At the start of this year, Leiden University's complete fleet of vehicles was replaced with electric models. The white vans, recognisable from the University logo and the green leaf on the side, are 100% electric and have zero CO2 emissions. These vehicles will save the University 10 tons of CO2 a…

Facility

The universities in the Netherlands and Oxford University Press (OUP) have been unable to able to reach a new agreement for access to academic journals.

From 1 August 2020, smoking on the premises of Leiden University will be prohibited. Dutch law obliges institutions of higher education to enforce a full smoking ban on their premises as of that date.

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…

A new University brochure, About Us 2020, provides in-depth information about Leiden University, its research, teaching and impact on society in 2020. It also showcases the research and teaching at the seven faculties.

The late 1960s: across Europe, students are demanding the right to more participation within their universities. In 1971 Leiden University was granted an elected University Council. It became quite powerful: the Council even had the right to dismiss the Chairman of the Board.

Facility, Organisation

Last year Leiden University appointed an extra 25 female professors. With these appointments the Executive Board has increased the percentage of women in the highest academic role.

Once again the ONS student party (Enterprising Leiden Students) is the biggest party in the university elections. This gives the party three seats in the University Council. The staff are represented in the UR by FNV Government, with 5 seats.

Organisation

Leiden University has undergone a second institutional accreditation and audit (ITK), and the verdict on its quality assurance is once again positive. This is evident from the definitive report that has now been published by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO), which…

A delegation from Leiden University is visiting Brazil from 14 to 18 March. The first day of the visit was spent with scientists in São Paolo.

Got some good ideas for making studying and working at the university greener? If so, share them with the Leiden University Green Office.

Leiden University is an internationally oriented Dutch university, where we communicate with one another in both Dutch and English. To ensure that we handle this bilingual convention with due care, the Executive Board has established a set of guidelines on language policy. These guidelines set out the…

The energy and water consumption and CO2 footprint of all buildings at Leiden University can now be seen on its new Duurzaam in Beeld website. ‘We do a lot about sustainability,’ says Jeroen Waijenberg, Sustainability and Energy Coordinator at the University’s Real Estate Directorate. ‘But our efforts…

Facility

Professor Hester Bijl will be appointed Rector Magnificus of the Executive Board of Leiden University on 8 February 2021. She will be the first female Rector Magnificus of Leiden University. Bijl has been Vice-Rector Magnificus of the University since 1 November 2016. Carel Stolker, who has served as…

The FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles are a framework for researchers to make their scholarly output ready for use and reuse by machines and humans (including themselves and peers). Making scholarly output more FAIR provides a range of benefits to the research community,…

In SustainaBul, 16 higher education institutions are ranked on sustainability each year. Leiden University has managed to keep its fifth place. A good position, but with room for improvement.

Leiden University is advising its students to leave Hong Kong and return to the Netherlands. This is due to the worsening situation there.

The Dutch universities, university medical centres and Research Council have reached an agreement with Elsevier Publishing on a national open science partnership. The partnership includes open access publishing and reading services for Elsevier journals and open science services for disseminating and…

Following a period of intensive discussion, the University Council (UR) approved the University Quality Standards Plan on 10 December. The UR endorses the content of the plan in broad terms and is pleased with the extra efforts made by the University.

Facility

The province of South Holland is to collaborate with industry, the three LDE universities Leiden Delft and Erasmus, and the University of Wageningen in a knowledge and innovation programme to speed up the transition to a circular economy. The programme, ACCEZ, is expected to generate new knowledge.

During his two-day visit to the Netherlands, the Chinese Prime Minister paid an unexpected visit to Leiden on 16 October. Li Keqiang spoke with Rector Carel Stolker, Chinese PhD candidates and students of China Studies.

Organisation

Leiden University is the first Dutch university to join the Healthy Universities international network. Lifestyle workshops, rewards for good behaviour and the latest interventions encourage students and staff to live more healthily. The experiences gained through this network will be used in scientific…

The world around us is changing. What does that mean for the future of Europe, on this turbulent world stage? And what does it mean for our teaching, and for the expectations that Leiden University has of its students? These were the key questions during the opening of the 2018-2019 academic year on…

To bring all the professors at all the faculties together and keep their relationship with the University alive. This is the mission of ProParte, the association of Leiden professors and their partners. New members are welcome. The new ProParte website has recently been launched.

Video interview with Subodh Patil, the new assistant professor in Theoretical Cosmology, about the gravitational waves, hidden universes, music, and whether Dutch, Danish and German fit into one brain.

Facility, Organisation

On October 19, the annual Benelux Algorithm Programming Contest took place in Nijmegen. The team ‘git merge -s octopus solution cup’ of Leiden University was the only one to succeed in solving all the problems. They became champion of the Benelux and ensured their place in the championship of Northwest…

‘That hornets’ nest in Leiden must be destroyed,’ said Dutch National Socialist Party member Robert van Genechten in November 1942. He was referring to Leiden University. Why this hatred? Emeritus Professor of University History Willem Otterspeer has written a book about Leiden University during the…

Social

Almost a hundred students and researchers can study in Leiden or go from Leiden to another university abroad as part of an exchange programme. Fourteen exchange projects have been awarded a subsidy from the EU's Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme.

On 9 June the deans of Leiden University met for the 500th time with the Rector Magnificus for the Board of Deans. An informal, inspiring and contemplative meeting without a strict ending time, say deans and former deans.

A study carried out at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) on the wellbeing of PhD candidates at Leiden University has shown that a number of them experience so much stress that they can develop mental health problems. The supervision of PhD candidates is a continuing focus of attention…

It was not until 1878 that the first female students enrolled at Leiden University, but the discussion on whether women were suited to study was by no means over. 8 March is International Women's Day. BBC correspondente Kim Ghattas will deliver a lecture on 6 March on the struggle by Arabic women for…

With the new academic year just around the corner, many more students and lecturers will soon be coming to the University. What are we doing to keep our campus safe? We spoke to Martijn Ridderbos, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board, about the new Campus Protocol, which enters into force on 31 August.…

On 1 July, Olga Zoutendijk will become a member of the Board of Governors of Leiden University. Zoutendijk (1961) was appointed by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, and will succeed Mirjam Sijmons. Sijmons is leaving after two periods of membership of the Board of Governors.

It doesn’t take much effort and yet has an enormous impact on humans, animals and the environment: choosing the vegetarian option. That’s why the University restaurants and cafés are joining in the third edition of National Meat Free Week from 9 to 15 March. The food on offer that week will be vegetarian…

We talked to Hester Bijl about the worldwide protests sparked off by the death of George Floyd. A demonstration against racism will also be held in Leiden on 14 June. How does she, as Vice-Rector responsible for diversity and inclusion, view this issue? What steps is the University taking? And how can…

Storm clouds are gathering for the European grants for ‘excellent’ research. Researchers therefore need to explain how important these grants are. This is what Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council (ERC), had to say during a visit to Leiden University on Thursday 24 Apr…

Inspiration from outside and best practices from inside the University. These were the most important ingredients of the symposium on inclusivity organised by the Diversity Office at Leiden University on 22 November.

ICT

Student party ONS Leiden again has an overall majority in the student body of the University Council (UR). The party won 55% of the votes, representing five of the eight seats - including the residual seat. There was no election this year for the staff section of the UR.

Organisation

Organisation

This summer, everyone from Leiden locals to day trippers and tourists can take a guided tour of the prettiest University buildings in the centre of Leiden. Our exclusive Summer Tours offer a glimpse behind the scenes at the Academy Building, the P.J. Veth building and Bibliotheca Thysiana: buildings…