In this book, Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration, provides insight into the collaborative and absorptive capacities needed to provide public support to local innovation through cluster organizations.

The department of World Archaeology combines research and education about regions all over the world, from Human Origins to the Middle Ages, and from Europe, to Asia, Africa and the America’s. That broad range in time and space makes the department a dynamic pluriform community with many different approaches,…

The rapidly increasing commercial application of metallic nanoparticles within products will inevitably enhance the amount of NPs being released into soil.

The mycorrhizal symbiosis is among the most widespread species interactions on Earth⁠. This thesis focuses on orchid mycorrhiza, a unique mycorrhizal type that has caught scientists’ attention for centuries⁠.

Novel entities may pose risks to humans and the environment. The small particle size and relatively large surface area of micro- and nanoparticles (MNPs) make them capable of adsorbing other novel entities, leading to the formation of aggregated contamination.

The research connected to this topic is related to E-health.

Promotor: J.A. van Veen, Co-promotor: E.E. Kuramae

The energy system is at the heart of two of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: decreasing CO2 emissions to meet the ambitions of the Paris agreement while fulfilling the growing energy demand associated with the economic aspirations of a growing world population.

Assessing the risks of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) solely on the basis of experimental assays is time-consuming, resource intensive, and constrained by ethical considerations (such as the principles of the 3Rs of animal testing). The adoption of computational toxicology in this field is a high p…

The master’s specialisation Evolutionary Biology at Leiden University investigates biology at all levels. The specialisation includes genomics, functional developmental genetics, paleobiology, behavioral biology and evolutionary ecology.

Acidobacteria is a widely distributed phylum but their functional roles in ecosystem processes are still largely elusive.

The Human Origins group at Leiden University studies the archaeology of hunter-gatherers, from the earliest stone tools in East Africa, more than three million years old, to the origin of sedentary societies towards the end of the last ice age.

'Skill, craft, and poiesis-intensive innovation' is written by Cristina Grasseni and is published in FormAkademisk.

Are you eager to bring your own questions and curiosity into scientific research? Do you question intelligence and technology in a fundamental, creative, and playful way? Could you be a researcher who challenges scientific practice and pushes its boundaries?

Using EcoFab 2.0 devices and omics services at JGI, we will examine a plant growth promoting microbial community during interaction with different plant species.

This research comprises various sub-projects.

Conventional food supplies procured from rural areas are increasingly vulnerable to disruptions caused by extreme weather, geopolitical instability, and logistical bottlenecks.

As a university we stand with both feet firmly in the world. Internationalisation is in Leiden’s DNA: from the very foundation of our university, the ideal of the free academy has always attracted researchers and students from across the whole world.

PhD defence

How can we ensure a more resilient and sustainable supply of Rare Earths in the EU in the future?

The research that is united in the Liveable Planet programme, touches upon a wide range of aspects of human life. The goal is to deepen and expand the scope and to connect more researchers. The following case studies are examples of current research projects.

Central to the research of several cluster members are the social function and contexts of the production and consumption of medieval and early modern art, literature and media:

Healthcare robots and AI is a project that investigates the legal and regulatory aspects of healthcare robot and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies

Our AI researchers work closely with other institutions such as Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University.

Industrial Ecology

A liveable planet. More biodiversity. And resources which are being managed wisely. At the CML, we want to make an impact with our research and education. On this website you can read what we do to achieve that.

Embedding ethical legal and societal aspects for responsible military AI.

On Wednesday 25 June 2025 Dechun Zhang successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

How can we track biodiversity loss at the speed and scale needed to protect our ecosystems? The eDNA Citizen Science project combines cutting-edge environmental DNA technology with citizen science to enable residents, community groups, and local organizations to monitor aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity…

Circularity is an essential aspect of the industry transformation towards resource-efficiency, climate neutrality and long-term competitiveness. It can produce substantial material savings along value chains and production processes, generate added value and unlock economic opportunities.

Uncover novel antimicrobials with prospective health benefits for sea turtles.

Quantum Delta NL, a research programme in which Leiden University participates, has been awarded 615 million euros from the National Growth Fund to help develop the Netherlands into a top player in quantum technology.

If a new method has been developed to recognize and treat a (neuro-)psychological disorder or related behavioral factors, it cannot yet be used directly in clinical practice. First, the method should be evaluated, preferably in randomized controlled trials.

The more we learn about a (neuro-)psychological or physical disorder and the related behavioral factors, the better we can not only identify them, but also treat them. It is therefore important that recent insights about (neuro-)psychological problems and related behavioral factors are incorporated…

How do chemical contaminants traverse and affect terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems?

Healthcare Information Systems (HIS) are essential for modern healthcare delivery, yet their development faces significant challenges including heterogeneous data formats, regulatory compliance, and the growing demand for AI-driven decision support.

Intelligence of the crowd, or in other words, intelligence of a large, random collective, exists mostly in social media platforms such as twitter. The collective does not comprise (at least not necessarily) experts on crises, just regular people mostly. Nevertheless, there is valuable intelligence to…

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are widely used, and nanotechnological innovations grow with rapid pace. Studies on nanotoxicology have demonstrated that chemical toxicology as well as particle toxicology should be accounted for in predicting the safety of ENMs.

This webpage is for companies interested in becoming an internship partner.

Around 1.8 million years ago, early hominins moved into Eurasia and adapted to colder climates and unfamiliar ecosystems. This project investigates whether innovations in diet such as eating new plants or applying new techniques for food processing (cooking or fermentation) contributed to this major…

How do societies move forward with sustainable, effective and efficient management of Earth's water resources?

Leiden archaeologists investigate how people in the past impacted their environment. Together with scientists, environmental scientists, and humanities experts, they use this information to draw conclusions about the present – and show what we can learn from it for the future.

Are you eager to learn how to shape governance solutions to complex environmental challenges? Are you passionate about fostering a more inclusive, just and sustainable world? Then this master’s is the right fit for you.

Lions limit their prey, such as zebra and gnu, in their options for adapting to global warming. This is what Leiden researcher Michiel Veldhuis, from the Institute of Environmental Sciences, and a group of international colleagues have discovered. The research was published today in Nature Ecology &…

Charisma K. Lepcha (PI, Sikkim University), Pradyut Guha (co-PI, Sikkim University), Rajib Sutradhar (co-PI, Christ University Bangalore) and Erik de Maaker (Leiden University) have been awarded a two-year grant of USD 18.000 to conduct research on the impact of ‘green farming’ on the sensitive mountain…