He was a popular face in the Leiden student world and even developed his own merchandise, but all good things come to an end. After seven years, community support officer Dennis Perdok (49) is leaving this role. Last week he bid farewell to the police and to his job in Leiden’s city centre.

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.

Injections can be a source of stress and anxiety for children. The Willem-Alexander Children’s Hospital is exploring ways to improve the experience. Together with illusionist Victor Mids and researchers from Leiden, they have shown that magic can help.

The Andrea Evers Fund provides funding for innovative, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects in the area of health and well-being.

Leiden University is committed to making your work safe, healthy and enjoyable.

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…

The University aims to be bilingual, and provides its information in Dutch and English wherever possible. This has consequences for the information provided on the University websites.

Smiling faces, a mass dance and a bit of awkwardness: after two ‘corona editions’ of EL CID, the Leiden introduction week is back with a vengeance this year. A total of 3,412 first-year students from Leiden University and University of Applied Sciences Leiden, accompanied by 486 mentors, started EL…

Of the women studying at university, 52% have experienced some form of sexual harassment. For male students, the figure is 19%.

Sexual harassment was the theme of the recent annual symposium of student ambassadors to the Leiden-Bollenstreek police in collaboration with the police and the municipality. An extremely important issue to students − if the 100 places being claimed as soon as the symposium was announced was anything…

Here you will find questions and answers about GROW, the types of interviews, the GROW tile and more.

Within our university, we believe it is important to remain in dialogue with each other, to hear what is going on, and to take steps together. This allows us to build an environment in which we can work and grow together.

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.

Would you like to develop your discussion skills? We provide a variety of training resources for staff members and managers. The topics covered include making a connection, listening, giving feedback and reflection.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will retire on 8 February. If there’s one theme running through his career, it’s the links between the University and society. In this series of pre-retirement discussions, Stolker will talk one last time to people from within and without the University. In this edition…

It’s not healthy but we often do it anyway: sit hunched at our computer for hours on end. But exercising and relaxing at work doesn’t have to be complicated. These staff members have come up with fun and easy ways to help their colleagues stay fit and healthy. ‘You don’t need sportswear and won’t end…

How should the municipality of Eindhoven organise the reception of asylum seekers? What is the best electoral system for the Dutch Parliament? Governments regularly ask citizens for their opinions. Computer scientist Michiel van der Meer has improved the method used for citizen assemblies. He will defend…

From social inequalities in prehistory to placebo effects in medical treatments. Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million to develop their research.

Leiden University offers various training programmes and workshops that contribute to student well-being.

Talking about suicide is important, but anything but comfortable. To make this difficult subject easier for students and staff to discuss, the university is organising a campaign week in line with the national campaign ‘1K Z1E J3’ (I see you) being run by Stichting 113 Zelfmoordpreventie (113 is the…

A discount on textbooks is always welcome. But for these students joining a study association has meant much more than that alone.

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.

In our new strategic plan (Innovating and Connecting – 2022-2027) we focus on stronger connections: between disciplines, with society and within our university community.

Conference

Transferable skills

As a student mentor or student tutor, you are involved in the mentoring programme on behalf of your study programme. You will receive information about your role from a dedicated mentoring coordinator from your study programme or faculty.

Here you can find questions and answers about the employee experience survey.

Consumer grade smartwatches may not be as accurate as promised when measuring tiredness or stress. That is the conclusion of researchers Björn Siepe and Eiko Fried based on a comparison between smartwatch measurements and self-reports by users.

The new government needs to look further ahead, says environmental scientist Rutger Hoekstra. ‘We keep pushing forward big dossiers like demographic ageing, climate and migration. Even though we know they play a big role in our future.’ Hoekstra therefore hopes that the new coalition agreement will…

Today, 13 May 2024, Leiden University’s Executive Board is publishing the advice of the committee that investigated reports of unacceptable behaviour and breaches of academic integrity. These reports were about a professor from the university and their partner (a former member of the university staf…

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.

Leiden University College (LUC), an institute of Leiden University in The Hague – the international city of peace, justice, and security – offers the English-taught Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges since 2010. Inspired by the American university college model, LUC combines…

Leiden University supports lecturers in designing and delivering high-quality education. Here you can find more information about the vision on teaching and learning, didactic tools and regulations, as well as answers to questions such as: How can I make my lectures interactive? Where can I find the…

Work pressure is still high across the entire organisation. Leiden University is not unique in this respect, as all Dutch universities are facing high levels of work pressure. In an effort to reduce work pressure, we have launched a toolkit including practical measures at central, faculty, and individual…

Course

Communication, Leadership, Management, Personal development

As of 6 October 2025, Leiden University has incorporated three key HR processes into a new platform: the Talent and Development Platform.