From the largest numbers to the smallest molecules and from the oldest galaxies up to the latest algorithms, explore our standout discoveries and most inspiring collaborations from the past year!

De minor Economie en Beleid van de Universiteit Leiden leert je oplossingen te vinden voor problemen waar het Nederlandse openbaar bestuur elke dag aan werkt.

In support of the research and education, the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) has a Research and Education laboratory at its disposal. Within this environment, we can offer machines that go beyond normal office automisation and production.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Plants could be regarded as small chemical factories, which produce chemical substances via photosynthesis. If we can imitate photosynthesis in an artificial system, we can make clean fuels and materials out of sunlight and CO2. Huub de Groot is very close to designing a system of this kind.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences is working hard on sustainability in its buildings and in its operations. In this way, we want to do our part to contribute to the university and faculty vision and goals, and to a healthy and sustainable campus.

Current electrochemical theory does not adequately describe realistic platinum electrodes. Scientists at Leiden University have now, for the first time, mapped the influence of imperfect platinum surfaces. This provides a more accurate picture of these electrodes, with applications in hydrogen production…

Everyone can contribute to a better climate. One thing you can do is to turn the heating down in your room and wear a warmer sweater! Leiden University is taking part in the Warm Sweater Day again this year. On 2 February the heating will be turned down to 16 degrees in as many University buildings…

Students at Leiden University believe that their study programmes should pay more attention to sustainability. This is evident from a representative survey of more than 550 students, conducted by Leiden University Green Office .

The University is taking part in the National Warm Sweater Day on 10 February and the heating will be turned down in many buildings. Make sure you wear something warm!

Eight university vegetable patches will soon join the display at the Hortus botanicus. The sun shone down on almost 40 enthusiastic students and staff as they started work on the new Community Garden there earlier this month.

Leiden has been selected as one of ten cities in the European BiodiverCities project. The aim of the project is to increase the quality of life in these cities, for instance by developing a green infrastructure and enhancing biodiversity. The Municipality of Leiden will work together with Naturalis…

Electrons that spin synchronously around their axis, turn out to stay superconducting across large distances within magnetic chromium dioxide. Electric current from these electrons can flip small magnets, and its superconducting version could form the basis for a hard drive without energy loss. Publication…

As of 1 October Rob van Nieuwpoort is the new professor of Efficient Computing and eScience at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS). Van Nieuwpoort brings with him a wealth of expertise: he is an expert in eScience, high performace computing and advanced algorithms.

LION

A revolutionary supercomputer with energy-efficient parts that are available in the shops. Professor of Computational Astrophysics Simon Portegies Zwart has been awarded an NWO Medium Grant to build this processing giant, which will have the power of a supercomputer but requires only one percent of…

Leiden University is currently working on the new Gorlaeus Building, a sustainable modern building for the Faculty of Science. To make room for the phase 2A construction work, a plane tree of over 20 metres in height was moved on 17 December. The tree has been conserved. Its new home will be on the…

How do you combine the growth of wind energy with the protection of vulnerable seabirds? With her master’s thesis on this delicate balance, Sofie Hajer won the 2025 Unilever Research Prize. Her work provides new insights into how ecology and policy can strengthen each other.

Leiden University has taken 18th place in the SustainaBul, the sustainability ranking of universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. A total of 32 institutions took part in this the tenth edition of SustainaBul. Although Leiden University is two places higher than last year,…

Are you passionate about writing and sustainability? Do you feel like sharing your talent with the rest of the university? This is your chance!

Are you passionate about sustainability? Do you see opportunities to make Leiden University more sustainable? Are you able to inspire, engage and empower students and staff to cooperate? This is your chance to contribute!

Last week we organized an event together with the Green Office from the Bucerius Law School. We wondered: how realistic is UBI as an option to create a more sustainable society? More than 100 people signed-up to join us to find an answer to this question.

Ever wondered how big the food waste problem really is?

Simon Portegies Zwart, professor of Computational Astrophysics, uses computers to simulate the evolution of stars. We speak with him about his field and about the challenges of working with huge amounts of complex data.

From the energy transition in Namibia to sustainable jobs for young Nigerians, from African cookbooks to vodcasts on vintage Swahili booklets: during a recent visit by the Executive Board, staff from the African Studies Centre Leiden and the African Library presented their research, teaching and acquisition…

On 23 September, the Leiden alderman for the Management of Public Space was presented with a Ginkgo Biloba in the Blekerspark. This special 'Peace Tree' was grown from a seed from a tree that survived the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima. The Peace Tree is being temporarily housed in Leiden's Hortus…

Hans van den Berg, CEO of Tata Steel NL, is in the eye of the storm. He continues to believe in connection, debate and knowledge that will make green steel possible.

Compare human social behaviour at a country level and you will find differences. Japan has the highest score whereas the Netherlands is just above average. This is what psychologist Niels van Doesem discovered in research with an international team of 64 colleagues in 31 industrialised countries. Their…

Materials that are built up from individual granules exhibit a special phenomenon called ‘jamming’. With research into the nature of this phenomenon, a team of scientists led by Leiden physicist Prof. Martin van Hecke has made it to the cover of the prominent journal Physical Review Letters. ‘Jammed…

It may not seem necessary to install special tap water stations in University buildings, but it is very useful: every tap here also means a tap in a developing country. With the the 35 tap water stations that Leiden University installs, the slum area of Madoya in Nairobi will soon have clean drinking…

Leiden molecular cell biologists in the research group of Annemarie Meijer have discovered novel early macrophage-specific genes in zebrafish, including a signal transducer pivotal for the migration of macrophages in the innate immune response to bacterial infection. Their findings were published on…

How can we make our cities greener and more people-friendly? Two Campus The Hague projects have secured a grant from the Municipality of The Hague. The researchers and students from both projects are working with city residents to find sustainable solutions to local issues.

Green spaces boost mental health—especially in busy cities. A new study from Leiden and Stanford University reveals how nature benefits urban well-being and offers low-cost ways to make city life healthier for everyone.

Helping the University to become more sustainable. This is the task of seven students and three members of staff at the Leiden University Green Office that officially opens its doors on 27 September. Three members talk about why and how they want to make their colleagues greener.

In 2013, Sylvestre Bonnet received an ERC Starting Grant to kill cancer with molecules that can be activated by light. Two postdocs and three PhD students later, the end approaches of his so far successful project.

Your local city park may be improving your health, according to a new paper led by Leiden environmental scientist Roy Remme. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Remme and his colleagues describe how access to nature increases people’s physical activity—and therefore overall health—in…

New housing in old labs and striking architecture for University buildings and high-tech companies, not to mention waterside parks. An exhibition in Oude UB shows the radical changes that are in store for the Leiden Bio Science Park over the coming years.

Green cities and a well-protected food system: Roy Remme and Oliver Taherzadeh study ways to achieve these. But how can their scientific findings lead to societal change? They share their experiences with science-policy initiatives.

This page features an overview of relevant lectures, publications and conference papers.

What happens to the different waste streams?

We investigate the processes underlying the patterns. We aim to explain biodiversity by investigating the distribution, function, development, and evolution of body forms, as well as physiological and behavioural variety among species. We collaborate with those specialized in describing, archiving,…

Initiatives like the Leiden University Green Office and the Career Service might not sound familiar to every student. If it is up to Bernice, this will change from this academic year.