After a process of more than two decades, the new Greek-Dutch dictionary was presented on Wednesday 5 June. University lecturer Lucien van Beek acted as manager of this project headed by Ineke Sluiter for the last nine years. He is also one of its editors-in-chief.

The Netherlands is embroiled in a complex nitrogen crisis. Berent Baris wants to use his NitroGenius game to demonstrate the complexity of this crisis.

This year, an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant went to Mink van IJzendoorn, enabling him to investigate the disappearance of amphorae. ‘We take means of packaging and shipment for granted, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives; they are crucial.’

Yousef Yousef (39), a successful entrepreneur in the water-quality industry, recently joined the Advisory Board at Leiden Law School. Read the interview about his career.

When you think of physics, do you think only of complicated formulas? You’re not the only one. Therefore, every year, the Leiden Insitute of Physics organises the LION Image Award to show another side of physics: beautiful images about intriguing science. The winner of the 2022 photo competition captured…

The goal of alumnus International Studies Dennis Jansen (24) is to make the voice of young people heard in the climate debate. In November he is going to el-Sheikh in Egypt, where the Climate Change Conference is being held.

In February 2023, the International Institute of Air and Space Law and the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum for International Humanitarian Law organised a seminar on the topic of 'The optimisation of the use of satellite information in the humanitarian domain – Legal and space-related developments' at Leiden…

The new welfare state is said to be close to its citizens and does not dominate, but cooperate. “But this paradigm has a hard time to acknowledge the power relation that shapes the relation between state and citizens,” says Anouk de Koning in the interview 'The Downsides of Equality Talk in the Welfare…

Education, Facility, ICT, Research

Few details, relatively few words. The coalition agreement presented is one of the shortest in the past 20 years, Arco Timmermans knows. Consequently, the outlines were not negotiated for very long, which has its advantages and disadvantages. 'Over the next few weeks, we are mainly going to see the…

Education, Research

2021 saw many prizes awarded to staff and students of Leiden Law School. Grants for new research projects were also awarded and our staff were invited to particpate on committees or recognised in other ways too. An overview of this year’s achievements is given below.

Physicist Kaveh Lahabi’s research on quantum materials led to the launch of a new company: QuantaMap. With his colleagues, he developed a sensor that will improve the production of quantum computer chips. ‘It turns out that what I need for my fundamental physics research is also very useful for the…

What can you learn about Bangladesh that cannot be found on Google? On 24 September, bachelor students of International Studies and Southeast Asian Studies were given an answer to that question. In a well-filled lecture room, the ambassador of Bangladesh, Riaz Hamidullah, gave a lecture about his co…

How do you find your was as an early career researcher in the academic pressure cooker?

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.

Facility

Adults and children view art in completely different ways, Cognitive psychologist Francesco Walker discovered at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum. 'In a recent study at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, I used eye-tracking technology.' Walker talks about his research on media platform ‘The Conversation’.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has awarded a €1.6M contract to an LACDR-led consortium to assess how sensitivity to toxicity caused by chemicals varies among individual people. Currently these toxicodynamic differences are an unknown source of uncertainty when carrying out risk assessment…

After a long night of partying, hundreds of people head to Leiden’s Van der Werfpark early on 3 October for a good singsong. Lecturer in Dutch literature Olga van Marion helped compile the new songbook for the occasion. Which songs were left out and which new hits have taken their place?

Does a communal garden provide cool air and warm neighbourly relations? Does an additional row of trees increase biodiversity? These kinds of questions are key in the COMBINED project, on which Leiden scientists and residents of The Hague, among others, can work for six years with 4 million euros from…

Leiden University is featured by French magazine L’Express as one of Europe’s leading ‘schools of power’, highlighting its Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs and the Institute of Security and Global Affairs in The Hague and its role in training future leaders in politics, diplomacy, and securi…

Dr Sarah Schrader, an expert in the study of human remains, received a VIDI grant for a research project on health and inequality. In present day people with a high socio-economic status encounter fewer health risks than those in lower socio-economic strati. ‘Now we will look at this process in the…

Ustadh Mau Digital Archive project (UMADA) is among the UCLA Library 29 international cultural preservation projects supported by the Modern Endagered Archive Program (Cohort 3). From the 3rd up to the 5th of October, a digitization training workshop took place on Lamu island, on the so-called northern…

‘Crisis and change in European Union foreign policy.’ That is the title of Nikki Ikani’s book that was published last month. We asked the writer five questions about her book. Presentation: 5 & 20 April.

