Former President Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa gave a public lecture on Campus The Hague on 7 July. His story was about the economic transformation of Africa.

‘Let us not forget the power of genuine engagement,’ dean Sarah de Rijcke stressed at the New Year's Reception on 7 January 2025, which was also attended by Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl and addressed the Faculty of Social Sciences.

At the international Flux Society Congress 2022 in Paris, Lina van Drunen won the prize for best poster with her PhD research on how music influences brain development. At this annual congress, scientists and psychologists from around the world share their latest findings on developmental cognitive…

In our HANDS!Lab for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies, we run projects pertaining to sign language linguistics with a focus on Africa. In addition, we are running projects on sign language teaching, tactile signing, deaf people’s experiences with the legal system, and deaf history.

The Durham Declaration was presented at the Climate Symposium marking the Coimbra Group’s 40th anniversary on 26 March. Leiden University is proud to be one of the first signatories of this declaration.

In 2024, Professor Joanita Vroom received a substantial grant from the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) in support for her Hinterlands of Medieval Chalcis Project (HMC Project) in Greece. PHI, a California-based non-profit organization, is dedicated to archaeological research as well as to the preservation…

Course

Als nieuwe hoogleraar Ontwikkelingspsychologie pleit Anna van Duijvenvoorde voor meer samenwerking in de wetenschap. Daarom moedigt ze jonge onderzoekers zich aan te melden bij een netwerk. ‘Het biedt je een bredere blik op de wetenschappelijke wereld.’

‘Academics have descended from their ivory tower, but there’s still too little action or financing.’ Leiden professor of Science Communication Ionica Smeets saw all her wishes come true on 28 January, with the presentation of the Letter to Parliament sent by Minister Van Engelshoven of the Ministry…

The Language Learning Resource Centre at Leiden University is organizing a one-day conference (June 7th, 2019) on the topic of teaching language and intercultural communicative competence in higher education.

“I’m determined to innovate the healthcare system to suit the needs of an ageing population.” As the student ambassador, Merel Vangeel will be the first contact for prospective students who are curious about the Master Vitality and Ageing. She will use her own expertise of the master’s to advise new…

How does loneliness work? What sometimes makes friendships complicated for autistic people? And why can the school building be such an unpleasant place for some pupils? Pupils explored this during their pre-university classes. 'I now have a good idea of what studying psychology entails.'

The internet is a good place to rapidly collect large amounts of data. But if you don’t watch out you’ll collect very biased, one-sided data. These were the warning words of the speakers at a symposium on 5 March about transparency and responsible data science.

The scientists at Babylab Leiden ensure that important knowledge is gathered about how babies learn to understand the world around them. Meet our Babylab Team and get to know our researchers!

Four lecturers from Leiden University will receive a 50,000-euro Comenius Teaching Fellow grant. This will enable them and their team to realise an educational innovation within their own teaching.

More attention for internationalisation, diversity, but also the mental health of students: that’s what Marleen van Dorst would like to see change. As of 1 September, she will be the new assessor of the Faculty of Science.

Emma de Vries, PhD researcher at LUCAS, has been awarded with a Fulbright Grant and Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Scholarship. From September 2015 onwards, Emma will spend a full academic year in the Unites states, to work at UCLA and Harvard on her PhD research on Neo-Epistolarity.

Leiden professor Ineke Sluiter was appointed president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) on 1 June. She was presented with the gavel by her predecessor Wim van Saarloos.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the proposal for gravitational wave detector LISA. The launch for the space detector is planned in 2034. ‘A dream that comes true,’ says astronomer Elena Maria Rossi.

On Tuesday 12 April Angus Mol and Aris Politopoulos have been awarded the fourth LUCAS Publieksprijs.

D&I Event

The archaeologists have been working from home three weeks now. Remotely, through Teams, we meet up with Miguel John Versluys’ research team, to see how they continue working in times of corona.

The Institute of Biology Leiden has a new visiting professor as of the first of May. Bioinformatician Marnix Medema holds the Van der Klaauw chair for a year and looks forward to scientific collaborations and to boost the bioinformatics education.

The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) has appointed two new directors. Maribel Adame Valero will become the new Director of Operations on 1 August, and Hubertus Irth will start as the new Scientific Director on 1 September. This completes the new collegial management for IBL, following the earlier appointment…

During the Faculty Staff Meeting of August 28th, Corinne Hofman spoke about her time on the Faculty Board. “I look back on a rich decade in which I have seen the Faculty, and the University as a whole, change at a rapid pace.”

