Storing energy is one of the biggest challenges in the energy transition. Hydrogen could be a solution. Chemist Daan den Boer is researching how to make the chemical reaction needed to store energy in hydrogen as cheap and efficient as possible.

Doctoral Grant for lecturer to research witness protection at the international courts.

Students and researches from all faculties at Leiden University are warmly invited to a lunch meeting on Monday 14 October, discussing the rise of AI and the challenges this poses for various governance structures. The event is hosted by Leiden University’s interdisciplinary programmes GTGC and SAIL…

The government spends millions regulating companies that work with large quantities of hazardous substances. But we don’t know whether this is making the industry safer. The number of violations and incidents remains constant. This is the conclusion of external PhD candidate Rob in ’t Veld in his dissertation.…

We hebben 6 van de 9 grenzen overschreden die bepalen of menselijk leven in de komende generaties nog mogelijk is op aarde. Kunnen we het tij nog keren?

Many students who graduated during the pandemic were unable to celebrate their graduation in style. To make up for this, they were given the chance to sign their name in the Sweat Room on Friday 26 May.

With the childcare benefits scandal in the Netherlands, certain interests in society were hidden for long to politics and governance. With the farmers’ protests, on the other hand, the major economic and political interests at stake were hidden for long to society. In her inaugural lecture on 16 September,…

Professor of Media Law and Information Society Tarlach McGonagle is concerned about the increase in online disinformation and hate speech. He argues that human rights should guide new policies for the online world. McGonagle will give his inaugural lecture on 9 May.

Organisations like the UN and the EU should be given more powers to combat transboundary problems. This is the message of a report published by the Swedish SNS Democracy Council, whose authors include Prof. Jan Aart Scholte of Leiden University. The researchers also wrote the following article.

High-quality education, research involving multiple faculties, collaboration between universities and central government funding to make all this possible: these were the topics covered in a working visit of the Standing Committee for Education, Culture and Science (OCW) to the Association of Universities…

That it was students who started the protests in China against its zero Covid policy makes things more dangerous for politicians. China expert Frank Pieke explains the role of students in China, what makes the protests unique and what might happen next.

Hans Slabbekoorn researches animal sounds and the effect of the noise we humans make on these animals. He is also committed to making his discipline more diverse.

According to Russian propaganda Ukrainians are Nazis and people from the West are Satanists. Egbert Fortuin thinks we should take this propaganda seriously.

Master’s students in Industrial Ecology and Governance of Sustainability have helped answer organisations’ questions about sustainability

Islamic banking, freedom of religion, LGBTQ+ acceptance and education are topics that European Muslims find important for their future. These are the results of a survey by Professor of Islam and the West, Maurits Berger. The survey is the starting point of a citizen project in which Berger wants to…

Professor of Computer Science Joost Batenburg has received half a million euros from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to improve the conservation of historical paintings with 3D X-ray imaging.

Much of the work of Serge Fehr, Professor of Quantum Information Theory, is abstract and theoretical and comprehensible to very few people. But his work helps make the digital world safer so that in future our internet banking will still be problem free, for instance. He will explain more in his inaugural…

Leiden and South Africa have long standing historical ties in the field of mathematics. These ties have now been strengthened thanks to an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) grant. Four researchers from Pretoria are now visiting Leiden. ‘No matter how good we are at dealing with Teams and…

Not all gay and lesbian students feel equally safe at their sports clubs. ‘Homo’ is used almost unthinkingly as a term of abuse and players often face homophobic comments. What can sports clubs and teams do to make sure everyone feels safe when playing sports?

Is polder rice a feasible circular alternative for cows on peatland? A pilot experiment started this week. On May 22nd, researchers from Leiden University and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) planted roughly 3,000 rice plants on the Polderlab near Leiden. The researchers want to test rice as a…

Socialising with other people is an important part of feeling good. What do children need from their surroundings to do this?

Museums have long focused on power, wealth and a few famous figures. But that is changing, says Valika Smeulders, head of the history department at the Rijksmuseum. What this change comprises and how it has come about is the subject of her keynote speech at the D&I Symposium on 11 January.

Mining for natural resources harms the environment. But we desperately need them, for both the development of countries and the transition to a sustainable energy system. Professor of Sustainable Resource Use Ester van der Voet researches how we can reduce the environmental impact of natural resources…

The Netherlands Institute in Morocco is open to students from all Dutch universities. Two students explain why they are spending a semester studying in Rabat.

