Universities, companies, organisations and societies are increasingly facing enormous quantities of data. It is a great challenge to transform these Big Data into knowledge, which is why Leiden University has launched a University-wide Data Science Research Programme.

From 14 to 29 PhD candidates, seven actively involved faculties and, above all, lots of innovative interdisciplinary research, all with data science as the common denominator. The university’s Data Science Research Programme (DSO) has proven so successful that after five years on a start-up grant it…

Only the fittest cyclists stand a chance of taking yellow in the brutal Tour de France. Team Jumbo-Visma is working with data scientists from Leiden. They have analysed the stages and performance of Jumbo-Visma’s riders in previous Grand Tours. And they are researching how to determine the fitness level…

Computer scientist Matthijs van Leeuwen is one of four science faculty members who obtained the Senior Qualification in Education in 2021. What was that like and what drives him? ‘In my own education I would have liked to see more attention paid to the responsibility that machine learning and data mining…

Do you have questions about data management? Please contact the data stewards:

Just like the professional riders from the Jumbo-Visma team, amateur cyclists will soon be able to analyse and improve their performance. Leiden data scientists working with the cycling team are making their smart data model available so that every serious cyclist can keep track of their fitness.

Conference

As a university employee, you probably work with personal data. That is not just names and telephone numbers – it can also include things like cookies. How can you make sure you are working in a privacy-proof way?

Your options for data storage may vary depending on factors such as size and sensitivity of the data or collaboration with partners outside the university. We are all responsible for data protection. To keep (personal) data as secure as possible, the university has established an information security…

On April 1, Marco Spruit, Professor of Advanced Data Science in Population Health at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), will deliver his inaugural lecture ‘Translational Data Science in Population Health’. Spruit will use the opportunity…

Any loss of control over stored personal data constitutes a potential data leak. In most cases this concerns stolen (or lost) digital files, but a stolen (or mislaid) printed list containing personal data also represents a data leak. It is important that you report any data leak.

If you bring in a (new) person who will be processing personal data for you, this person is not allowed to use this information for his or her own purposes. You need to formalise this in a data processing agreement. The university will usually have an agreement in place.

A data processing register is a record of which personal data you process and who you share this data with. If you collect personal data for your research, you must record this in the data processing register.

If your research project involves collecting private or otherwise sensitive data, you must ensure adequate data protection measures are taken. Research must be conducted in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In terms of patient data, for instance, when used for research carried…

Individuals have the right to instruct the university to delete their personal data in a number of cases. For instance, if the university no longer needs the data, or if the person withdraws consent previously given.

We are all responsible for data protection. To keep (personal) data as secure as possible, the university has established an information security policy.

Research

As a standard, your workplace comes equipped with a limited amount of disk space. We offer a number of options for extending your disk space. In addition, ISSC can help you recover lost files. You can also securely store your files in the cloud via OneDrive and Teams. Whichever storage you use, be aware…

Organisation, Security

Are you handling personal data just once, for instance when taking the minutes of a meeting or organising an employee outing? You do not need to include this use in the data processing register if you stick to the following conditions.

As an employee of Leiden University, you probably work with or come into contact with personal data. The concept of ‘personal data’ is core to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you work with personal data, you must be able to explain clearly, comprehensively and in simple language how…

In the future top Dutch speed skaters may skate even faster thanks to a skate full of electronics. This ‘measuring skate’ gives top skaters and coaches information about the skater’s technique and motion. It can measure the dynamics at play between the foot, the ice and the skate.

During the coronavirus pandemic, scientists were in a hurry to find drugs that would help fight the disease. To combine the research that was being carried out around the world, PhD candidate Judith ter Schure developed a new statistical method: ALL-IN meta-analysis. This helps determine sooner whether…