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.

It was challenging to get civil servants from the first Trump administration to speak about their work experiences, but sociologist Jaime Lee Kucinskas succeeded. The picture that emerged from her findings, she says, is far from positive. 'The more I spoke with them, the more emotions I saw. They were…

During the New Year's Reception at FSW, new Dean Sarah de Rijcke gave her maiden speech. The first official moment at which she's able to share what she stands for and what to expect of her. In case you weren't there, or you want to read the speech at your own pace, below you can find the integral copy…

They dreamed of Brussels, worked hard and finally succeeded: working for Europe. The list of Leiden University alumni in Brussels is long. A few days before the European elections, Julia Gencheva and Vincent Miča talk about how they ended up in Brussels and what their jobs entail.

Over thirty research projects have been awarded a grant from the Leiden University Fund (LUF). The academics each receive a sum of between 5,000 and 25,000 euros to conduct their research.

In this blog post Saskia Postema and Jan Melissen claim that Chinese UN celebrities’ activism under Xi Jinping has become aligned with the Chinese leadership’s ambitions.

Four PhD candidates from Leiden University started the two-year Europaeum Scholars Programme this month. They have now completed the first week of the programme. How was it and what do they expect from this programme?

The corona crisis relates to not only the medical field but also the field of the social sciences and humanities. SSH Beraad, a consultation body that aims to improve the position of the social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands, has launched a website bringing together experts in the social…

Over the past year and a half, China’s diplomacy has attracted attention from media institutions, policy makers and scholars around the globe.

Tom Long (2022). A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190926212, 240 pp. (hardback), £19.99.

The Dutch government has come up with a package of financial support to help businesses and the self-employed make it through the corona crisis. Economist Wimar Bolhuis sees it as a clear signal that the government is prepared to bear the brunt of the economic blow. ‘For the time being it has sufficient…

If you do research on Leidens Ontzet in Leiden, you can count on a lot of interest. But Leiden Kennisstad interns Marieke Nolten and Alexander Nuijten had not expected there would be quite so much interest. They concluded a year of research with the presentation of a scientific paper.

Dr Kabir Duggal, who recently obtained his PhD at Leiden University, has been awarded the

The European University of Well-Being - EUniWell - unites the Universities of Birmingham, Firenze, Köln, Leiden, Linnaeus, Nantes and Semmelweis with 102 associate partners drawn from seven distinct regions of Europe. On their new website, you’ll read all about their shared vision for improving European…

With the What's Next? series we hope to inspire current Media Technology MSc students, show the variety of paths taken after the studies, and bring together alumni. Editions of the series are generally organized around a particular theme by Media Technology MSc students themselves, and followed by social…

Cognitive neuroscientist Anne Urai is part of the Neuromatch Conference team. With the prize for open science, Neuromatch wants to reduce or remove barriers in financing, education, and closed networks among well-funded labs that many scientists face, by providing always-affordable, pay-what-you-can…

The Museum enjoys the highest reputation internationally

On 1 September, the conference of the Kirchheiner Chair ‘Government and citizens: A matter of trust’ took place. In a packed hall in the beautiful Old Observatory of Leiden University, under the inspiring leadership of Willemien den Ouden, a debate was held on the role of the Dutch National Ombudsman,…

Nico Verloop, Professor Emeritus of Educational Studies at Leiden University, passed away on 5 June 2025. Nico was the founder and first professor-director (from 1995-2010) of ICLON (Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching) at Leiden University.

Professor Wim van den Doel, dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University, has been appointed member of the Executive Board of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) with effect from 1 January 2017.

Emeritus Professor Ben Lugtenberg received ‘The Arima Award for Applied Microbiology’ from the IUMS (International Union of Microbial Societies) for his life-time contributions to this field.

Last Monday, the 5th of October, prof. Tony Bovaird (University of Birmingham)visited the Institute of Public Administration. As part of the course ‘Co-Production and Citizen Engagement’ (part of the Mastertrack ‘Public Management), a mini-conference was organized.

Managers in the public and semi-public sector work in an increasingly complex and unpredictable environment, which demands new knowledge and competences but also offers tremendous opportunities. This was the view presented by Zeger van der Wal, professor by special appointment in Public Administration…

Today, February 6th, the new course Wicked Problems Lab (in full: Wicked Problems Lab: working with governance, leadership and social innovation) started. This new course for third-year Honours students is part of the Honours Track

Erik Deul was awarded a royal decoration on Wednesday afternoon. He has been appointed Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Mayor Peter Heijkoop of Leiden presented him with the honour.

In an interview with Jaap van den Herik, Professor emeritus Law and IT, legal magazine Mr. writes that The Hague municipality wants to attract more legal tech start-ups. The municipality has therefore commissioned the Leiden Centre of Data Science (LCDS) of Leiden University to conduct a study into…

This year’s University elections will be held from 25 to 29 May. You get to choose who will represent you this coming year in the University Council as well as the faculty council of the Science Faculty. This week, the various student parties will introduce themselves. Today: Ondernemende Studenten…

Professor Simone Buitendijk, Vice-Rector Magnificus and member of the Executive Board of Leiden University, will be taking up a new position as Vice-Provost (Education) at Imperial College London on 1 August 2016.

A number of calls for proposals have been launched to finance innovative educational projects. An overview is given below.

Shuai Guo, PhD candidate at Company Law and the Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law, has been awarded the Silver Medal in the competition of the International Insolvency Institute (III) 2018 Prize in International Insolvency Studies. III is a non-profit, limited membership organization dedicated to advancing…

On 13 February 2025, the student-led initiative EU Talks?! hosted the first panel discussion of the academic year 2024/2025 titled “America First, Europe Alone? - The Union’s Future Under Trump’s Leadership.” With Trump’s second inauguration, the event focused on the EU’s security challenges and future…

LUC Alumnus, Vera Kranenburg, from the Class of 2018 is admitted to the prestigious Yenching Academy. Vera has been selected as one of the Yenching Scholars in the fifth cohort at the Yenching Academy of Peking University.

Perspectives on Public Management & Governance (PPMG) is dedicated to theory development and conceptual work challenging and advancing the field of public affairs.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Marin van Heel, Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Biology Leiden (NeCEN), is one of the winners of the “Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences 2017”. This annual award is presented to recognize contributions that have opened new fields of research or have advanced concepts in a particular…

It’s election time again on Wednesday 18 March – this time the municipal elections. Two Leiden University buildings are being used as polling stations: Oude UB in Leiden and Spui Campus in The Hague.

From now on, you can go for a walk through Leiden’s scientific history and at the same time across the historic city center itself. Master students Lotte Koemans and Mandy Meijer have developed an audio tour which takes you past all six wall formulas in the inner city of Leiden.

Curiosities from the anatomical theatre, swords from the fencing school and 17th-century portraits of the University's founders. The new University Room in Museum De Lakenhal portrays the turbulent first hundred years of Leiden University.