University lecturer Laurie Cosmo, having grown up in New York, came to the Hague from Rome, Italy, where she fell under the spell of the Kunstmuseum. ‘I loved the building even before I worked at Leiden University.’

The Europaeum academic community was awarded the Scaliger medal on 23 September in recognition of its promotion of academic values. Andrew Graham, trustee to the Europaeum and founder and honorary advisor to the Scholars Programme, was presented with the medal by President of the Executive Board Annetje…

Six projects from the Faculty of Humanities recently received grants of up to 750,000 euros from the NWO Open Competition. Researchers involved tell how they will spend this money.

In less than a week’s time, millions of Turkish people are going to decide who will govern their country for the next five years. These elections promise to be the most closely contested in years, with the opinion polls showing very small differences and everything at stake, including for Europe. Alp…

Five questions about the event ‘Germany after the Elections: implications for Foreign Policy and European Security’ answered by one of the experts at the event: Joachim Koops. Come by at the Spanish Steps in Wijnhaven on Friday 15 October or join the event online (link below).

Peter Scholten is one of the four professors that were officially appointed as Leiden-Delft-Erasmus professor last week. Apart from his appointment at the Erasmus University, he has now also been appointed at FGGA. We asked Scholten five questions about his double appointment and the collaboration between…

On Wednesday 9 March, a Faculty meeting about the war in Ukraine was held for staff and students in the Lorentz Lecture Hall. By the time the meeting started at 17.00 hrs, the 220 available seats in the lecture hall had been filled mainly by large numbers of students.

Seed funding to summer schools, research collaborations and joint degree programmes: in these ways and more, we’re creating impact as a partner in Una Europa, an alliance of 11 leading research universities. To wrap up the year, we asked six colleagues to reflect on what they’ve achieved through Una…

The latest innovation in the field of urban mobility could soon be buzzing over our heads. For some, it’s a science fiction dream come true. For others, however, it’s an unwelcome intrusion. ‘It has the potential to be a major development.’

Fadly Rahman and Marleen Reichgelt recently joined the Institute for History within the NWO-funded project 'Epistemic actors. The role of Indonesians in the making of knowledge in the colonial era’ under the supervision of Fenneke Sysling. Below, they introduce themselves.

Over 100 Leiden University alumni gathered in the heart of Brussels for the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event on 29 February. The European Banking Federation (EBF) generously hosted the event for the second time at their premises on Avenue des Arts.

Victoria Nyst's love for sign language was sparked when she accidentally ended up at a deaf school while studying African linguistics. The university lecturer has since been awarded a Vici grant to research the history of these languages.

This month, Leiden University’s Joanne van der Leun steps into the role of Chair of Una Europa’s Board of Directors. She does so at an important moment of transition for Una Europa.

On 26 November historian Jan Grabowski and sociologist Barbara Engelking will both give the Cleveringa Lecture. They wrote a book about the Holocaust in Poland and were taken to court for defamation.

The FIFA World Cup will get underway in Qatar this November – an event that has attracted much discussion in recent years. This discussion is not only centred on sport. Human rights are in the spotlights in Qatar. On Friday 30 September, Leiden University organised a debate in which experts from various…

Walter Gam Nkwi is lecturer at the Institute for History, University of Leiden since 1 September 2019. He also lectures at the Den Haag campus. Walter introduces himself below.

Academic freedom is something to be cherished. The freedom to conduct research, design courses and publish research findings as we see fit is crucial to our work.

Research

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.

Do you know what the capital of St Eustatius is? Or which province Curaçao belongs to? No idea? You are not the only one: the majority of European Dutch people know little about the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is according to a large-scale opinion survey led by political…

For the following years, Dr Aitor Burguet-Coca will be a returning face at the Faculty of Archaeology. He will join Dr Amanda Henry’s team with his expertise on prehistoric fire use and the methodologies that studying ancient hearths requires.

In a one-hour interview on Dutch radio programme Sleutelstad, Anne-Laura van Harmelen talks about her research into the role friendships in adolescents' well-being, the resilience paradox and the role of social, hormonal and genetic factors in stress-levels and resilience.

Scientific Director of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) Hubertus Irth: ‘We test substances and look for new concepts for treating disease.’

In September, the LeidenGobal seminar series ‘Beyond Discipline and Place in the Social Science and Humanities’ will kick off. The series, targeted at PhD’s and Research MA students, engages with the question what it means to be an interdisciplinary researcher. “These seminars can help you define your…

Lecture, Comparative Indo-European Linguistics (CIEL) Seminars

On Thursday 1 February, the symposium ‘On interdisciplinary collaboration: How do we foster connections?’ will take place. The event will discuss lessons learned, but also look at the future. An essential event for every Leiden researcher who is involved in an interdisciplinary collaboration, or would…

More than 1.3 million people worldwide die of tuberculosis (TB) each year, making research on its prevention and control essential. Researchers from various disciplines in Leiden are studying TB. A symposium on 24 March will highlight different activities in the hope of boosting nationwide collabora…

Lecture, Comparative Indo-European Linguistics (CIEL) Seminars

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.

Conference

PhD defence

PhD defence

PhD defence

Panel discussion

Lecture, Environmental Humanities LU Talk

It was the Night of Discoveries on Saturday 16 September: a summer encounter between art and science. Leiden researchers from various disciplines inspired the public with their quest to understand our world.

Lecture

Het college van bestuur heeft Wim Voermans benoemd tot Universiteitshoogleraar. Hij gaat zich richten op duurzaam institutioneel vertrouwen.

How can you persuade researchers who are used to conducting research within clearly defined disciplines to adopt an interdisciplinary approach? Newly appointed distinguished professor Arnold Tukker explained.

Specially for an experiment conducted by Leiden University, public administration experts and water authority officials came together in a laboratory.

Workshop

Leiden University has made available Kiem (seed) grants of €10,000 - an initiative for developing new interdisciplinary, interfaculty research partnerships and encounters. Helen Pluut is part of a Kiem team, one that brings together researchers from Leiden Law School, LUMC, FSW and ICLON (and Young…

Hanneke Hulst explaines how she is trying to bridge the gap between science and health care. ‘For a neuroscientist to actually contribute to solutions for patients, you have to work across disciplines.’

This year, in a three-part symposium series, we are exploring how interdisciplinary collaboration can be promoted at the university. In the second session in March, the attendees discovered that understanding your rhythm and perspective is essential when embarking on an interdisciplinary project.

Funded by a ZonMw grant, the LUMC and the Health Campus The Hague will be working with headache patients on research into the use of an electronic headache diary. This resource can help patients gain a better understanding of their migraine attacks and, together with the physician, produce the best…

Marieke Adriaanse is Professor of Behavioural Interventions in Population Health and researches behavioural science issues in health. She advocates for better interdisciplinary collaboration and a new form of recognition and rewards within academia. ‘We have to stop being so blinkered,’ she says in…