The Development and Alumni Relations department maintains contact with Leiden University alumni to stimulate and strengthen our alumni’s involvement with the University. If you wish to know more about our alumni, or organise an alumni event, do not hesitate to contact us.

Over 100 Leiden University alumni gathered in the heart of Brussels for the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event on 29 February. The European Banking Federation (EBF) generously hosted the event for the second time at their premises on Avenue des Arts.

Alumni and researchers met at two well-attended alumni dinners in Yogyakarta and Jakarta. The alumni reminisced about their time in Leiden and got to see their lecturers once again.

Leiden University alumni can make use of a number of University services: ULCN, career support, mentoring network and the Young Alumni Network.

Leiden University’s alumni database is managed by the department for Alumni Relations and Fundraising and currently stores information on around 150,000 registered alumni.

Leiden University invests in a lasting relationship with alumni and partners. Here you will find more information on strengthening these ties and the possibilities for financial support, as well as answers to questions such as: How do I stay in touch with former students? How do I use the alumni database?…

Of the 150 elected representatives, 24 studied or conducted their PhD research in Leiden. Who are they and which degrees are most popular among these MPs?

Another successful edition (the fourth!) of the Leiden Alumni in Brussels event took place on 23 February. With a fully booked registration list, it already promised to be a great success in advance. The event took place at the Baker McKenzie location right in the centre of Brussels. As the area was…

Marleen Hogendoorn (36) studied Dutch Language and Culture at Leiden University and is now editor-in-chief of the feminist monthly OPZIJ.

It is one of the most talked-about subjects right now: how do we eradicate sexual harassment and violence? Alumnus Femke Eisma is the spokesperson for Mariëtte Hamer, the government commissioner tasked with tackling this persistent social problem. Eisma studied the Dutch language at Leiden. How is her…

Alumnus Sam van Raalte followed his passion into freelance journalism.

Alumni who live and work in Brussels met on 18 February at the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event. As well as celebrating Leiden University’s 450th anniversary, they also looked at the challenges Europe faces.

To read Chekhov in the ‘original’. That was what motivated Arie van der Ent to study Slavic languages and literature with Karel van het Reve at Leiden University. ‘My love for Chekhov hasn’t faded,’ says Van der Ent from his home 60 kilometres south of Kyiv. ‘But it has for the rest of Russia.’

Carmen Gonsalves has been the Dutch ambassador to Chile since this autumn. She studied history in Leiden. How useful has her degree been and what’s it like to be an ambassador? ‘Diplomacy is fascinating.’ We spoke to her just before the presidential elections.

The new cabinet has finally taken office. Six of its members studied in Leiden, once again making the University a key supplier to the cabinet. Who are these alumni?

Cornald Maas was able to ‘pioneer’ in Leiden. This Dutch Studies graduate, presenter, programme maker and publicist combined an active student life with studying hard.

Marlon Titre (1982) studied at Royal Conservatoire The Hague, did his PhD and studied at Leiden University, earned several other qualifications and is now, among others, Director of Filmhuis The Hague. Who is this multi-talent?

One of the good things about my job is that I come into contact with so many different alumni. It’s incredibly important that we build good relationships with our alumni from a young age already. We can help our graduates develop skills and grow their network, and they in turn can help our organisation…

Jaïr van Rhenen studied Medicine in Leiden and is now a GP in the largely religious Veenendaal. Before this, he worked as a tropical medicine doctor in Lesotho. ‘If you have the prospect of an afterlife, you often respond differently to illness.’

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.

Three alumni of our Master’s degree programme in Ancient History talk to us about how they found a job after graduation during the coronavirus pandemic. During the interview, Gabriël hung a huge board covered in post-it reminders behind his laptop, Molly was glad that the members of the selection committee…

There are many tributaries to Rosalin Kuiper’s story and they all lead to the sea. The 28-year-old sailor was one of the five-person Team Malizia in the world’s most prestigious sailing competition: the Ocean Race.

She stands out for the moderate tone she takes in discussions on Dutch talk shows. Without judgement you can have an open conversation, criminal lawyer Natacha Harlequin learned in her student days in Leiden. ‘What I personally think of the alleged act doesn’t matter so much.’

Workshops, tours, talks, music, an AI photobooth, interviews, a special poem and the launch of the LUF Children’s Fund. Alumni celebrated their alma mater’s 450th birthday in style on Saturday at the massively oversubscribed Dies Natalis Festival.

Because they could really have used it during their own time as students. For many alumni, that’s their reason for signing up for the mentors network at Leiden University. Around 2,200 alumni are ready and waiting to offer students help and answer questions about study, internships or careers. The Faculty…

Alumnus Anoma van der Veere did Japanese studies and talks in this interview about his studies in Leiden and his work as a researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre and as Japanese correspondent in Tokyo.

Online dating is hard enough on its own, but these days you also need to know what terms like ‘zombieing’ and ‘prela’ mean. Alumni Milou Andree and Vivien Waszink wrote ‘Swipen voor een kwarrel, a book that discusses all the dating jargon, from the ‘scharrel’ to ‘pigbutchering’.

Professor of Psychiatry Anne Speckens studied medicine in Leiden and did her psychiatry training there too. She opened the Radboudumc Center for Mindfulness in Nijmegen. What does she do there and how does she look back on her time as a student?

They first entered the Academy Building fifty to sixty years ago. On 28 March, they were back for an afternoon: the members of the Dr Pfiffikus debating society of the German Studies programme. Former chair Hans van der Veen looks back on his student days.

Most young alumni who graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic did not get a graduation ceremony, nor did they have the chance to sign their name in the Sweat Room. Thanks to the Alumni Office, they now have the chance to do so after all.

Career Services of the Faculties Governance and Global Affairs, Social Sciences, and Humanities joined forces to organise the ‘Meet the Employer’ Week held from 6 – 10 December 2021!

An online ceremony, no party and then no signature in the Sweat Room: during the pandemic, many graduation traditions could not take place. Now anyone who graduated in corona time may still come and sign their name.

From a powerful documentary to a heartwarming classic: four Leiden alumni have chosen their favourite films and will introduce them at Leiden International Film Festival.

Organisation, Social

During the Opening of the Academic Year 2024-2025, we asked guests for their wishes and ideas for Leiden University's anniversary year in 2025.

Many students who graduated during the pandemic were unable to celebrate their graduation in style. To make up for this, they were given the chance to sign their name in the Sweat Room on Friday 26 May.

Music lovers are welcome at this free open-air concert celebrating 450 years of Leiden University, on Sunday 6 July. This special jubilee edition of the Rapenburg Canal Concert will feature a unique orchestra made up of our students, staff and alumni, performing on a floating stage.

During the first weekend of October, a group of fourteen Master of Arts in European Union Studies alumni returned to the place it all began, 15 years after graduating from Leiden University. The international group, representing the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Belgium and…

Alumnus Rennie Roos lives and works in Indonesia. What took him there, what does he do there and what inspires him?

Her plan was to obtain a PhD, but, during her master’s, alumnus Sangbreeta Moitra discovered that her true interest lay in applying neuroscience in everyday life.

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