What started as pioneering work, has evolved over decades to become a renowned institute in 2025 with an internationally acclaimed master's programme. 'Almost everyone involved in the aviation and space sector knows us in Leiden.'

Annetje Ottow is the first female president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, which means a return to her Alma mater.

‘I already gave a talk about planets when I was five.’ With the theme of the 3 October celebrations being ‘Jong geleerd is oud gedaan’ (meaning something like, ‘You’re never too young to learn’), this year’s 3 October University was especially for children. Many parents came with their offspring to…

The opening of the new academic year highlighted students' and lecturers' personal motivators. Incoming students were encouraged to be bold, forge their own paths and grow by trial and error.

‘Am I setting a good example myself?’ Hanneke Hulst wonders. As Recognition and Rewards project leader, she maintains that we should stop expecting researchers to be experts at everything, even though she herself keeps a lot of balls in the air.

On the 442nd anniversary of the foundation of Leiden University, and at the start of the Leiden Asia Year, lawyer Jan Michiel Otto, an expert in the field of law in developing countries, delivered the first Dies lecture. He compared demagogues in Asia who call upon Muslims to turn against their governments…

Nineteen researchers who have recently been awarded their PhD are to receive a Veni grant of up to 250,000 euros. Science funding agency NWO has awarded a total of 158 Venis in this round; Leiden University's share of the awards is 12 percent.

Why do people commit violence? A question that may not occupy many minds, but one that Don Weenink has been researching for many years. Since 1 March, the sociologist has held the title of professor of Violence and Policing.

The world around us is changing. What does that mean for the future of Europe, on this turbulent world stage? And what does it mean for our teaching, and for the expectations that Leiden University has of its students? These were the key questions during the opening of the 2018-2019 academic year on…

This February Metje Postma will stop teaching and retire. But she is not done with the discipline yet: she will finish her PhD and there are still five films on the shelf that she plans to complete.

From a ship that has been designed to tell you what maintenance it needs and when, to an intelligent journey planner for global goods transport. The three universities in Zuid-Holland are abuzz with AI research in the field of ports and maritime. Three researchers explain. Part two in a series of five…

Who has control over which piece of land? Since independence in 2002 East Timor has been struggling to create a land tenure system that can deal with the grievances of past colonial ruling and conflict, and address the needs of its citizens, says researcher Bernardo Almeida. PhD defence on September…

Should Leiden University cut its ties with the fossil fuel industry forthwith? This was the main question in a debate between students and staff. The answer was clearer for some than for others.

The EL CID introduction period is mostly online this year. But all first-years get to come to Leiden for a day for a taste of studying and student life. We came to have a look on Wednesday 12 August.

An extra-long cortège, three honorary doctorates, a quiz about 450 years of university history, a Dies Natalis rap and a call to defend academic freedom: these all featured in Leiden University’s 450th Dies Natalis celebration and the official start of its jubilee year.

From academic freedom to security and medical breakthroughs: during Leiden University’s 451st Dies Natalis, the speakers reflected on the role of universities in a world of social and geopolitical tensions.

In discussions about today’s society and multiculturalism the word is constantly bandied back and forth: diversity. At Leiden University we aspire to ‘diversity and inclusiveness’, and claim that our diversity policies put these core values into practice. We have a Diversity and Inclusiveness Working…

Dr. Katharine MacDonald (Faculty of Archaeology) sketches the background to a recent paper in Science Advances, co-authored by her and other members of the Liveable Planet team.

The government, the people and the country were in desperate straits. This about sums up the state of affairs in the Disaster Year of 1672. It was 350 years ago, and to mark the occasion PhD candidate Roosje Peeters collaborated on a series of letters to and from a key political figure Johan de Witt,…

Horizon Magazine published about urban food systems.

Elise Dusseldorp has been appointed Professor in the Methodology and Statistics of Psychological Research. In the same way that she spends her spare time rambling through the forest, as a professor she sifts through colleagues’ research data. ‘I often come across information that doesn’t appear in the…

Linguist Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade retired in July, but is pressing on regardless with her languages in The Hague project. An online tour of her Hague Proverbs launched recently and Tieken also has academic publications in the pipeline.

Een mijlpaal voor de Class of 2025 van de MSc International Relations and Diplomacy: een prestigieuze en internationale opleiding gevierd in Den Haag en Leiden.

Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights Outstanding Student Research Theses

To mark Leiden University’s 450th anniversary, this exhibition pairs historic photographs with contemporary research. Seven ‘Then & Now’ diptychs show how the Institute of Physics blends a rich past with cutting‑edge science.

University historian Willem Otterspeer is about to retire, and he will give his farewell lecture on 4 November. Although... it is really a farewell? He still plans to write another five books, using oceans of archive material. 'An archive should be like the surf breaking on the seashore: wonderful…

Book Launch

Conference

Festival

Lecture, LUCIS What's New?! Series

Lecture, MI 70 years

Lecture, CHiLL series

Lecture

Lecture, Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

International Women's Day 2025 - Seminar

Lecture, Roundtable Forum

Award ceremony

Jean Monnet Lecture

Alumni event

Conference

Lecture

Didactics

AMT’s mission includes encouraging innovative high-quality research in Leiden on Asia. On this page you will find an overview of AMT related research projects, grant possibilities, publications and vacancies.

What can papyri teach us about antiquity? Students of papyrology in Leiden try to answer questions about life in antiquity aided by papyri from our collection.

In the Humans of Humanities series, we will do a portrait of one of our researchers, staff members or students, every other week.

Global Interactions sponsors a number of research projects of Leiden University researchers.

Myths abound about the Pilgrims, the group of religious refugees from England who set sail for America in 1620. Did they really live in peace with the indigenous peoples of America? In an international conference, historians from Leiden will seek to draw attention to the more negative effects of the…