Would you like to share your expertise with a wide audience, and in a very convenient way? The Vraag het Leiden (Ask Leiden) video platform is looking for academics who can answer questions sent in by the general public, both young and old, by recording short videos.

‘I’m setting Academia in Motion by promoting and developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) to enable affordable learning for anyone, and to keep learning and education in the hands of universities and schools,’ says physician, anatomy teacher and e-learning developer Paul Gobée.

The Leiden University interdisciplinary program Liveable Planet is working on a ‘Liveable Planet Academy’ as a follow-up to its activities. The coordinating team visited the transdisciplinary Leuphana University (Germany) to get inspiration for the setup of the academy.

More than half of our staff took our Employee Experience Survey last spring. We shared the initial findings at the start of July, and since then we’ve taken a closer look at the results and how best to act on them. For Vice-President of the Executive Board Timo Kos, the next steps are clear.

Have faith in others, embrace conflict and differences, take your time: these are just a few of the tips that emerged during a Leiden symposium on interdisciplinary collaboration on 1 February. A second session will take place on Thursday 14 March.

We often feel at ease in a salon chair, and the conversation soon starts to flow. That feeling will be recreated in the coming weeks in the [s]TATTOO pop-up studio. Students and staff can share their thoughts, feelings or worries – and will leave with an artwork based on their story.

The ‘Discovery of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of EUniWell’s Consortium’s Members’ project has received a EUniWell seed grant. Sjoerd Louwaars, the representative from Leiden University, talks about the project and the first results.

Particularly during this time of social distancing and remote learning, it is important to carry on meeting new people – even if you don’t always feel like it after another day staring at your screen, says Wessel van Dam. In his role as assessor at the Honours Academy, Wessel represents the interests…

Last week’s sunny Lowlands festival was not just an occasion for partying and dancing. Visitors were also given a glimpse – as test volunteers – into scientific research. How do you conduct research on fear and silent communication at a festival?

‘If we all possessed just an ounce of Cleveringa, then all would be well in the world,’ said Professor Leo Lucassen. In the Cleveringa debate on the line between free speech and threatening speech he called for ‘more guts’. He is not the only one who thinks this is badly needed if the debate at the…

Last year, Maaike Swart moved from coordinating the Strategic Plan implementation agenda to joining the Organisational Development team. As Programme Manager, she has been asked by the Executive Board to help shape Leiden University’s strategic development.

Natalia Sobrino-Saeb has attended the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo. She was awarded this honour after winning the essay competition of the Nobel Ignitor Fellowship, a programme that seeks to inspire young changemakers around the world – for change can be made by all of us: “You never know…

The new Humanities Hub in the Huizinga Building was officially opened on Tuesday 3 December. In the different labs, researchers presented the options for using digital technologies in humanities research.

The cost-sharing standard (kostendelersnorm) – a regulation affecting recipients of supplementary income for older people, often with a migrant background – may lead to financial and health problems for thousands of people, economists Ernst-Jan de Bruijn and Heike Vethaak have found.

Hiring academics is more than just tallying up publications, says academic director and history professor Jeroen Duindam. He and his colleagues have come up with tips and guidelines for interview committees that align with the new system of recognition and rewards.

The valedictory lecture of former rector magnificus Hester Bijl was buried on Tuesday 12 May in the garden of the Kamerlingh Onnes Building (KOG). Where did this young, and slightly eccentric, university tradition come from?

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

Training

Training

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

Training

Festival

Didactics

March

A delegation from Leiden University recently embarked on a knowledge mission to various NGOs, universities and government organisations in Indonesia. New partnerships were formed and important knowledge exchanged, and researchers from Leiden gave guest lectures.

The English-language interdisciplinary minor ‘AI and Society’ explores the role of artificial intelligence in our society. The interdisciplinary nature of the minor is proving beneficiary for students and lecturers alike. We sit in during a class.

Workshop

Career development

Research

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

Didactics

Staff Association

Lecture

Festival

Workshop

Research

Research

Exhibition

Festival

Personal development

Festival

450 years

Arts and culture

Communication, Personal development

Speaking with your manager more often, focusing explicitly on well-being and giving more recognition and rewards for teamwork and team performance: the annual Performance & Development (P&D) interview will have a new format and also a new name. With the acronym GROW (Gesprekken over Resultaat, Ontwikkeling…

Theo van den Doel received his PhD in January for his research on veteran support. This showed that for long the government learned little from past missions. He has since presented his dissertation to the Lower House of Representatives, and the Minister for Defence, Kajsa Ollongren, has responded to…

Leiden University contributed to colonialism and slavery through its research and teaching. And governors and residents of Leiden had an active role in colonial networks. These are the findings of two explorative studies presented on 3 April.

On International Women's Day (8 March) we take time to consider female emancipation and participation. What does this day mean for Leiden University, and how does it tie in with our aim of becoming more diverse and inclusive? We talked about these issues with Annetje Ottow, who recently became the…