Almost 7,000 prospective students came to Leiden last Saturday to visit the Open Day. They came from all corners of the Netherlands and even from abroad to start the process of choosing a degree programme. At the Information Fair in the Pieterskerk they were able to ask students and study advisers all…

Leiden University celebrated the Relief of Leiden with the 3 October University. This year the University also took part in the festive parade, to promote 444.

'We must set out an agenda, in partnership, to manufacture our own means. This will stimulate science, small businesses, jobs and society in Africa and beyond.' With these words Naledi Pandor opened the symposium 'Science Diplomacy and International Development', which was held in her honour on 27 Februari…

Three Leiden professors have recently been awarded the most prestigious scientific accolade in the Netherlands: Maria Yazdanbakhsh and Marc Koper have been awarded a Spinoza Prize and Judi Mesman a Stevin Prize. They received their prizes on 13 October.

On September 29th LUC celebrated its 6th birthday. Lieke Schreel, the Educational Director of LUC has been involved with the programme from the start. She reflects on the growth and the development of LUC in those six years.

Every year diplomatic representatives of Latin American countries, researchers and students come together during a conference of the GRULAC region group. This year different researchers talked about their work during a visit to the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs in The Hague.

In this Inspirationlab, Prof. Simone Buitendijk and Prof. Edwin Bakker share their visions on the future of open education. How does open education influence Leiden University's strategy? And what can we say about its relevance and impact? Registrations for The Future of Open Education are now open!

‘Universities are only the trustees of a complex intellectual heritage that they themselves did not create,’ said Stefan Collini, professor in Cambridge, at the opening of the academic year of Leiden University. He was addressing the question: Who does the university belong to?

Dutch and foreign alumni from Leiden are the oil that keeps the wheels of Dutch-Asian relations moving smoothly. That’s one of the conclusions reached during the area day of the Dutch ambassadors in Asia and Oceania. All of them gathered in Leiden University’s Academy Building on 30 January.

Russia is a world power and an upcoming economy in which the Netherlands is a serious investor. Leiden University has been studying the Slavic world for 100 years. Professor Jos Schaeken: ‘If a decision has to be made at international level, Russia is always involved.’

How do you study complex disasters like a nuclear explosion or a natural disaster? Who can help unravel the legal knot that Brexit has become? The important societal themes of the present day call for interdisciplinary collaboration. Leiden scientists pitched their research at a symposium at Leiden…

Within the next five years, Leiden University wants its campus in The Hague to become a leading international academic centre with research and teaching that correspond with the city’s profile. All of the faculties will help achieve this, and the University has also signed a partnership agreement with…

By delivering his inaugural lecture titled ‘Where Science Meets Business,’ Simcha Jong accepted his appointment as Leiden’s first Professor of Science Based Business. In his lecture in the Large Auditorium of the Academy Building, Simcha argued that broad universities with a focus on fundamental research,…

The Europaeum academic community was awarded the Scaliger medal on 23 September in recognition of its promotion of academic values. Andrew Graham, trustee to the Europaeum and founder and honorary advisor to the Scholars Programme, was presented with the medal by President of the Executive Board Annetje…

In a world first, an international team of researchers has read an unopened letter from Renaissance Europe – without breaking its seal or damaging it in any way. Nadine Akkerman, Reader in early modern English literature at Leiden University, is co-author of the article that appeared on 2 March in Nature…

On 29 October, seven innovative lecturers from different faculties will join the existing ten fellows of the Leiden Teachers' Academy. The current fellows have been engaged for the past year in implementing their innovation projects. How are these progressing?

In less than two years’ time, Florian Volz and Timo Schmidt, both German students studying International Studies in The Hague, went from knowing each other only vaguely to sharing a small tent and a bank account. Sounds like any other ordinary relationship, right? Well, not exactly. These two honours…

Experience for yourself what studying is like, or explore the city where you will be attending lectures. On Saturday 11 February, future students came to an Experience Day in The Hague. School pupils, students and parents were welcome to attend lectures and tutorials throughout the day.

Leiden University has secured an impressive 12 European exchange grants. This is good news for students, lecturers and researchers from home and abroad.

As of 1 September, the Netherlands has a national action plan to promote diversity and inclusion in teaching and research. The plan was launched at Leiden University’s Wijnhaven building on its Campus The Hague.

Part Three: A Change of Course

Matthew Fields, from Philadelphia, US, came to Leiden to study astronomy as part of the Euroscholars scheme. 'I came here to gain valuable research experience, and I haven't been disappointed!'

Ijeoma Uchegbu is Professor of Pharmacy at University College London (UCL). As a female scientist of colour, she was initially reluctant to play an active role in the university’s diversity policy. Until, that is, she had a radical change of heart: ‘I knew it; I had to become an evangelist.'

On 1 and 2 September, colleagues of Leiden Law School participated in the very first International ELS Conference, organised by the ELS Academy in Amsterdam.

‘To be honest, I knew very little about the Netherlands when I arrived in 1998. But studying law in Leiden was a very enriching experience.’ Nathalie van den Berge grew up in a number of different European countries, and now works at a UN office in Tanzania, where she lives with her Dutch husband and…

Today over 1000 chief executives and more than 40 world leaders meet in the Swiss village Davos to discuss the world's issues of today. What is the importance of the conference and what is the actual effectiveness? Dr. Alexandre Afonso, assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration,…

The course Designing Your Life helps students navigate their career pathways. As it turns out, these pathways are full of twists and turns and - as with many journeys - you only make progress once you gather the courage to take the first step.

How to deal with the most challenging design question of your life: what do I want to be when I grow up? The ‘Designing Your Life’ method teaches students how to craft their own future. The project will start next academic year, thanks to a Comenius grant. ‘Everyone interested should be able to borrow…

The world is in turmoil. International wars and conflicts have been raging for some time. And political and social developments are causing insecurity, uncertainty and unrest. This has not gone unnoticed within our university community. We have seen protests, demonstrations and other incidents. This…

Marlon Titre (1982) studied at Royal Conservatoire The Hague, did his PhD and studied at Leiden University, earned several other qualifications and is now, among others, Director of Filmhuis The Hague. Who is this multi-talent?

Conference

Conference

Conference

Inaugural lecture

PhD defence

PhD defence

Over the past year, many of our staff and students have won prizes, been awarded a substantial grant or been appointed to an academic association or a position in public life. All of these are good reasons to include them in our 2019 Hall of Fame. We are proud of them all.