The art committee of Leiden Law School has extended the exhibition of the sculptures by the Leiden artist Koen de Vries in the C-wing of the KOG building until January 2023. On Thursday 8 December, the finissage of the exhibition will take place in the C-wing at 16.45 hours with drinks and light sna…

Athanasios Stathopoulos is a University Lecturer at the Institute for History since August 2019, but has been a familiar face at Leiden University since 2015. He introduces himself below.

What is life like as an academic? Twelve PhD candidates will report on their daily work in videos and blogs on the Faces of Science website (in Dutch). They include three researchers from Leiden who are researching topics such as North Korean support for African liberation movements, how differently…

Andrea Cortellari, a 2020 graduate of the MA program in Middle Eastern Studies at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies, wins the best MA thesis prize by the Society for Turkic, Ottoman, and Turkish Studies.

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, Associate Professor at eLaw, contributed to 'Cyber–Physical–Human Systems', a book exploring the latest developments in interactions between cyber–physical systems and humans.

Jasmijn Rana has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska Curie Global Fellowship for her research project “The Embodiment of Racialization: Running Muslim Women and the Sense of Non-Belonging”.

At the start of his PhD, intelligence analyst William Lippert didn’t yet know what to expect. Little had been written on the subject. Three years later, he is sure: conventional arms control agreements promote peace.

On June 16, 2025, the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University hosted a panel debate about the ongoing mass student-led protests in Serbia. The protests have shaken the increasingly illiberal regime in Serbia to its core and have grown into the largest student protests in Europe since 196…

North Korea may seem like an isolated country but it has strong ties with African regimes. This alliance, which trades in arms despite international sanctions, is increasingly operating out of the liberal world order’s sight, PhD candidate Tycho van der Hoog warns.

Leiden University College (LUC) is proud to announce that it have been awarded the Special Feature Sustainable Higher Education by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). This recognition affirms the deep commitment to embedding sustainability across the curriculum, research,…

The Dutch universities are shocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and empathise with all those affected by this act of aggression. Leiden University also calls for solidarity with and support for all those affected by the war.

Postdoc Intigam Mamedov comments in The Conversation on the recent peace talks between Russia and the USA regarding the war in Ukraine.

Associate Professor Salvador Santino Regilme discusses the recent launch of the Board for Peace by President Donald Trump in the Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

Tensions are rising between Russia and the West. Can an invasion of Ukraine and an international war be avoided? Political scientist and Russia expert Hans Oversloot warns of the consequences if the West chooses a collision course. ‘Offer Russia a dignified exit strategy.’

Four years of war in Ukraine have transformed the nature of warfare, with drones, digital defence systems and improvised solutions shaping the battlefield. At a recent symposium, Dutch and Ukrainian experts discussed frontline conditions. What lessons do they see for Europe?

Darinka Piqani and Moritz Jesse, both from the Europa Institute at Leiden Law School, each gave two lectures as part of the advanced course 'European Constitutionalism' hosted by Professor Helena Hoffmanová of the Department of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of Charles University, Prague.

Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is the most promising surgical treatment for movement and neuropsychiatric disorders, but is accompanied by unwanted side effects. Birte Forstmann, professor by special appointment, has been awarded a ERC Proof of Concept Grant to create an atlas of the human deep brain…

Yung Lin’s research explores how citizens in Taiwan and Southeast Asia actively shape public diplomacy, build trust across cultures, and address identity-based conflicts, highlighting the shift from government-led to citizen-centred diplomacy.

In 2025, Leiden University College (LUC) celebrates its 15th anniversary with the theme 'Global challenges, local impact'. To kick off this anniversary year, we have shared fifteen stories over the past few weeks showcasing how LUC students, researchers, and alumni contribute to societal challenges…

What do bats do at night when they’re not hunting? Using tiny GPS trackers, Leiden researchers discovered that pond bats spend a substantial portion of the night resting – often outdoors. This surprising insight could change the way we protect them.

A major new study of ancient DNA has traced the movement of people into southern Britain during the Bronze Age. In the largest such analysis published to date, scientists examined the DNA of nearly 800 ancient individuals. Publication in Nature on December 22, 2021.

‘Very interesting’ is what two bachelor students have to say about the stories by Liesbeth van Vliet and Niki Antypa during the Psychology Science Day. The icing on the cake were the poster presentations about the bachelor's theses, admired and commented on by scientists and fellow students. Teachers…

Every year, the ECHO Award is presented to students from non-western backgrounds who are committed to social improvement in the field of diversity and inclusion. One of this year's finalists is Leiden alumna Husna Jalal, who works for Afghan women's rights with her organization the Young Afghan Women’s…

The winner of the Africa Thesis Award 2023 is Rachel Dubale, a graduate from the Research Master in African Studies at Leiden University, with her thesis “They think we can eat the condominium”. Chronicles of Economic, Social and Political Practices in Addis Ababa’s Condominiums.

