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.

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.

Parents from all corners of the university bring their children to De Kattekop, the university’s day nursery. How does manager Ellen Buschman use her psychology degree in her work?

In a collaborative effort between the Leiden Children’s Rights Observatory, the Leiden Law Academy, UNICEF and the Petitions Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a symposium held last week commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the Convention…

Glorious sunshine, dozens of enthusiastic academics and huge numbers of Leiden residents ensured that this year’s special jubilee version of 3 October University was a great success.

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

As Professor of Literature, Culture and Law, Frans Willem Korsten explores the interplay between literature and law. These are two disciplines that most people wouldn’t immediately connect, but Korsten can see a lot of common ground between them. ‘A fictional story can have a huge impact on law.’

Our students and staff have strong feelings and deep concerns about the ties between Dutch universities and the fossil fuel industry. It’s a thorny issue and as a university we’re keen to chart our course for the future, but we cannot do so alone. I therefore hope to be able to discuss the matter with…

How should we address our colonial heritage? And how digital and accessible are our collections? Outgoing State Secretary Fleur Gräper spoke with researchers and heritage specialists about this on 25 January.

In a speech on Keti Koti the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, apologised on behalf of the royal family for the Netherlands’ historical role in slavery. What is the significance of this?

Since April 2023 the current war in Sudan has brought larger death, destruction, and displacement than any other ongoing armed conflict on earth. And yet, international media coverage of the conflict remains limited.

How do digital technologies affect adolescent mental health and resilience? How do we foster a secure online environment? How should we deal with increasing rates of online crimes among adolescents? During the mini-symposium ‘The effect of the online world on adolescents’, presented by the interdisciplinary…

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.

Jeroen van Gessel’s lecturers didn’t always have time for extensive feedback on his written assignments. So, together with tech-savvy friend Menno Hahury, he founded Eduface, a startup to develop an AI teaching assistant. ‘The first users now work three times faster.'

Legal philosopher Bart Jansen teaches at universities around the world. In an interview two years ago, he spoke about his professional fascination for dictators and wars. Since then, the world has undergone major changes. High time for a follow-up interview.

At the start of the new year, we celebrate the release of a new selection of collection items into the Public Domain. This year, Leiden University Libraries (UBL) is making approximately eight hundred items freely downloadable via Digital Collections.

Lawyer, economist, politician and women’s rights activist Lizzy van Dorp is the 100th entry in our Top 450. Who or what is your favourite?

The university's CO2 footprint - a visual representation of Leiden University's environmental impact - is calculated every year. The CO2 footprint for 2020 shows a striking break in the trend in terms of energy use, mobility and waste.

What starts off gently may end dramatically. Many young people these days fall victim to sexual exploitation. How can we prevent this suffering? Ieke de Vries points to the living environment of (potential) victims.

Thirteen teams of inventive staff rose to the challenge of creating brand-new AI applications to lighten their workload during the AI Cocreation Lab. At the closing ceremony in the Academy Building, participants showed their pitch films, and an expert jury announced the winning prototypes.

There are as good as no clear rules for the return of stolen art. This means that rather than in court, many cases are decided in the political arena instead. In her PhD research Evelien Campfens suggests how this could change. PhD defence on 11 November.

In January 2021, eLaw joined the Computers Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) Conference that is about privacy and data protection. The group on Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University put together a panel that combined perspectives on Art, Society, & Technology.

Many European citizens feel connected to the European Union and place trust in it, Eva Grosfeld found in her PhD research. Yet around a quarter do not identify with the EU at all. How can the EU regain their trust?

Aya Ezawa bade farewell as Diversity Officer of Leiden University at a celebration in the Academy Building on 11 June. Since her appointment in 2019, she has been a tireless advocate for culture change and a champion for diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities for all.

It is said that robots replace human interaction, but not always. This spring, the robots were the reason why the eLaw Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) Law School in Lithuania got together.

50 years ago Lauterbur published the basic principle of MRI. Sine then MRI has become more expensive. Professor Andrew Webb describes what is needed to make MRI available for everybody.

A pill can make you better, but how exactly does it work? Primary school children from The Hague found out during a visit to the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) as part of a new teaching module ‘The journey of a pill’.

Human resources

Samen met een groep enthousiaste wetenschappers bezocht ik deze maand verschillende universiteiten en andere kennisinstellingen tijdens een kennismissie in Indonesië.

We are proud to share that Hadassah Drukarch, a graduate of our Advanced LL.M. in Law and Digital Technologies (class of 2022-2023), has been honored with the prestigious 2023 Brinkhof Internet Thesis Award for her thesis research that explores the intricate interplay between data protection regulation…

Carlotta Rigotti and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga launch a call for workshop papers on fairness and AI in the labour market at the 16th JSAI International Symposia on AI as part of the Horizon Europe BIAS project.

The team from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) came out on top at the international online Moot Court organised by Leiden University and law firm Baker McKenzie.

Each year on the university’s birthday, children at primary schools in Leiden and The Hague have a lesson from a professor – about children’s rights and robots in surgery, for example. The children get to do activities. And ask questions: ‘How do you become a professor?’

Staff at Dutch youth care services sometimes put parents under pressure to cooperate 'voluntarily'. There are instances when children are removed from the home without the approval of the court. This may have some benefits from the perspective of the support services, but in legal circles there are…

Research

An ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis on 7 January, igniting nationwide fury over escalating federal violence. Could such an incident occur in the Netherlands?

Anti-immigration protests over asylum seekers receive extensive attention, but PhD candidate Clare Fenwick says it’s a vocal minority taking to the streets. 'The silent majority might also have migration concerns, like job losses due to labour migration, but these views seem to remain outside public…

Assistant professor Max van Duijn is the new chair of The Young Academy. He aims to support young academics, bring research closer to society and make academia more resilient.

Violence such as assault or head-butting causes pain, shock and distress. It is often seen as savage or senseless. But for those who commit it, violence has meaning, argues violence researcher Don Weenink in his inaugural lecture.

Sandra Palmen studied tax law at Leiden University and built a career within central government, currently as State Secretary. She was one of the first to raise the alarm about the child benefits affair and is now righting the wrongs.

It’s vital that universities are able to recognise the signs of alcohol and drug misuse in students. Staff also have an important role to play in talking about substance use. ‘That one conversation can make a difference’, says Jitske Hoogervorst, an adviser at Brijder addiction treatment services.

Research

Over the course of eight weeks, twelve law students spent several days at the various sectors of the Court of The Hague where they learned all about the work of judges, judicial assistants and legal advisers. At the final session on 10 March, they shared their experiences.

Education, Organisation, Research

Good education starts with good educators. The university has taken various steps in recent years to help our teaching staff develop. But new teaching staff require particular attention, say staff who work on teacher professionalisation.

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