Russian military concepts developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries still exist and have not lost their strategic relevance. The Russians used them to annex Crimea and are now applying them in the war in Ukraine. Although the concepts have been around for a long time, it does not mean they…

To get important topics such as climate and human rights higher on the agenda of listed companies, stakeholders other than shareholders and employees should officially be given more say. This is what Professor of Business Law Harold Koster said in his inaugural lecture on 18 March. He proposes introducing…

The city of Leiden has a unique combination of knowledge institutions. To ensure this knowledge flourishes and the city gains the maximum benefit from it, the Leiden City of Knowledge partnership was launched five years ago. A new partnership agreement will be signed on 11 November.

Hoogleraar Radicalisation Studies Tahir Abbas wil mensen er bewust van maken dat radicalisering voortkomt uit hoe wij als mensen samenleven

Turkish and Syrian students met Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl to discuss how the university can support students who have been affected by the earthquake.

A team of Leiden researchers has won the Ammodo Science Award for innovative humanities research on perceptions of cultural heritage.

Many people were using social media to follow last weekend’s march on Moscow by the Wagner mercenaries. And they weren’t the only ones: intelligence services were also watching with great interest. What kind of information do they obtain from social media and what are the advantages and disadvantage…

A day at the beach, games, a visit to an embassy and a pub crawl. The activities at HOPweek help new students get to know not just The Hague but each other too.

Antibiotic resistance is an economic problem. Pharmaceutical companies cannot earn much from antibiotic research, so they do not invest in it. This makes it important that universities do so, says Ned Buijs.

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

Grootschalige productie van batterijen voor elektrische auto’s zwakt de emissiereductie die door elektrisch rijden wordt behaald af.

In his inaugural lecture Dennis Claessen will explain how he wants to ensure that lecturers have less admin to do.

Cut marks on the bones of bears show that people in North-West Europe used bearskins to keep warm 300,000 years ago.

Artificial intelligence can help doctors analyse images such as MRI scans. In future it may even be able to predict how a tumour will grow. And that is badly needed to relieve the pressure on healthcare workers.

What is the effect of a certain regime on a country’s migration policy? Political scientist Katharina Natter compared the migration policy of autocratic Morocco with that of democratising Tunisia. Her findings challenge some of the core assumptions.

The daisy has been crowned the Netherlands’ national flower. Rogier van Vugt, Head of Horticulture at the Hortus botanicus, explains why the daisy merits its elevation to national symbol.

The Mapping Slavery project will place markers that tell the story of Leiden’s slavery past. Why is this important and what does it mean for today’s society? Before the markers are placed, a panel came together on 24 March to discuss the slavery past of not only the city but the University too.

Are you keen to beat your friends or colleagues and win the European Championship football pool? Statistician Marjolein Fokkema has some tips that might increase your chances.

The use of fire can tell us a lot about human evolution. Archaeologist Femke Reidsma has developed a more accurate technique to identify how our ancestors used fire. Existing archaeological studies will need to be revised. Reidsma’s study was published in Nature Scientific Reports on 2 November.

Maaike Kempes believes more attention should be paid to non-congenital brain injuries in suspects. This may partly explain their criminal behaviour.

The Corstens Commission that investigated whether there are any grounds for the rumours of antisemitism at the Faculty of Law has found no indication whatsoever for such expressions. This also applies to the professor in question. This is evident from the report that the commission chaired by Professor…

A higher level of legal firearm availability does not lead to more violent deaths in Europe but does lead to more female deaths.

Universiteit Leiden en Unicef werken al 10 jaar samen om kennis over kinderrechten uit te breiden en te verspreiden. Ze verlengen deze samenwerking.

Paul Behrens and his team have won the Frontiers Planet Prize of half a million euros for their research into the effects of switching to a plant-based diet.

Hoe kan het dat universele mensenrechten wereldwijd niet hetzelfde in de praktijk worden gebracht?

In the academic world interest in interdisciplinary research is growing. It can help to solve the big challenges of our times. But starting a research project that covers several disciplines is not always easy. This was one of the conclusions at a Young Academy Leiden (YAL) symposium. What are the c…