The Faculty Council is the most important co-participatory body of the Faculty of Archaeology. Its members represent staff and students in meetings with the Faculty Board, and they can have a profound impact on the Faculty's policies. We speak with the council's chair, Merlijn Veltman, about the goals…

Research

It is the sixth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

Jeroen Touwen officially joined the Campus The Hague Board on 28 November.

On January 17th 2023, Caterina Ghini, Ambassador of Greece to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, visited the Faculty of Archaeology. Her Excellency reached out to Leiden University with the purpose to collaborate and engage with us.

The Faculty of Archaeology was honored by a visit by the Ambassador the Republic of Cyprus. Ambassador Frances-Galatia Lanitou Williams had heard of the Faculty's research projects that currently take place in Cyprus and wanted to learn more about the archaeological activities.

Human resources, Security

This page provides updates on the protest today at the Academy Building and Hortus botanicus in Leiden.

Social

Organisation

Greater transparency in science. Broader career paths. Less work pressure. A dynamic conversation at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSW) focused on these goals.

Alternative demonstrations were held in Leiden and The Hague on Thursday 14 November after the national protest in Utrecht was cancelled. Leiden University supports these protests, which were organised by WOinActie. Read our live blog of the demonstrations.

Education

In this series the Vice-Dean and portfolio holder of education in the board of the Faculty of Archaeology will reflect on the state of education. Posts can range from shedding light on current national shifts in the university landscape to arguments as to why it’s important to be timely with designing…

On 10 June, students and staff from all the Dutch universities will go on strike against the government’s proposed budget cuts. The day after the strike, on 11 June, the House of Representatives will debate the Spring Budget Memorandum, which includes the proposed cuts. The university supports this…

Security

Carel Stolker will retire as Rector Magnificus of Leiden University on 8 February. As a retirement gift he is setting up a fund for first-generation students and academics. You too can donate.

The end of January arrived together with welcome guests from Saxion University of Applied Sciences. As a part of their two-day-long visit to South Holland, almost 100 Saxion archaeology students visited our Faculty.

Leiden University’s President of the Executive Board, Professor Annetje Ottow, has been reappointed for a second term by the Board of Governors.

Since 24 March, the Kamerlingh Onnes Building of the Faculty of Law has been full of hundreds of colourful jellyfish. But behind that enchanting sight is a serious message: the exhibition symbolises the loss of biodiversity in the oceans due to climate change.

It is the ninth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

The first professional training organised by the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Global Heritage and Development has finished. The participants work for municipalities, provinces, universities or are independent researchers or consultants in the Heritage Sector. During three intensive days in September…

Finance

As of 1 November 2025, Professor Luc Sels will assume the role of President of Leiden University’s Executive Board.

The new Humanities Hub in the Huizinga Building was officially opened on Tuesday 3 December. In the different labs, researchers presented the options for using digital technologies in humanities research.

Various meetings will be held over the next few weeks to discuss organisational development at Leiden University. On the agenda are a vision of organisation and management, an exploration of the central services organisation and a teaching logistics programme.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

In this series the Vice-Dean and portfolio holder of education in the board of the Faculty of Archaeology will reflect on the state of education. Posts can range from shedding light on current national shifts in the university landscape to arguments as to why it’s important to be timely with designing…

As part of the celebrations around the 25th birthday of the Faculty of Archaeology, a panel discussion on the future of archaeology was organised on December 13th. For this discussion an international panel of scholars was invited to give their perspective and enter into conversation with our Faculty…

How should we organise interdisciplinary work within Leiden University? This was the key question at a symposium organised by the Liveable Planet interdisciplinary research programme. Radical ideas, like getting rid of the faculties, came up for discussion.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

This week, Leiden University bade farewell to Henri Lenferink, who is retiring after 20 years as mayor of Leiden.

Students and staff from Leiden University are protesting in The Hague on 25 November against the billions in cuts to higher education. ‘The cuts are a terrible idea and we want to show why’, says Claire Weeda from WOinActie. ‘Research and teaching are essential to society.’

Skåne University Hospital, Lund University and Leiden University Medical Center will work together to expand their research, teaching and development relating to Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. That is the essence of a Memorandum of Understanding signed at SciLifeLab near Stockholm on Wednesday…

Leiden University has set up two committees to consider issues that are the focus of much attention within our community and society at large. They are the Knowledge Security Committee and the Fossil Fuel Industry Collaboration Committee. Former dean Joanne van der Leun will chair both.

It will be on the agenda of many a team meeting these coming weeks: how can we act on the results of the Personnel Monitor? We asked two managers how they have gone about this, what the results of their meetings have been and whether they have any tips for their colleagues.

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.

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.

Having served on the Executive Board for over nine years, the last five of which as Rector Magnificus, Hester Bijl will leave Leiden University at the start of next year. In a new step in her career, she will become Rector Magnificus on the Executive Board of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)…

Leiden University’s Rector Magnificus, Professor Hester Bijl, has been reappointed for a second term by the Board of Governors.

It is the eighth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

The governance structure of Campus The Hague (CDH) will be altered. This has been decided in consultation with the University Council, which issued a positive recommendation about this.Ton Liefaard and Jan Crijns will become the joint holders of the CDH Education portfolio, and Rolf Oosterloo will become…

On Tuesday the 5th of September the Faculty of Archaeology officially opened its academic year. All staff and students were invited to this festive occasion.

Organisation

A leaving do, birthday or other celebration? Many people like to ask for a donation to a good cause for their birthday or anniversary present. Leiden research can be one such cause.

The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities strategic alliance celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2022. At the ‘The Next Ten Years’ anniversary celebration in the Faculty Club on 12 April, the partners looked back on their achievements and ahead to the major social challenges of the next ten years.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.