Professor Michiel Kreutzer has been appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University. He will take up the role on 1 January 2020. At present, he is Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Director of Education at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Delft University of Technology.…

In relational databases you can store information and data without losing the relationships between those data. They are therefore useful tools for computer scientists. There is, however, a gap between the relational database research community and data scientists. This leads to inefficient use of databases…

Many Leiden scientists will be taking part in the Night of Arts and Science on 17 September. Find out what's on for English speakers.

The Faculty of Science of Leiden University and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) signed an exchange agreement on Tuesday. This Erasmus+ student mobility agreement allows all students of the Faculty of Science and DTU students to follow courses at both universities from September 2017 on.

Are you a frontrunner at your faculty when it comes to Open Science, or do you want to be? Do you like organising workshops?

Starting 1 September, three new Programme Directors will begin at FWN. Daan van der Es, Reinout van Weeren, and Amineh Ghorbani will each be responsible for a master's programme in our faculty.

Rebecca Schaefer received the new science communication grant for the SNAAR Festival in December 2020. With the festival, Schaefer wants to make music and science accessible to a wide audience. How exactly? That's what she tells in this issue of Humans of Psychology.

For her research into complex family problems, an assistant professor in Forensic Family and Youth Care Studies Sabine van der Asdonk has won the Gratama Science Prize 2021, a prize for talented young researchers from the universities of Leiden and Groningen. The jury praised Van der Asdonk’s excellent…

On 16 September, the Rapenburg canal will be the setting for the Night of Art & Sciences. There will be plenty of things to do, including for international students and staff. We have selected four great acts in advance.

Archaeologists from Leiden University cast replicas of Bronze Age European swords and used them in simulated fights. They wanted to find out more about prehistoric combat. Article published in the Journal of Archaeological Science on 25 March.

The new interdisciplinary bachelor's program in Science for Sustainable Societies starts in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Partly thanks to Roy de Winter, ship design and engineering company C-Job Naval Architects now develops optimal ships in a short time. The master's student Computer Science from Leiden developed the CEGO algorithm, which eliminates the classic design cycle and makes people in the maritime optimization…

On 8 September 2022, Valentina Carraro presented a paper during the annual conference of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP), Rome.

On 16 September, Valentina Carraro presented her work 'The Effects of Covid-19 on Violence' at the Conference of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP) in Genoa, Italy.

Lecture, Astronomy on Tap

Lecture, Astronomy on Tap

Jojanneke van der Toorn has been proclaimed the young and promising researcher of 2015. At the official opening of the academic year on 31 August she was awarded the Gratama Science Award for emerging talent.

How can teachers engage students, make them curious and inspire them for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics? These questions were addressed during an international congress that took place from 15-17 April in Leiden, organised by the European science education project Teaching Enquiry…

For three days, our faculty was all about We are Science Week: the community event full of fun activities for our staff and students. Besides the famous Beat the Professor PubQuiz, this year you could take USC yoga classes in the Gorlaeus garden, escape from Einstein's Escaperoom and sing along at the…

In his dissertation Michiel Hooykaas outlines the results of six empirical research projects focused at biodiversity awareness in the Netherlands, specifically people’s knowledge about animals.

This study stresses the importance of investigating vitamin D deficiency in every community to better understand the deteriorating effect that sociocultural practices may have had on health.

The sixth issue of Ex Novo explores how ‘peripheral’ regions currently approach both the practice and theory of public archaeology placing particular emphasis on usually underrepresented regions of Eastern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond.

The Oxford Handbook of Dutch Politics provides a comprehensive longitudinal overview of the state of the art of academic research on the Dutch political system: its origins and historical development, its key institutions, main fault lines, pivotal processes, and key public policy dynamics. In each…

Lecture, Oort lecture

Due to its success, the Leiden2022 Q&A has been extended and is looking for even more thought-provoking, interesting or unusual questions.

Public funding for fundamental research is essential for innovation and the development of new medicines. This is demonstrated by Professor Science Based Business Simcha Jong and his colleague Hsini Huang after studying US federal funding restrictions for stem cell research under President George W.…

A new academic year means new courses. And that inevitably requires all sorts of new skills: academic writing, searching for sources, setting up a research project... The Science Skills Platform is packed with useful information. This way, you can easily help your students on their way.

On September 7, the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science participated with a team of six students in the first edition of the Capture the Flag event 'Challenge the Cyber'. They were placed second in this national hacking competition for students.

