (Institute of Education and Child Studies), explains…

Voor het universitaire thema ‘Vertrouwen ten tijde van polarisatie’ slaan Leidse en Haagse onderzoekers de handen ineen. Op vrijdagmiddag 5 juni wordt het thema afgetrapt in Den Haag en komen collega’s samen om te verkennen en te ontmoeten.

Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl received an honorary degree from the University of Birmingham on Friday 12 December for her contribution to educational innovation, student well-being and culture change within academia.

Marc Koper, Professor of Catalysis and surface chemistry, has been awarded the EuChemS Gold Medal 2026. The prize is awarded every two years and recognises outstanding achievements in the field of chemistry in Europe.

At the request of outgoing minister Stef Blok, the Province of Groningen wrote a letter to support the minister in his rejection of two amendments by the Dutch House of Representatives.

At a recent meeting, the leaders of the European Union formally approved Ukraine and Moldova’s candidate status to join the bloc. The message is: you are welcome to join our European family in due course.

Students on the Adv. LL.M. Air and Space Law reacted quickly to the news of Ukrainians fleeing the war in Ukraine to neighbouring countries. Filip Draba, who is from Poland, collected donations from the class and, together with additional contributions from family and friends in Poland, he amassed €…

In this episode, we talk with Mariska Kret about the expressions of emotions in humans and animals. Mariska explores the similarities and differences in emotion expression in humans and primates. Want to learn more about Mariska's research and discover why it's important that we learn more about animal…

For years, the student association L.P.S.V. „Aesculapius” can always rely on help from professor Irth. Whether this help is relevant for the Foreign Excursion, organizing events on LACDR or when the association is just in need of some general advice, professor Irth is always contactable. Within the…

On 3 February 2021, Prof. Matthias Haentjens spoke at the second conference on bank resolution, jointly organised by the European Banking Institute (EBI) and the Single Resolution Board (SRB).

A lot of green, corners to sit in and paths to stroll along. These were the wishes for the restyling of the garden of the Huizinga building. After some forty years, it was time to give the garden a facelift. The result is a welcoming, green garden with sunny spots and shaded nooks.

In 2011, the Udhruh Archaeological Project was launched, bringing together teams of Jordanian and Dutch archaeologists to investigate the region and reconstruct ancient water harvesting techniques in the extremely arid landscape of Udhruh. Access to fresh water remains one of the most pressing global…

The PERSPECTIVE project looks to address the concept of successfulness. What does it mean to be the ‘perfect student’, to be 'successful' at university and later in life. It explores perfectionism, setting expectations, performance pressure and more.

Professor Philip Spinhoven has been appointed acting Scientific Director of the Institute of Psychology until 1 September 2021. He succeeds Michiel Westenberg who resigned from the position 1 January 2021, because he could no longer combine the responsibilities of Scientific Director with his academic…

Oncode Investigator Mario van der Stelt and his colleagues have discovered a new potential drug that suppresses chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain.

Psychologist Ilse van de Groep found that people react more aggressively when receiving negative feedback. However, if people already exhibit persistent antisocial behavior they do not respond even more aggressively to negative feedback.This research earned her the Koningsheide Prize 2022 for the scientific…

In the article “Neanderthals and Us: We’re More Alike Than Once Thought”, we are reminded that many negative traits, from unintelligent to unsophisticated, have long been attributed to Neanderthals in popular culture. However, recent studies bring to light an ever-increasing amount of evidence contradicting…

Facility, Organisation

Microsoft’s new software VALL-E only has to hear a voice for three seconds to be able to imitate it almost perfectly. You can choose which emotion the voice should use and what it should say. Valerie Frissen, Professor by special appointment of Digital Technology and Social Change at eLaw, and Director…

Organisation

The Grand Parade was a festive highlight of the 450th anniversary celebration of 3 October. Students and staff members from Leiden University participated with an impressive float.

Distracted eating is common and has adverse health consequences. Read more about the research of Leiden social psychologist Lotte van Dillen and some strategies to combat that behavior.

Making migration a key campaign issue in the recent Dutch general elections is one thing, but turning it into actual policy is another. ‘95% of Dutch immigration legislation is governed by European law’, says Emeritus Professor Peter Rodrigues in Dutch daily newspaper 'Trouw'. In short: political parties…

Facility

Education

The UK has recently been facing racist violence outbreaks. Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies, discusses this in an article on Hyphen.

The Washington Post reviews Nationalism by university lecturer Eric Storm. In this book, Storm explores how nation-states became the dominant political organizational form.

Education, Research

This pandemic has affected everyone and especially students who were not able to carry out their projects on the laboratories. I am an international student from Cyprus and I had the opportunity to perform my Research Project 1 completely remotely, at Rawi Ramautar’s group. Even though, this may sound…

Episode 5 of BOLDcast, the podcast of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for BOLD Cities, discusses the evolution of libraries from simple lending points for books to places where people can come together and brush up on their digital skills. The guests in this episode are Frank Huysmans, associate professor…