At science festival 'Over de kop', surprising brain facts alternate with confronting stories from the operating room. Researchers explain why our brains love beans and why you should never ride a racing bike without a helmet.

Ten projects have been selected during the fourth call in the Seed Funding Programme launched by EUniWell. Marieke Liem, Professor Social Resilience and Security, has received a grant for the MASTERY project.

One of the speakers at the Diversity symposium on 22 November is Estela Mara Bensimon, highly honoured professor of Higher Education in the US. A second speaker is Peter Slort, from the Dutch National Police, responsible for Diversity. He will talk about how diversity is progressing within the police…

Krekels received both the Thesis Award and the TOP Publication Award for her thesis 'Size does matter: drug glucuronidation in children'. Her research led to a new dosage regimen of morphine for babies and toddlers. Both prizes were awarded during the scientific meeting of the NVKFB on Friday 11 Apr…

Self-directed learning is more suitable for intermediate and advanced language learners than for beginners.

Lecture, CHiLL series

Nicole van Os won the Academy Kiss 2022. Van Os, study coordinator and advisor who also chairs the Delegation of Workers' Organizations in The Local Consultations of the AOb teaching union, won the award because of her commitment to the cause of giving language teachers permanent contracts, over hiring…

Neurospyschologist Liza Cornet is the winner of the national final of Famelab. Famelab is an international science communication competition for young researchers. The aim of Famelab is to explain your research as clearly as possible in a maximum of five minutes. No PowerPoint or video and with just…

PhD candidate Shekinah Dare researched which psychological factors contribute to responsible financial behaviour and well-being. She wants to use this knowledge to develop interventions to encourage people to manage their money better. PhD ceremony on 10 November.

Language is omnipresent: when you talk, app or meet in Teams. Understanding how we communicate with one another and what communication does to us is essential. In her inaugural lecture, Nivja de Jong will call to redress the balance between the sciences and the humanities.

Lecture

‘She is an example to young researchers who are beginning to find their career path’, wrote the jury of the NWO Athena Award about Professor of Ecotoxicology Martina Vijver. It was the main reason for presenting her with one of the two awards for outstanding female scientists. Both Vijver and Nijmegen…

Last Friday, Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2020 ½ and 2021. The 186 students received their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree’s in LUC’s interdisciplinary honours programme Liberal Arts & Sciences: Global Challenges. Under the silver-…

On 21 March The Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanoscopy (NeCEN) hosted the Life Sciences Café. Around 60 people from neighbour companies from the Leiden BioScience Park visited the facility for cryo-electron microscopy to get a glimpse behind the scenes. Head of NeCEN Ludo Renault believes it was…

The social sciences are vital in navigating complexities, fostering understanding and bridging divides. This was celebrated during the faculty opening of the academic year.

For the first time, students were able to develop their skills using a digital platform in Brightspace. It turned out to be a success: on average students who actively used the platform on achieved higher grades than students who used it less. But above all, the students themselves were pleased with…

'Today is the start of EL CID, the first of three introduction weeks at Leiden University. A new influx of students is ready and waiting, eager to get started. Vice-Rector Hester Bijl warmly welcomes all new first-years. ‘Go for it and grab your chances!’

Have you considered including the Leiden University Fund in your will?

How do you offer high-quality and interesting education with simple means? Universe Awareness of Leiden University spoke about this during the annual science festival in Botswana. With among others a laser experiment compiled of household materials, they showed the possibilities to interest young people…

Professor of Higher Education Estela Mara Bensimon approaches diversity from a specific viewpoint. Examine and reflect on your own motives, is her advice to lecturers. Do you know for sure that you don't treat students from minority groups differently?

In November of last year Global Interactions made offers to five out of nearly 90 applicants for our grant-writing postdocs. We are pleased to announce that all have accepted and will be joining various Leiden institutes this year. The five postdocs are Katia Hay, Johannes Müller, Maria-Paz Peirano,…

That Tessa Schiethart finished her bachelor's degree in International Studies with a thesis on Indonesian women's reasons for veiling was a coincidence. Or so she thought. Six years later, her book Seeing and Being Seen, in which she writes about her life with a wine stain and vision loss, is in the…

Lecture, PCNI Research Seminar

Lecture