How do you know if your idea has succeeded? The Queen coming to call a year and a half later might just be a clue. This happened to the Leiden student foundation ‘Door Het Geluid’, which promotes student well-being.

From the 2026-2027 academic year each programme will record the teaching preparation process in TimeEdit Curriculum (TEC). TEC is the curriculum source system in which data is recorded completely and reliably. From TEC, data can be exchanged with other systems. TEC replaces local Word and Excel files…

If universities and research institutions want to tackle unacceptable behaviour in academia, they must shift their focus from dealing with complaints to preventing such behaviour in the first place. This is what the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has concluded. It has therefore…

An important question being asked, both in the academic world and in society, concerns the impact of our research and education. By providing a well-supported answer, we not only create a strong position for our research, we also increase our chances of success in applying for research grants and retaining…

AI is already widely being used in HR processes, but it’s unclear whether these applications contribute to fair and inclusive decision making. Leiden researcher Carlotta Rigotti is involved in BIAS, a big consortium research project that aims to provide answers and develop a new, trustworthy AI app…

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

Organisation, Social

Study information

Academic ceremony

For a 38-hour week you have 232 vacation hours per year. If you make use of the flexible hours option, you will have more or fewer vacation hours. If you work part-time, your vacation credit is proportionate to your contracted hours. If you are in salary scale 11 or above, you may choose to conclude…

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) announced on 25 April that it has appointed 18 new members. These include Leiden professors Andrew Webb and Jos Raaijmakers.

Over 200 people paid their first visit to the new Middle Eastern Library on a special open evening. As well as exploring the library, they got to see exhibitions, speed lectures and premieres about Leiden University’s Middle Eastern collections.

Studium Generale organises lectures, debates, symposia and film screenings on diverse academic subjects. The General Studies programme is for students, staff and anyone else who may be interested.

Eighteen researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant gives promising young researchers the opportunity to develop their ideas for a period of three years.

Before you start creating text and visual content for your educational video, make sure you have a clear picture of your learning objectives and how you are going to assess these. When you have established these, you can further develop what you want to teach. Keep in mind that there is already a lot…

The SAILS conference The Future of AI is Here (and Guess What … it’s Human) brought together researchers and policy makers to discuss the important issues in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). Where are the opportunities and what are the dangers?

Are international courts effective? Dr Fatou Bensouda, a former Lead Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), will discuss this issue during her lecture at the Owada Symposium 2025. The ICC’s efficacy depends on the actions of its member states, she says.

Festival

The fifth Leiden Research Support Network Conference, on Monday 16 June, was about the future of research support. A great opportunity for the 100 support professionals present to join interactive workshops and to network with colleagues from other faculties and the LUMC.

A surprising amount of life grows, crawls and flutters around Leiden University’s buildings. During the Biodiversity Challenge – from 30 April to 2 July – the campus will turn into a research site, and you’ll be the researcher. Grab your phone, take a look around and record what you see.

Staff development is an important key to promoting staff and student well-being at Leiden University. By following training courses and workshop, you can gain knowledge outside your own field of expertise.

Through its Demonstrator Projects, the Dutch Oncode Accelerator consortium provides grants for preclinical cancer therapy development. The first call for these projects is open until September 2025.

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.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has rewarded four projects in which Leiden researchers are bringing science and society closer together. What are these projects?

Dutch scale-up In Ovo, a spin-off of Leiden University, has raised 34 million euros to accelerate its international growth and scale-up plans. The new funding is supported by Leiden University’s Libertatis Ergo Holding. The funding has also been provided by, among others, impact investors ECBF and ABN…

Students from the Royal Academy of Art The Hague (KABK) designed the 450 lustrum logo.

A growing number of student organisations are focusing attention on the mental, social and physical well-being of their members. This year, the first Student Well-being Award was therefore presented at the annual reception for new student association board members (’omgekeerde constitutieborrel’) in…

If your students will be taking part in an internship or period of study abroad, or if you are planning to teach in another country yourself, you should make sure that the trip is well prepared.

Education, Research

‘Be yourself. Be as gay, queer, trans as you can and show the world you exist.’ These rousing words from Looi van Kessel marked the start of the third Pride Leiden for the university boat, with the theme: ‘450 years of being yourself’.

The Greek diasporic queer poet Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) has been recognized as a central figure in world literature and literary modernism. On December 9th, a symposium around his work will take place at Leiden University Libraries. This will be combined with the launch of Maria Boletsi's book…

Space for open dialogue on historical slavery was created at the Keti Koti Table at Museum De Lakenhal, organised by Leiden University and the Municipality of Leiden. There, just metres away from 17th-century paintings, Leideners shared a ritual meal and spoke about the effects of slavery and our colonial…

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…

Research

Do you have questions about the Kiem grant? You can find answers to frequently asked questions on this page.

When you decide to move to the Netherlands and bring along your family there is a great deal that needs to be taken care of. We will provide some information on schools, childcare and learning Dutch to help you settle in in the Netherlands.

No fewer than 55 applications were submitted for a Kiem seed grant, an initiative for developing new interdisciplinary, interfaculty research partnerships and encounters. The draw took place on Monday for the allocation of 22 seed grants. The Executive Board was so impressed with the number of applications…

The Just Peace Festival's first edition is live! The Opening Event marked the beginning of two weeks filled with activities to reflect on what peace and justice mean in today's world.

Didactics

The working language at Leiden University is Dutch. As not all employees at the University have the same level of Dutch language skills, there are various ways of working together.

Would you like to share your academic news with the world? Since 1 January 2024, Leiden University has been a partner of The Conversation, an international not-for-profit news platform that unlocks academic knowledge for a wide audience.

Leiden University strengthens the impact of its research through strategic collaborations and innovative themes. Here you will find more information about our vision on internationalisation and partnerships, as well as answers to questions such as: How do I benefit from the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus alliance?…

Latin America matters! With its rich history, culture, its impressive resilience and creative innovation in the face of such a diverse array of challenges, Latin America can indeed show the way forward inspiring for positive change. Working together with Latin American institutions, our researchers…

The Leiden interdisciplinary research programme Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) and the Embassy of Ireland are jointly organising a special book launch in The Hague. On 13 November, Gerry Finnegan, author and a former director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), will…