Simon Otjes is assistant professor Dutch Politics.

The faculty's education and research is executed by five institutes: Centre for Science and Technology Studies Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology Education and Child Studies Political Science Psychology

Leiden University wants to provide a pleasant and stimulating environment for its students and staff. Team spirit, respect and consideration of others are considered normal forms of conduct. The Executive Board has established the Complaints Committee for Unacceptable Behaviour to ensure an appropriate…

Leiden University strives for a good and stimulating work and study environment. Our policy framework on (sexual) intimidation, aggression, violence and discrimination is one of the ways in which we work towards this goal. Despite these efforts, should you be confronted by behaviour of this nature,…

Leiden University wants to create a safe environment for everyone: staff, students and guests. In order to create and maintain such an environment, the codes of conduct below was established to provide a number of guidelines relating to proper standards of behaviour between lecturers and students…

After the University Council, the Faculty Council is the second highest staff and student body at the University. It acts as an intermediary between the various departments of a faculty. The Faculty Council has the right to approve and advise on various matters concerning the faculty. It also represents…

Leiden University has both a list system and a candidate system for elections. Co-participation councils decide for themselves which system they will use. List system The list system places the emphasis on the lists. Voters select one candidate on one list. Therefore by selecting a candidate, they also…

Maaike Kempes works at the NIFP (Dutch Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology) and is also Professor by Special Appointment Enhancing Neuroscientific Knowledge at the Institute of Child and Education Studies at Leiden University.

From 12 to 15 May 2025, elections were held for the student positions of the University Council, the student and staff positions of all Faculty Councils, the LUMC Student Council and all Employee Councils. View the results of the election. Why vote? Leiden University regards co-participation as…

Time schedule 13 April 2026 Reference date and determination of electoral registers. On this day it is determined who can choose and who can apply. This year there are regular elections for:   University Council student and staff representation Faculty Councils student representation Student Council…

Silke Herms is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Administration.

I suggest a systematic study into the influence of non-singing female companions on vocal learning in young birds as a proof-of-principle study into how non-imitative learning processes from the social environment influence the timing and content of vocal learning and thus drive the interface between…

I am a Postdoc and research the interactions between our gut microbes and the brain i.e. the science of ‘that gut feeling’. I am fascinated by the trillions of bacteria that inhabit our bodies and in particular the ways in which they may interact with our brain to influence our mood and behaviour. Bidirectional…

The University Council Procedural Regulation consists of various components. From the style of meetings to agenda setting, and from the voting procedure to reporting. This document is only available in Dutch.

You can vote for your representatives for the University Council during the elections. You can read about the organisation of the election in the electoral regulations.

You can vote for your representatives for the Faculty and Employee Councils during the elections. You can read about the organisation of the elections in the electoral regulations.

The tasks and powers of the Faculty Council are very similar to those of the University Council. However,  the subjects are often different, because at faculty level there are other issues than at a central level. Except the faculty LUMC, the faculties of Leiden University have a representative…

Melanie Franse works as a PhD candidate at the Institute of Education and Child Studies of Leiden University. Melanie focuses specifically on the biopsychosocial profiles of juvenile delinquents to identify the different mechanisms underlying the development of delinquent behavior in adolescents.

Elections 2025

I am passionate about aquatic ecology, conservation and evolution, behavioural biology and global change. During my PhD, I am investigating the density and diversity of pelagic fish in and around offshore windfarms in the North Sea, more specifically related to the underwater acoustic conditions. This…

Responsibility Functional Management is responsible for the management and development of University systems. What does Functional Management do? Functional Management manages the following systems: BAS InSite (support of financial, staff and logistical processes) ULCN (registration and management…

Universitair Belang represents the interests of all Leiden University employees. We see quality as a source of inspiration and motivation, especially when it comes to the mutual improvement of teaching, research and operational management. Universitair Belang is committed to achieving this through the…

In his research, Van Gestel focuses on fundamental and applied research on health behaviour and behaviour change in an interdisciplinary context. He focuses on understanding the factors important for health behaviour (behavioural determinants) and on behaviour change techniques as building blocks of…

Cognitive biases affect how we perceive the world every day, but do they influence animal perception too? In my PhD project, I will study the cognitive biases in the acoustic perception in multiple species, to understand their origins and which role they play in the species-specific communication.

After researching inequity aversion in dogs and bonobos during her bachelor’s and master’s projects, Kia Radovanović conducted a study on cross-species pupil mimicry in dogs at the CoPAN Lab.