PhD defence

The importance of science communication and cross-boundary collaboration, and the ‘mantra’ of diminishing social cohesion in society: these all came up at Leiden University’s 448th Dies Natalis. A panel discussion including Leiden’s mayor Lenferink, music and two honorary doctorates completed the special…

Knowledge and culture subproject 3:

This book systematically evaluates the empirical evidence for legitimacy decline in established democracies, the explanatory power of theories of legitimacy decline, and promises new routes in investigating and assessing political legitimacy.

Political scientist Nicholas Vrousalis (Leiden University) reviews the recent literature on exploitation. He istinguishes between three main species of exploitation theory: (a) teleology-based (including harm and mutual benefit) accounts, (b) respect-based (including mere means, force, rights, and fairness)…

Today, 8 March, marks International Women's Day. Leiden University fosters her female, talented staff members, and continues to strive towards more women on leading scientific positions.

The way that traditional hunter-gatherers roasted tubers can shed new light on how people prepared food in prehistoric times. Archaeologist Stephanie Schnorr has studied the food preparation culture of the Hadza in Tanzania.

Filling up lecture halls with friends and family for graduation ceremonies is simply not an option this year. So the Faculty of Science came up with a safe yet festive way to put graduated bachelors and masters in the limelight: they transformed the restaurant of the Gorlaeus Lecture Halls into a corona-safe…

This event is in Dutch. De Verenigde Naties hebben 11 februari uitgeroepen tot International Day of Women & Girls in Science. De Universiteit Leiden viert deze dag met een open publieksevenement met vrouwelijke topwetenschappers van haar bètafaculteit. Iedereen is welkom vanaf 13:30 uur in het Kamerlingh…

Prof. Dr. Jasper Knoester has been reappointed by the Executive Board of Leiden University as Dean of the Faculty of Science. His second term will run until 1 January 2030. Knoester’s reappointment has broad support within the faculty. His approachable leadership style and people-focused approach have…

Learn to program, gain knowledge of AI methods, or use it in a research project at the LACDR. With the introduction of the innovative digital learning environment ‘Digital Labcoat’, Biopharmaceutical Sciences bachelor students can further develop their computational skills.

During the farewell reception on 29 August, the Faculty of Science will say goodbye to Dean Geert de Snoo. On 1 November 2019, he will continue his career as Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Colleagues talk about his significance for ecology, about his contribution as a…

Ramsey Albers wins Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2022

Initiatives like the Leiden University Green Office and the Career Service might not sound familiar to every student. If it is up to Bernice, this will change from this academic year.

Robbert Visser has won the Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2017. His study in the field of Political Theory is the latest milestone along Visser’s (in his words) ‘long road to the master’s title’. The jury was impressed by his work: 'Deeply engaging, providing a critical and balanced analysis,…

On 28 October 2016, prospective female students explored the natural sciences at the annual Physics Ladies’ Day. This event, specially for girls in the final two years of high school, was being held for the third time. 'You don't necessarily have to be top of the class.'

Four scientists from the Faculty of Science will receive a grant of up to 50,000 euros in the Open Competition Domain Science - XS from science financier NWO. This category emphatically strives to encourage curiosity-driven and bold research involving a relatively quick analysis of a promising idea.…

Successfully completing a master’s thesis in Political Science is no small feat. Not only is this for most students the most extensive and in-depth research report they have ever written, the work is also held to very high standards. Yet, every year students manage to impress their instructors and demonstrate…

Want to find out how to assemble a human skeleton? Do you know what chemistry can be found around you? And are you easily fooled by fake news? Discover this and more at our Science Fair on 3 October.

Alumnus Stan van Haasteren went to Northern Ireland in 1995 as a freelance journalist with a guitar strapped to his back and recently wrote a book about his experiences in Belfast. ‘The big difference with then is that today there is no more violence. But it's still a divided city.’

As of 1 September, Marco van Eijk has been appointed Director of Education of the bachelor's programme Life Science & Technology. He succeeds Marcellus Ubbink, who moved to the position of Scientific Director of the Leiden Institute for Chemical Research (LIC). Van Eijk has been appointed for a period…

On 25 November, Professor Ineke Sluiter received the Medal of Honour for Arts and Sciences in the Order of Orange-Nassau. She was presented with the medal by King Willem-Alexander.