After nearly five years as President of the Executive Board, Annetje Ottow will be stepping down from the role as of 1 September. During her time as President, she helped shape the university’s strategic direction, strengthening its regional, European and international profile. Sustainability, and dignity…

Research

Education

Research

Science, Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS)

In a packed lecture hall at Wijnhaven, Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman succinctly summed up the essence of his argument on Wednesday 17 September: ‘Running a good society is hard’. His lecture held up a mirror to economists and policymakers.

Organisation

Organisation

Liveable Planet, the Leiden interdisciplinary research programme on sustainability, has a full presence at the LUGO Sustainability Day on Tuesday 9 May. Professor Jan Willem Erisman will deliver the keynote lecture. You can also ask questions about sustainability research and interdisciplinary collaboration…

As of 1 April 2025, Lodewijk Govaerts will be standing down from the Board of Governors due to other commitments that will demand a significant part of his time and attention within the foreseeable future. Govaerts does not want this to affect his ability to fulfil his role on the Board of Governors…

Human resources

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

Leiden University has taken 14th place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities.

Leiden University has taken seventh place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Almost 1,000 universities from all over the world participate in the ranking.

Does the university value teaching less than research? Can you advance in science without academic awards? Which scholars inspire you? Does the university pay enough attention to both your academic achievements and your personal well-being?

ICT

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.

Freezers set three degrees higher, a recycling bin for plastic petri dishes or timer switches installed on equipment: a growing number of Leiden University laboratories are taking small – but effective – steps to reduce their environmental impact, via the internationally recognized Laboratory Efficiency…

National Meat Free Week (Nationale Week Zonder Vlees, 7–13 March) is an initiative to reduce meat consumption. Assistant professor Paul Behrens is studying what impact a change in our food consumption would have on the world. What, according to him, are the main reasons to switch to a (mainly) plant-based…

On 12 January ten driven lecturers obtained their Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO). Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl congratulated them in the Academy Building. We asked three of them how the SKO programme had benefitted them, what they think ‘good teaching’ is and what makes them so passionate about…

What will happen if the lights in a large part of the city are switched off? How many stars can you see without all that light pollution? This is what researchers, artists and the residents of Leiden are going to investigate during Seeing Stars Leiden on 25 September. ‘Leiden is the ideal place for…

Why do vulnerable groups fail to make use of benefits that they are entitled to? This is what Max ten Velde researched in his Master’s in Management of the Public Sector thesis, which has been nominated for the Netherlands Court of Audit’s thesis prize.

To tackle the high workload at our university, and at the insistence of the University Council, the Executive Board launched the Workload Reduction Fund last year. The first fund-financed projects have since begun. Two staff members explain how their ideas can help others.

On 17 February 2024, Leiden University's Scheltema building was abuzz with the energy of the annual MSc International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) Re-Connect Gala. This year's event marked a joyous return to in-person gatherings, bringing together 200 students, employees, and esteemed alumni of the…

Chris Suijker, since 1 July the new director of Real Estate, likes healthy and sustainable university buildings where you ‘get the feeling you’re right at the heart of society’. Her aim is to achieve the same effect with even more buildings.

A consortium including economists, psychologists and public administration scholars from Leiden University will study public acceptance of the hydrogen transition in the Netherlands. They will look at the labour market impact, public perceptions of hydrogen and businesses’ willingness to invest.

The academic year is drawing to a close, and summer is on the horizon. FGGA students are working hard to wrap everything up. We asked some of them to reflect on the past year and share their insights and tips for fellow students.

The Council of Ministers has appointed Jan Willem Erisman, Professor of Environment and Sustainability at Leiden University, as chair of the new Scientific Climate Council (WKR) from 1 March. This council will advise the government on climate policy.

Op woensdagmiddag 17 mei vindt een groot evenement plaats, waar alle Leidse onderzoekers kunnen kennismaken met de interdisciplinaire stimuleringsprogramma’s om samenwerkingsmogelijkheden te verkennen. Waarom is dat ook voor jou interessant? We geven vier redenen.

Organisation

Preventing or delaying disease often requires lifestyle changes, which turns out to be difficult. Valentijn Visch and Sandra van Dijk are researching how to help people change their behaviour.

We hebben 6 van de 9 grenzen overschreden die bepalen of menselijk leven in de komende generaties nog mogelijk is op aarde. Kunnen we het tij nog keren?

The Netherlands cannot stop European labour migrants coming here. Nor does The Hague have much influence on the influx of asylum seekers. But experts believe that we should be able to reduce the need for labour migrants by using intelligent economic policies.

Applications are now open for the Summer School ‘The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance’ (12 - 23 June 2023) for Master-level and PhD students. The activity is supported by the European Union’s Jean Monnet programme (Erasmus+).

Education, Research

The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) alliance signed a collaboration agreement with the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology on 23 September.

The more than 370 sensors that have been hung up in Leiden University buildings to count the people present will not be switched on again. The equipment will eventually be removed from the buildings.

Leiden University has taken eighth place in this year’s SustainaBul, the sustainability ranking for universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. It was in 18th place last year.

Leiden University has taken 17th place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Over 1,400 universities from all around the world took part in the ranking.

On 11 July 2024, a gathering was held to celebrate the start of the construction of the new University Sports Centre (USC). Rugby players and a pole dancer from USC Leiden played a role in the celebration. A video was also shown, giving a whistle-stop tour of the new building.

Social

Which teacher knows best how to inspire their students? Carmen van den Bergh (Humanities), Egbert Koops (Law) and Arjan Louwen (Archaeology) have been nominated for the 2025 Leiden Teaching Prize.

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)…

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.

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

Historic and iconic yet expensive and cold. It’s with mixed feelings that the university is leaving the Gravensteen building, which dates back to the 12th century. How was it to work and study in this former Leiden prison?