PhD defence

Festival

Course

Talking about work balance is important both for your own well-being and for your performance at work. It is an inherent aspect of a modern-day healthy work culture to openly communicate about your needs and challenges. You can talk about this with your supervisor, for example during bilateral consultations,…

After a turbulent Covid year, the well-being of our students and staff has the highest priority. How can we prevent physical and mental health problems? This was the key question at the Opening of the Academic Year in Pieterskerk in Leiden on 6 September.

In the documentary ‘Pretend Student’, former students talk about why they let everyone believe they were still studying. How can you make sure you don’t end up in such an impossible situation? Four questions for Leiden Student Dean, Romke Biagioni, who worked on the documentary.

She has been here for almost three months: Susanne Roodhuijzen, knowledge broker of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Her goal? To act as a ‘matchmaker’ both inside and outside the Faculty. But what does that mean, exactly? She introduces herself.

The Rectors of the eight European EUniWell universities met in July in Leiden. During the meeting they discussed the future of this alliance that focuses on joint research and education in the area of health.

Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded prestigious Vici grants the Dutch Research Council (NWO) has announced. The honoured applications are from researchers at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden Observatory, the LUMC and the Faculty of Archaeology.

How do the residents of the Kooi neighbourhood in Leiden find living there? What can we do about loneliness? In this extraordinary academic year, students have been conducting all sorts of research, in Leiden. They presented their initial findings and recommendations at a Learning with the City meeting…

Opting more often for mocktails or soft drinks rather than beer or wine, talking to others about their drinking and pointing out the ban on drugs. Leiden University’s new covenant on alcohol and drugs for study associations encourages providing more alcohol-free alternatives.

The GROW toolkit provides you with all kinds of tools that make it easier to participate in the GROW interviews. In addition to useful documents for preparing the start interview and annual interview, it also contains a wide range of training courses and workshops that help you with participating in…

Interactive event

Connecting with the University and with one another directly contributes to students’ well-being. This page gives an overview of initiatives that promote this.

It may happen that you are unable to work due to a short-term or long-term illness or disability.

Conference

GROW: Conversations on Performance, Development and Well-being (Gesprekken over Resultaat, Ontwikkeling en Welzijn). GROW offers the opportunity to speak openly with your manager, several times a year, about your work, development and well-being. This involves both looking back and looking ahead.

As the end of the year approaches, the new University Sports Centre (USC) building is nearing completion. Vice-President of the Executive Board Timo Kos visited the USC, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, to see how work is progressing.

Dr. Anke Klein, head of the Knowledge Center for Anxiety and Stress in Youth (KAS) and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, has been appointed as faculty lead of the Leiden Healthy Society Center (LHSC) on behalf of Leiden University.

The year 2021 is coming to an end, and with it the first official year of EUniWell. We want to reflect on our highlights of the year with you, celebrate what we have achieved within EUniWell so far and look to the future, to all that is yet to come!

Wat als je advies zou kunnen krijgen van je toekomstige zelf? Jean-Louis van Gelder en zijn collega’s ontvangen een ERC Proof of Concept-beurs voor het project YourFutureU, waarin deelnemers gecoacht worden door een virtuele AI-versie hun toekomstige ‘ik’.

If you’re working on a PhD track and are experiencing psychological issues, you can contact one of the psychologists for PhD candidates for help with problems that have arisen during the PhD process or are directly affecting this.

The pages on the left of this screen offer valuable information, tips and strategies that you can use to optimise your work balance. After all, a healthy work balance not only improves your well-being, but also contributes to better professional performance.

Axite, a start-up rooted in research at Leiden University’s Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW), receives €350,000 from UNIIQ for the further development of NeuroJournal: a platform that uses an EEG headband and smartphone app to provide long-term insight into brain activity outside the laboratory.

Students are ever more cautious to express their view on controversial debates. The new student-led D&I initiative at the Faculty of Humanities, COOP, is ready to step in. They organise sessions to guide students on speaking up and respecting the views of others at university.

‘Let’s get everyone home safely!’ This was the message of an estimated 750 demonstrators as they marched through the centre of Leiden on 18 November.

On this page, you will find more information about what you do as a mentoring coordinator and where you can find more information to help you perform your role as well as possible.

Consumer grade smartwatches may not be as accurate as promised when measuring tiredness or stress. That is the conclusion of researchers Björn Siepe and Eiko Fried based on a comparison between smartwatch measurements and self-reports by users.

Since 2023, Andrea Evers has been the lead for “Health and well-being in a healthy society”, a key theme at FSW and one of the profile areas of the University as a whole. Three new FSW health research themes will shortly be announced at the Faculty’s Health Research Event, where the FSW’s researchers…

Frank van der Horst is per 1 februari 2026 benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar Pedagogische Wetenschappen.

In the new Annual Report 2020 we report on not only the research and teaching, but also the knowledge transfer, operational management and general policy at Leiden University in 2020. The report is divided into a general section and a section with the figures, i.e. the university’s financial stateme…

Personal development, Transferable skills

Dutch universities have responded positively to the new coalition plans. Investments in education, research and innovation will be prioritised, and the stringent cutbacks proposed by the previous cabinet will be reversed. Optimism is the order of the day in Leiden, though caution is advised.

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.

The University does its best to create a pleasant work environment. It may nevertheless happen that you are unable to work due to a short-term or long-term illness or disability. The occupational health physicians will help you reduce health risks and advise you through your recovery and return to w…

Science thrives on freedom, safety, and stability. But what if these prerequisites are lacking? What if colleagues beyond our borders are threatened, persecuted or forced to flee?

During the Food for Thought lunch meeting on 2 December, colleagues from across the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs gathered for the SSH Sectorplan theme Resilience in Youth to exchange insights and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration.

The most important elements of GROW are highlighted in 5-minute microlearnings.

Leiden University offers students access to the platform Gezonde Boel. The e-modules of Gezonde Boel are an easy way for students to work on their mental health.

Can kindness training increase political tolerance? And how can we better support children with selective mutism? During the Health@FSW knowledge market and exchange event on 26 May 2025, researchers from all five institutes showcased how their work aligns with the faculty’s research strategy and contributes…

Maryam Alqassab, an assistant professor at ICLON (Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching), helps train new PhD supervisors and knows how demanding the role can be. When asked to contribute to an online handbook for PhD supervisors, she didn’t hesitate: ‘Everything supervisors do or are involved…

Is aggression always bad? PhD research by psychologist Simone Dobbelaar shows that it is not. In fact, children who occasionally fiercely defend themselves and stand up for their peers often feel better mentally.