Leiden PhD candidate Jo-Anne Verschoor discovered that nearly twenty percent of the bacterial strains she studied could degrade plastic, though they needed some encouragement to do so. ‘Bacteria are just like people,’ says Verschoor. Her research was published in the journal Communications Biology,…

On 5 May we celebrate freedom, a basic human right that should not be taken for granted. We asked international students and staff what it means to them.

Whereas the Netherlands Court of Audit used to conduct an investigation once a year, the average civil service organisation now has a few per year to contend with. Is so much going wrong nowadays? Not at all, says Professor by Special Appointment Sjoerd Keulen. ‘It’s one of the methods that makes democracy…

Lecture, Tuesday Talk

Lecture, Tuesday Talks: Science Insights

At Leiden University’s LAK (Leiden Academic Art Centre) students can take creative courses at affordable rates and rent studios and workshops.

Online education and assessments

When do we say violence was used in an incident? The answer may seem obvious at first. But interim results from a study by Jolien van Breen show that Dutch people are labelling events in increasingly broad contexts as violent.

Study support

Study support

Study support, Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

Are you not sure whether you have chosen the right study programme? Are you finding it hard to decide which study programme to do next? The advisers at Leiden University’s Career Services are on hand to offer help and advice.

Schedules

Arts and leisure, Personal development, Language, Arts and leisure

Schedules

AD(H)D stands for Attention Deficit(-Hyperactivity) Disorder, which is a common disorder that can impact your learning at Leiden University.

Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is the term for a range of neurodevelopmental conditions or differences which can impact your studies at Leiden University.

Dyslexia is a learning disorder which is common among students and can impact your studies at Leiden University.

Cookware handles, electrical plugs, brake pads. Unlike other plastics, these ‘thermosets’ cannot simply be melted down and reshaped, making them difficult to recycle. Chemist Roxanne Kieltyka and her team are now exploring a way to make these materials recyclable, potentially transforming the way we…

IncLUsion is a student initiative that enables refugees who are not (yet) able to register on a regular study programme to follow courses at Leiden University. But studying is more than just attending classes, which is why IncLUsion also offers a buddy system. Buddies are Leiden University students…

Leiden biologists have found a mutation in flour beetles that allows them to speed up their development. The study has been published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Data Science & AI student Nataliia Bagan combines a passion for mathematics, language, and artificial intelligence. Her exceptional bachelor’s thesis on improving reasoning in large language models earned her a nomination for the Leiden Science Young Talent Award 2025.

Speculation about alien life, a new nitrogen map, AI as a thesis supervisor, groundbreaking telescopes and multi-million-euro investments to combat antimicrobial resistance – the diversity of these topics shows that our readers are just as broadly interested as our researchers. Discover the most-read…

Personal development, Study support

Professor of Fungal Genetics and Biotechnology Arthur Ram explains how fungi can help us be more sustainable.

Physicist Remko Fermin from Leiden University was awarded a Rubicon grant from NWO. He will use it to study superconducting diodes that could contribute to reducing the CO2 emission of data centres.

Education, Social

Leiden researchers have discovered an enzyme that helps bacteria feed on everyday plastics. This common enzyme could play a crucial role in future research and eventually in addressing the global plastic crisis. The study was published in Nature Communications.

Portraits that gaze at you and have moving stories to tell: HEAR ME NOW says what usually remains unsaid.

Not all students spend the holiday season with family or friends. That is why the university is organising the fifth edition of the Winter Weeks this year. The goal remains unchanged: to offer both international and Dutch students who stay in Leiden or The Hague during the Christmas break a warm and…