Soft structures that can take on different shapes without any external drive. Leiden physicists Daniela Kraft and Julio Melio created them in their lab. They present their groundbreaking research on microscale metamaterials in Nature - a breakthrough that opens the door to smart, reconfigurable materials…

University Lecturer in History and International Studies Andrew Gawthorpe discusses on The Conversation the newly signed US-Ukraine economic partnership agreement.

How can the Netherlands help secure a peaceful future for Israel and Palestine? At a recent meeting at the university, two remarkable speakers shared their perspectives: Somaya Bashir, a Palestinian woman living in Israel, and Palestinian journalist, Houssam Khadra, who fled Gaza over a decade ago.

For this interview, we spoke with Thomas Ansell: Head of Communications at The Hague Humanity Hub. The organisation facilitates and supports innovations geared towards peace and justice. They provide new connections, collaboration networks, and exchange of information. What kind of organisations is…

In this section you will find a listing of national teaching awards, fellowships and grants.

With a full auditorium at the university's Wijnhaven campus, an extensive programme, inspiring speakers and visitors from a wide range of disciplines, all the ingredients were in place for a successful second edition of the Nacht van de Digitale Veiligheid of Digital Security on 26 May 2026.

Historian Eric Storm discusses how nationalism shapes our world in Princeton’s UP Ideas podcast.

Fans of the Korean music movement K-pop go through hell for their idols. In return, artists care deeply about their fans: they even get to decide their hair color. In the video series 'The World of the Korean Wave', PhD candidate Flora Smit takes a closer look at this relationship.

Western civil servants openly struggle with their government’s policies on the war in Gaza. During a meeting at Campus The Hague, three former civil servants told their stories.

Historian Seran de Leede delved into the life of Lie Alma (1909–1990), the courageous woman from the Dutch province of Drenthe who spoke out against fascism in the 1930s and remains a source of inspiration to this day.

No full-time job, but full-time voluntary work instead. That’s what Aniek Moonen decided on graduating from Leiden University College The Hague, when she started work as a committee member of the Young Climate Movement (Jonge Klimaatbeweging). As its Chair, she joins CEOs and government ministers in…

It is a familiar phenomenon: you ask the assistant on your phone to call your mother, but it calls a friend instead. Tom Kouwenhoven, PhD student in the SAILS programme, investigates how humans and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can better communicate with each other, so that these kinds of situations…

Terrorism expert Bart Schuurman has been appointed professor. As a researcher and lecturer at ISGA, he has witnessed the terrorist threat evolve and broaden. 'How can we explain these shifts and protect our society against them? That is what I want to focus on more,' he says.

If you work at the university and are in scale 11 or above, you have the option of concluding a function-based contract.

Giving an effective lecture requires not only careful preparation of the content, but also clear structures, visual support and presentation techniques. Some guidelines and tips to keep your lectures engaging and well structured are presented here.

If you want to hire someone on a temporary basis, such as a temp agency worker, guest lecturer or independent contractor, certain rules apply. Find out more about your options and what you need to take into account. You should always consult your HRM adviser before hiring staff.

Communication, Personal development, Leadership

It is with sadness that we have learned of the passing of our former colleague professor Herman Schaper on Tuesday 30 November this year. Herman held the Pieter Kooijmans Chair in Peace, Law and Security at Leiden University from 2014 to 2017.

On Thursday 6 May 2021, alumni of the Bachelor Security Studies (BaSS) and the Master Crisis and Security Management (CSM) were gathered in an online event arranged by the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and the study association L.S.A. Custodia.

Dr. Jelena Belic and Dr. Tom Theuns have each been awarded XS grants from the NWO to develop innovative lines of research. Dr. Belic’s project examines distinctive ways in which the deployment of digital technologies interferes with freedom, while Dr. Theuns explores the ideological tensions between…

Michael Kowalski has been appointed as part-time Professor by special appointment of Applied Ethics in Intelligence and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University.

More papers, more grants, more students: constant growth is still the gold standard at universities. Neuroscientists Anne Urai and Claire Kelly argue that this mentality obstructs us in resolving such complex societal problems as the climate crisis. Their alternative? The university as a doughnut.

Europe's open borders are under pressure: Europe has an increasing number of Member States with governments calling for tighter border controls. Several political parties in the Netherlands are also calling for stricter border controls, among other things, to reduce the number of asylum seekers. Yet,…

The project will further the development of policies, practices, and capabilities in responsible academic career assessment.