They confounded expectations and went to university anyway – as a woman of colour, a working-class student or refugee... Throughout the centuries the university has always welcomed pioneers. Students for whom going to university was not the obvious choice and who did not grow up in an academic environment.…

A professor from Leiden University has subjected various colleagues to intimidating and unacceptable behaviour for a longer period. These are the findings of an investigation carried out by the University’s independent Complaints Committee for Unacceptable Behaviour at the request of the Executive Board…

Should we cut our ties with Israel or maintain them? The event ‘A university conversation on Israel/Palestine’ on 1 July revealed the depth of feeling about the conflict, with students and staff grappling with academic values and moral dilemmas.

The Executive Board of Leiden University has asked the University Council to advise on its proposed decision to reactivate the person counters/sensors in due course. The Council will now look at this carefully before the Board makes a final decision. The advice of the University’s participation body…

EuroScience Open Forum – ESOF - is Europe’s biggest multidisciplinary and prestigious scientific conference. ESOF2022 will take place from 13-16 July 2022 and is hosted by Leiden as the European City of Science (in the Netherlands). The Kamerlingh Onnes Building is one of the locations of the ESOF and…

Medewerkers van de Universiteit Leiden trappen maandag 10 maart de estafettestaking af van de Nederlandse universiteiten tegen de kabinetsbezuinigingen.

For the third time in a row, Leiden University has received a positive assessment in the Institutional Audit for the way it provides good teaching and a vibrant quality culture. Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl was presented with the official certificate.

NWO (the Dutch Research Council) has granted more than 10 million euros for five human-centered AI research projects (2.1M€ each). Leiden University participates in two of these five research proposals, which are called ELSA labs.

Leiden University is joining the Una Europa European University. Together with other partner universities Leiden University will draw on their collective strengths to shape the future of Europe through innovative education, research and international exchange.

The university was a gift from William of Orange to the people of Leiden for their courageous resistance to the Spanish. We’ve all heard the story of the university’s foundation. But its foundation was also a success story for two friends.

Connecting scientific fields, enhancing research and teaching, and providing innovative solutions to complex social issues: that is the idea behind interdisciplinary research. What did the university achieve in 2024? A small sample.

Leiden University has secured fifth place in SustainaBul, the sustainability ranking for universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands.

At the Dies Natalis Willem Otterspeer, Professor Emeritus of University History, presented the fourth and final volume of Groepsportret met Dame, his series on the history of Leiden University. De 'Strategie van de Aanpassing' covers the period 1876-1975. Otterspeer talked about his book in a podcast…

ICT, Security

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.

Leiden University is seeking bids from developers for housing in Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid, the Oegstgeest part of the Leiden Bio Science Park.

The results of the 2025 university elections are in. Who will represent us in the participation organs?

Egypt serves as a strategic gateway to Africa and the Middle East. For that reasons, Luc Sels, President of the Executive Board and a delegation visited the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) at the end of April. This resulted in new agreements on research and student exchanges.

Our ever-increasing reliance on software and technologies, out of convenience, necessity or otherwise, binds us to supranational and commercial companies that provide them. Is it essential that governments, universities, and researchers ensure that they continue to be in control of their data and software?…

The Executive Board has appointed Ineke Sluiter and Arnold Tukker as distinguished professors at Leiden University.

Leiden researchers are launching an interdisciplinary network for assistant professors at Leiden University with the help of a Kiem grant. APNet Leiden is holding a launch meeting on Thursday February 19th. .

Leiden University has a new Executive Board. Since 8 February 2021, Annetje Ottow has been the new President and Hester Bijl the new Rector Magnificus of the Board, while Martijn Ridderbos has continued in his role as Vice-Chairman.

Leiden University Academy is making lifelong learning even better! The entire range of programmes on offer for professionals has been expanded and united under this name.

It is crucial that Leiden University reflects on its colonial history. These were the words of Cleveringa Professor Gert Oostindie in his inaugural lecture on 24 November. ‘As a university community, we must dare to hold up a mirror to ourselves and, where possible and necessary, also take concrete…

The University Council gives the Executive Board (un)solicited advice and helps decide on important topics. For example, permanent contracts for lecturers and the workload and well-being of our students and staff. It’s an important organ, but many staff have no idea what it does. ‘I think it’s great…

Pre-University College The Hague is celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2024-2025. Three alumni look back on their experience. PRE broadened their academic horizons and taught them a lot about themselves. ‘PRE made me feel more comfortable at university'.

Professor Sarah de Rijcke will become the new Rector Magnificus on the Executive Board of Leiden University on 15 January 2026. She will succeed Professor Hester Bijl, who will become Rector Magnificus at Delft University of Technology.

The Executive Board of Leiden University has appointed Jan Kolen as the University’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Coordinator as of 1 February 2022. In this role Kolen will take the lead in regional and national cooperation relating to the topic of AI, data and digitalisation.

With the long lockdown, it’s been a hard year for Leiden businesses. How can the local economy bounce back and how can the University help? Two talk shows discussing this were recently recorded in the Academy Building. They will be aired on Unity TV on 28 September and 12 October.

From sponsored runs to festivals and from open days to concerts: Leiden University hosts lots of events each year. We are highlighting six of them for 2023.

How should universities respond to a cybercrisis such as a DDoS attack or data breach? Leiden University participated in a national crisis exercise with partners from the LDE alliance.

Leiden University has received a €50,000 grant from Open Science NL to develop a roadmap for integrating open science into the strategic priorities of various institutes and translating this into human resource (HR) policies.

In a topping out ceremony on Thursday 30 January, the new sports centre celebrated reaching its highest point and looked ahead to the future. The university will have a spacious and sustainable sports building by the start of 2026.

Around 1:00 p.m., a group of more than one hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the The Hague campus. Participants chanted slogans and put up banners. The vast majority of those taking part left the building after a short time. However, a small group refused to leave. Follow updates in this…

Leiden University has received a Lifelong Learning grant that will enable it to significantly expand its learning for professionals, for example for the government in The Hague and the Leiden Bio Science Park.

The teams that will lead the themes guiding Leiden University’s strategic positioning in the coming years have been formed.

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.

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) recently issued a new collection policy plan, containing priorities for the coming years regarding the formation, management, availability, and use of the UBL collection.

Eighteen of the 150 newly elected Dutch MPs studied at Leiden University or did their PhD research there. Who are they and what did they study?

Facility

Leiden University has become a partner of the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

From research on the first human ancestors to leave Africa to mathematical models in random disturbances. For Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Dutch Research Council.

Stichting Onderwijsgeschillen (Foundation for Educational Disputes) is pleased to announce that it has established an endowed chair ‘Conflictoplossing en rechtsbescherming in het onderwijs' (conflict resolution and legal protection in education) at Leiden University.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Vidi grants to 14 Leiden researchers. This grant of a maximum of 850,000 euros will enable them to start a new research group and develop their own line of research over the next five years.

One in two people will be diagnosed with cancer. World Cancer Day on 4 February raises awareness of the impact of this devastating disease. Leiden University is conducting various studies aimed at preventing and controlling cancer. Below are just a few examples.