Using enslaved people as servants, becoming an administrator in the Dutch West India Company or making uniforms for the colonial army. Many people from Leiden played a role in colonialism and slavery. Historians are conducting preliminary research and finding striking examples.

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?

Ten Leiden researchers will receive funding of up to 280,000 euros from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). They will use this grant to develop their research ideas in the coming three years.

How do you co-create with researchers in other parts of the world? LDE wants to gather and share knowledge on the grand challenges and to do so across national borders. A delegation of 27 researchers will therefore travel to Indonesia at the end of October to take part in the LDE-BRIN Academy.

On Tuesday 30 September 2025, PhD candidate Kathleen Brown will defend her dissertation 'Deception, Risk, and Evasion: The Politics of Sovereign Debt in Emerging Markets' in Leiden’s Academy Building. Her research sheds light on the hidden world of sovereign debt politics, revealing how governments…

Several FGW projects have received a COIn grant. This grant, ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 euros, is intended to improve research infrastructure, for example by purchasing software licences, applications, electronics or laboratory equipment.

Internationalisation is an important pillar of the Strategic Plan of Leiden University and Leiden Law School. The driving force behind internationalisation at our faculty is the Office for International Education (known as BIO). The Head of BIO is Anette van Sandwijk. Now the current political climate…

Harriet Zurndorfer passed away on 18 March 2026 in Leiden.

Conference

Sophie Rose is one of the fellows of the Ammodo Science Fellowship 2024. She will use this fellowship to conduct research at Leiden University.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice. This year more than 570 law schools from across the world participated.

Kim Duistermaat will become the Campus The Hague Director on 1 April. In this new role, she will monitor Campus The Hague projects and drive them forward. ‘I think it will be great to contribute to the successful realisation of the concept of “one university in two cities”.’

The celebration of the university’s 450th anniversary is not confined to the walls of the university. For the 7th time, professors stood in front of the class of grade 7, in both Leiden and The Hague. Four FGGA professors visited primary schools, introducing the children to research questions such as…

Lecture, LUCDH Lunch Lecture

Secret services are engaging in increasingly extreme forms of cyber espionage. But nobody talks about this. Dennis Broeders knows why and is trying to have an open conversation about new forms of espionage. As Professor of Global Security and Technology, he will give his inaugural lecture on Friday…

By far the majority of users of child sexual abuse networks (or child porn forums as they are sometimes called) on the dark web do not actively communicate there but download illegal material, therefore committing a criminal offence. But they often stay under the police and judiciary’s radar. PhD candidate…

Board members Annetje Ottow and Hester Bijl recently visited the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL, Faculty of Humanities) and the Mathematical Institute (MI, Faculty of Science). This was the start of a series of visits to institutes at our university. The focus is on talking to researchers…

PhD candidate Ludwig Hoffmann will spend two years at Harvard University in the US thanks to a Rubicon grant he won on April 11. Using theoretical models he studies biological tissues, for example during morphogenesis. This is the process that causes tissue or organisms to develop their shape. ‘This…

What do you do as a government if you are at a loss? You ask an expert for help. In the seventeenth-century Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, one expert after another popped up to advise one of the many regional authorities. In her Veni project, researcher Anna-Luna Post sets out to discover…

‘We have to have accountability.’ That was Roberta Metsola’ for her audience on Thursday evening. The President of the European Parliament had come to the Wijnhaven building to speak with students.

How can we ensure that young people vape less? How do we prevent the spread of scabies among students? And how can we encourage physical activity at work? Students from Health and Medical Psychology recently presented their answers to these questions to professionals in the field.

It is not possible for juvenile courts to properly assess whether it is necessary to place a child in care. This is evident from a fact sheet that has been prepared by legal scholars from Leiden University, commissioned by the Dutch House of Representatives and others.

Alanna O'Malley, Associate Professor at Leiden University Institute for History, talks about the possible expelling of the Russian ambassador Yuriy Filatov and the risks that come with the decision.

One of our RISE members, Prof. Laura Heitman, has been nominated for the TOPX Females to Follow “Guiding Star” award. TOPX empowers promising and ambitious women, and aims to honour inspirational females with remarkable careers in Life Sciences. TOPX selected her (and 7 other female professionals) because…

With his essay 'Why science?', mathematics prodigy Lars Pos (18) won the Robbert Dijkgraaf Essay Prize. Within the theme 'The fascinating workings of science', the bachelor student wrote a plea for the societal value of fundamental scientific research. 'Because you don’t know beforehand where we can…