It is a common technique in global optimization with expensive black-box functions to learn a surrogate-model of the response function from past evaluations and use it to decide on the location of future evaluations.

The Academy for Professionals project started in November. The project will focus on further developing existing and new educational programmes for professionals. ‘This is part of taking valorisation seriously.’

She has held office for over a hundred days, and is enthusiastic about what she has seen of the University thus far. Bursting with energy, she has plans aplenty for the teaching. An interview with ‘new’ Vice-Rector Magnificus of Leiden University, Hester Bijl.

Radiography is an important technique to inspect objects, with applications in airports and hospitals. X-ray imaging is also essential in industry, for instance in food safety checks for the presence of foreign objects.

Chinese and Leiden scientists came together in Leiden to study the intricacies of modern visual techniques.

The European Registry of Exonerations database provides an overview of miscarriages of justice in Europe with a view to preventing future errors.

Somatic symptoms, such as pain, itch, and fatigue have been shown to have a bidirectional relationship with mental symptoms. Although acute somatic symptoms serve some adaptive properties, chronic symptoms can instead lead to interference in daily activities and lower quality of life.

In this thesis, we aim to shed light on the diverse and often opposing roles of integrin α3β1 in cancer.

In this article Wouter Jong and Andrea Bartolucci explore the integration of scenario-based learning (SBL) into a crisis communication course to enhance students' practical skills and reflection in real-world contexts.

This book is the first comparative study of estimative intelligence and strategic surprise in a European context, complementing and testing insights from previous studies centred on the United States. It does extensive empirical analysis of open-source material and interviews in relation to three cases…

This article reflects on the lessons of COVID-19 five years on. The crisis exposed deep vulnerabilities in health systems, governance, and social cohesion.

This dissertation aims to establish a dialogue between ethnomusicology (more specifically indigenous organology), the anthropology of art and the culture of the Apinaye peoples, in order to understand how the musical objects of these peoples are learned and taught, and thus to understand its musical…

Drawing is one of the most unique human behaviours. Like language, drawing is a mode of communication and a cognitive tool that from an early age allows us to interact with others. Is the early development of drawing skill influenced by the social environment? If so, how?

This thesis addresses questions on effectively using variational quantum circuits for machine learning tasks.

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Context-based learning has been implemented in secondary chemistry education. Hans Vogelzang, PhD at ICLON, reseached whether Scrum methodology might support creating context-based lessons. Scrum appears to be beneficial to learning outcomes. Defence on 10 November.

In secondary education, teacher collaboration is used to further teachers’ professional development. In her dissertation, Loes de Jong (PhD candidate at ICLON) examines how various collaborative initiatives stimulate teacher learning. Her thesis defence is on 20 May 2021.

Learning with the City, a partnership between the Municipality of Leiden, Leiden University and University of Applied Sciences Leiden, has a new online platform. Learning with the City aims to use knowledge and expertise from higher education to solve social issues in Leiden. The platform will help…

A study in the Behavioral Biology group of Carel ten Cate at the IBL showed that experience-dependent and -independent preferences influence song learning in zebra finches.

An international collaboration, including Leiden physicist and computer scientist Vedran Dunjko, showed that quantum technology can speed-up the learning process of artificial intelligence (AI). To prove this, the physicists and computer scientists used a quantum processor for single photons. Their…

An international collaboration, including Leiden physicist and computer scientist Vedran Dunjko, showed that quantum technology can speed-up the learning process of artificial intelligence (AI). To prove this, the physicists and computer scientists used a quantum processor for single photons. Their…

This thesis probes under what conditions quantum computing presents an advantage over classical computing.

Artificial intelligence systems are smart. They can recognize patterns better than humans, for example. Yet humans are still very much needed. How can you better steer those AI systems? LIACS lecturer Jan van Rijn wrote a book about this together with a number of colleagues. We asked him a few quest…

The brains of adolescents react more strongly to receiving rewards. This can lead to risky behaviour, but research in Leiden has shown that it also has a positive purpose: it makes learning easier. The publication of an article on the research findings led to a lot of media attention.

The programme focuses on the medieval dynamics of intellectual life in the Rhineland and the Low countries, nowadays divided over five countries (Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) but one cultural region in the later Middle Ages.

Artificial intelligence systems are smart. They can recognize patterns better than humans, for example. Yet humans are still very much needed. How can you better steer those AI systems? LIACS lecturer Jan van Rijn wrote a book about this together with a number of colleagues. We asked him a few quest…

During the digital education seminar 'Reflections on 2020 and new perspectives for 2021', we will discuss our achievements in online & blended education. There will be a diverse selection of workshops relevant for anyone involved in education. Senior university lecturer Jan Sleutels will be giving a…

At the beginning of March 2020, the Dutch Taskforce for Applied Research (SIA) awarded Daan Weggemans of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs a research grant. The Taskforce is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Undesirable associations with sex can be unlearned, but return if the circumstances change. They must therefore be unlearned in different situations. The drug D-cycloserine may help here. These are the findings of psychologist Mirte Brom.

Children could do better at school if they exercise during their maths, English and science lessons, a study has suggested. Researchers reviewed 42 studies that looked at the benefits of physical activity in the classroom for youngsters.

In donut-shaped buildings, particle accelerators take super-detailed X-ray images. Yet those images are not good enough to learn how to drive on hydrogen for example. Mathematics PhD student Allard Hendriksen has developed an algorithm that improves the images without having to learn from data from…

Tremendous amounts of data are generated in scientific research each day. Most of this data has more potential than we are using now, says Katy Wolstencroft, assistant professor in bioinformatics and computer science. We just need to integrate and manage it better.

A major grant for research into machine learning algorithms for quantum computers. With this ERC Consolidator grant, Vedran Dunjko and his colleagues hope to discover which real-world problems a quantum computer can solve faster than a normal one.

During the summer break, three lecture halls at Wijnhaven were equipped with advanced equipment and an education system in order to provide the best hybrid teaching possible during the upcoming academic year. The Learn Anywhere pilot will take place within the FGGA, which Koen Caminada is very happy…

To properly understand how babies absorb a language we need to study the process from a number of different perspectives, linguist Claartje Levelt argues. She accepts her appointment as Professor of Language Acquisition on 27 March with an inaugural lecture entitled ‘Language in its infancy’.

As of October, Joeri Reinders has joined the Leiden Teachers’ Academy, a group of innovative lecturers who each receive a €25,000 grant for projects focused on educational innovation. For Joeri, this revolves around sustainability and climate change.

Dr. Willy de Heer defended her PhD Thesis