Alumni event

Twenty-two of the 150 newly elected members of the Dutch House of Representatives studied at Leiden University or did their PhD research here. But who are they and which degrees are most popular?

The Leiden University Fund (LUF) has been active since 1890 as an independent support foundation for Leiden University. It supports education and research through grants, endowed chairs, scholarships, and awards. In addition, LUF organises alumni events to strengthen the connection with former stude…

How do we prepare our students for a future labour market in which flexibility, resilience and adaptability are essential?

Giving a presentation about the University? There are standard presentations available.

Here you will find an overview of all communication departments within the university.

Lecture, Natuurwetenschappelijk Gezelschap Leiden

Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl can see dilemmas but above all opportunities in the search to increase the societal value of research in Leiden.

We carry out regular evaluations with a view to improving the quality of our teaching. The programme committees and the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) play an important part in this process. In addition, a student satisfaction survey is also carried out very year:…

Lifelong development at Leiden University: learn, develop, grow

If you have a question about the University website, or if you wish to post an announcement or report content-related changes, please contact the web editors of your faculty or unit.

How do you write a good news article? Here are a number of guidelines to help you.

Leiden University is under fire: it is allegedly doing too little to tackle antisemitism. Rector Hester Bijl responds to this accusation and to a video from 2014 on social media in which extreme remarks are made. ‘We can be short about such comments: they are unacceptable. The university is and always…

Chinese Studies, History or Urban Studies? How do you choose the right degree programme for you? Hundreds of prospective students tried to find out at the Bachelor’s Open Day in Leiden and The Hague. A new formula helped them on their way.

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

2,240 plant extracts from 1,299 different plant species of Dutch origin. That’s the collection of the Dutch Extract Library, which has recently been transferred to the Institute of Biology Leiden. To plant biologist and contact person for this library Pingtao Ding this is a true treasury. ‘To bring…

If you’re unsure where to refer students to for well-being support, this page should help. It provides an overview of the support available at Leiden University.

Making use of social media is a good way to meet others or to hear about the latest news and developments. But it also has its downsides: disinformation, trolling, disrespectful comments and even the misuse of (personal) data.

Researchers at LIACS have found a vulnerability in open-source code that’s been used around the world for over 15 years. They’ve also developed an AI-based tool to fix the problem automatically. ‘You really can’t afford to lean back.’

The moment has finally arrived: after months of hard work, the strategic plan is finished. It was an interesting period, thinks core group member Sylvestre Bonnet. 'How we finally arrived at this strategic plan was very different from what I had thought beforehand.'

One of our RISE members, Prof. Laura Heitman, has been nominated for the TOPX Females to Follow “Guiding Star” award. TOPX empowers promising and ambitious women, and aims to honour inspirational females with remarkable careers in Life Sciences. TOPX selected her (and 7 other female professionals) because…

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.

On October 12th, the LACDR PhD-Postdoc event will be organized in castle Oud Poelgeest.

Last October, we organized our annual PhD-Postdoc event at Kasteel Oud-Poelgeest. An important part of the program was a speed dating session with LACDR alumni.

Leiden University is celebrating its 450th anniversary in 2025 with a feast for the eyes, ears and spirit. The anniversary year opens with an extra special Dies Natalis on 7 February. Highlights includes an alumni festival, three exhibitions and a canal concert.

From interview training and competence tests to internships and contact with alumni. At Leiden University there are many ways for our students to prepare for the job market, but the support available is often too fragmented and hard to find. How can we best prepare our students for a job market that…

LACDR is committed to preparing its PhD candidates and postdocs for their future in the best possible way. One of the activities for this is the annual PhD-Postdoc event focused on career prospects. This year’s event was held on March 4th, 2025.

In November, 2023, we organized our annual PhD-Postdoc event with the topic ‘future career opportunities’. After an interactive presentation ‘be prepared for you career after your PhD/postdoc’ by Harry Linders, there was ample opportunity to meet LACDR alumni and career coaches.

Updated walking instructions, and refreshed texts and questions. After six years, the Leiden math trail has been revamped. From high school students to mathematicians: everyone can walk the route to their heart's content again.

Over the past year, Leiden University’s 450th-anniversary celebrations brought together students, staff, alumni, partners and the residents of Leiden and The Hague. Join us as we look back on the highlights.

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.

If you need any help with your research or if you encounter problems during your PhD track, Leiden University provides several different types of support for PhD candidates. There are also groups, networks and communities in which you can meet other PhD candidates.

To help you make the impact or valorisation of your scientific research more clearly apparent, we have created a Leiden Impact Matrix.

We provide answers here to some frequently asked questions about collaborations with the fossil fuel industry.

The university has been shaping the city of Leiden for 450 years. A brief history of the university buildings that have helped define the city.

Our Keyholders are a close network of over 500 committed donors who actively support Leiden University. Pauline Höhner-Regout, who started working at the LUF since April, talks about her role as a Keyholder fundraiser.

Did you know that each year 18 billion animals die without making it to someone’s plate? Governance of Sustainability alumna Juliane Klaura has won the second prize for her thesis about the environmental impact of global food production. She won the prize at the university-wide master thesis award event,…

Education, Research

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.

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.

The Academy for Professionals project started in November. The project will focus on further developing existing and new educational programmes for professionals. ‘This is part of taking valorisation seriously.’

I was disgusted by the recent Ongehoord Nederland broadcast on 15 September. The racist and hateful comments made by alumna Raisa Blommesteijn were, as far as I am concerned, way over the line and in my opinion also violate Article 1 of the Constitution of the Netherlands.

By looking at what is different, researchers often discover the special, the unusual. And that has already brought a wealth of highlights – also in Leiden.

The Grand Parade was a festive highlight of the 450th anniversary celebration of 3 October. Students and staff members from Leiden University participated with an impressive float.