Roel Wouters (24), a biology student at Leiden University, is a finalist in the election for UN youth delegate for Biodiversity and Food. The digital polls open for a week on Friday 22 October. Under-30s can vote for Roel at www.stemroel.nl.

A European bachelor’s degree, an enormous web of collaborations and masses of fantastic opportunities for researchers and support professionals: in two years, we as a university have come far within the Una Europa alliance, says Professor Joanne van der Leun. She rejoined the Una Europa Board of Directors…

Taking responsibility concerning colonial heritage and restitution is a pressing issue for countries and museums worldwide. On 23 and 24 May, a Leiden University interdisciplinary symposium will explore new perspectives as a basis for policies. Organising professors Carsten Stahn and Pieter ter Keurs…

From more natural beaches to research on how peace advances biodiversity. Two Leiden research projects have been awarded funding from the European Biodiversa+ partnership. These are grants for interdisciplinary research on restoring biodiversity.

Our university recently joined the European university alliance Una Europa. Staff from the 11 affiliated universities met in Leiden last week to discuss our collaboration.

The brightness peak of the ring around M87's supermassive black hole has shifted 30 degrees counterclockwise in a year. This is shown by new images released by the Event Horizon Telescope consortium.

Lecture

Leiden University researchers will be working more closely with colleagues at Una Europa partner universities this year. Three research projects have been awarded up to €40,000 in Una Europa seed funding to explore questions related to democracy and AI, web tracking technologies and clean energy.

From research on stellar winds to sign language: an impressive seven researchers from Leiden University will receive a prestigious Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Greenhouse gas emissions related to pharmaceutical consumption increased by 77 percent over the past 24 years, according to a Leiden University study published in The Lancet Planetary Health. Moreover, efficiency gains have stalled since 2008. ‘Our best option is reducing consumption and minimising…

Peter Stevenhagen delivered daily lectures at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering in Lahore, in collaboration with ICTP, a well-known UNESCO institute in Trieste. The aim is to enhance it he knowledge of students from low- and middle-income countries. ‘By teaching here, I can truly…

Starting February 6, the Leiden interdisciplinary research programme Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) will host a lunch seminar series on pressing global governance issues. The series will feature researchers from various disciplines. It promises to be a trove of inspiration and…

Almost everywhere in the world where the post exists, the beadle is a ‘master of ceremonies’ who only makes his appearance on special occasions. In Leiden the beadle does much more. He is indispensable at dissertation defences and orations. He directs ceremonies and is a master at calming nerves.

No fewer than 55 applications were submitted for a Kiem seed grant, an initiative for developing new interdisciplinary, interfaculty research partnerships and encounters. The draw took place on Monday for the allocation of 22 seed grants. The Executive Board was so impressed with the number of applications…

The availability of natural resources, the energy transition, the importance of circularity and our dependence on China. This and more is what Professor of Industrial Ecology René Kleijn's inaugural lecture is about.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing? What kinds of things is he doing and what does his day look like? In each newsletter Jasper gives a peek into his life as dean.

According to a new study, for half of the world population the answer would be yes. For the other half: maybe? Leiden environmental researcher and head author Nicolas Navarre explains: ‘With improvements to crop yields, reductions in food waste, and changes in consumption patterns, 90% of people could…

Annetje Ottow, president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, has been the new chair of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) strategic alliance for just two months. What does she want to achieve during her two-year chairmanship?

For a long time, Thijs Bosker was an average student, until he discovered how exciting learning becomes when there are no ready-made answers. To his students, he passes on one key message: hope is the driving force that keeps us moving forward. They nominated him as Lecturer of the Year.

You win the Leiden Teaching Prize and suddenly all eyes are on you. Three past recipients reflect on how this student-awarded prize has changed how they work and improved their teaching – and how they chose to spend the money.

No procession of professors, just a handful of people in the church and snowdrifts outside Leiden’s Pieterskerk: 8 February 2021 was no ordinary Dies Natalis. Carel Stolker transferred the rectorate to Hester Bijl, and Annetje Ottow became the new President of the Executive Board. With an honorary doctorate…

Using enslaved people as servants, becoming an administrator in the Dutch West India Company or making uniforms for the colonial army. Many people from Leiden played a role in colonialism and slavery. Historians are conducting preliminary research and finding striking examples.

The SAILS conference The Future of AI is Here (and Guess What … it’s Human) brought together researchers and policy makers to discuss the important issues in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). Where are the opportunities and what are the dangers?

Jaïr van Rhenen studied Medicine in Leiden and is now a GP in the largely religious Veenendaal. Before this, he worked as a tropical medicine doctor in Lesotho. ‘If you have the prospect of an afterlife, you often respond differently to illness.’

How do you co-create with researchers in other parts of the world? LDE wants to gather and share knowledge on the grand challenges and to do so across national borders. A delegation of 27 researchers will therefore travel to Indonesia at the end of October to take part in the LDE-BRIN Academy.

447th Dies Natalis

Informatiesessie

PhD defence

Lecture

Lecture, Tuesday Talks: Science Insights

University ceremony

Leiden University has had a diversity policy since 2014. The aim is to create a diverse and inclusive learning and working environment for all students and staff. Diversity Officer Aya Ezawa updates us on the process and the results. It’s now 2022, what has already changed?

Staff from Leiden University are starting the Dutch universities’ staggered strike against the government cuts on 10 March. Follow the strike in this liveblog.