A consortium of research infrastructures focused on water quality has received €4.18 million in funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant will support the transformation of outdoor laboratories at Leiden University, NIOO-KNAW, Radboud University, and Wageningen University & Research…

The LUCAS Audience Award 2021 has been awarded to Nadine Akkerman. This is a prize for researchers who appeal to an audience wider than the academic community. The prize consists of 1000 euros, a trophy and eternal fame.

Gerard van Westen has received the KNCV Gold Medal, the most important Dutch award for chemists under 40. 'It's a huge honour,' says the professor of AI and medicinal chemistry. 'I am now part of the group of people I was always impressed by.'

The 21 universities of the League of European Research Universities have an enormous economic impact: more than 900,000 jobs and 71.2 billion euros in 2014. Each job at a member university results in 6 jobs elsewhere. Leiden University is a member of the League.

Leiden astronomer Anthony Brown had the honour to give the prestigious Spitzer Lectures at Princeton University. In five lectures spread over the beginning of May, he gave an insight into the Gaia Mission. ‘One of the intellectual highlights of the year.’

University lecturer Mojan Samadi has won not only a Meijers Prize, but also the Van Wersch Springplank Prize for her outstanding contribution to science. Samadi examined the concept of femicide in a criminal justice context and highlighted the importance of a feminist perspective in gender-based mur…

What do gender identity and digital technology have to do with each other? Together they are the subject of research at Leiden University. Researchers Tessa Verhoef and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga of the faculties of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Law will investigate the interaction between artificial…

Marcia Brandenburg, PhD candidate at Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies in Leiden, is the winner of the Dutch final of the science communication competition FameLab. She will represent the Netherlands in the final.

‘I was very happy and honoured that my thesis was recognised as a valuable contribution to the topic of landscape archaeology.’

Ineke Sluiter, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, has been awarded the Academy Professor Prize by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). According to the jury, Sluiter is exceptional in her ability to connect issues from antiquity with the broad themes of the present day…

Leiden University celebrated the annual prize ceremony of the World Cultural Council (WCC) on 8 November with lectures by leading scientists in a festively decorated Pieterskerk.

The university is committed to providing an accessible learning and working environment for students and staff. They should be able to feel at home at our faculty. That is why there is now an all-gender toilet in every humanities building to contribute to that feeling of recognition and safety.

Leiden University will award two honorary doctorates at its Dies Natalis on 9 February 2026. They will go to internet studies scholar Safiya Umoja Noble and philosopher Catherine Malabou.

Just like scientific articles, patents cite scientific literature to support their findings. These references provide valuable information on how science is used to develop practical applications. However, extracting this information from patents is not that simple.

CML Researcher Merlijn van Weerd wins Parker / Gentry Award 2015 for Conservation Biology at Field Museum Chicago in recognition of his commitment to biodiversity conservation in the Philippines

Nadine Akkerman has deciphered the correspondence of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, and studied 17th-century spies. Her fascinating historiographies have now been recognised with membership of the Young Academy.

This book, written by two representatives of Leiden Law School, describes the framework of the European Insolvency Regulation (recast) (‘EIR Recast’), in force since June 2017.

On the brand-new Leiden Teachers Blog, Leiden teachers share their experiences with educational innovation. They show colleagues, students, and everyone else who is interested the different facets of creating university education.

Neuroscientist Anne Hafkemeijer is able to distinguish two different forms of dementia using advanced imaging techniques. This is the first step towards early recognition of dementia in patients on the basis of brain networks. PhD defence 26 May.

Last Friday, Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2020 ½ and 2021. The 186 students received their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree’s in LUC’s interdisciplinary honours programme Liberal Arts & Sciences: Global Challenges. Under the silver-…

Astronomer and science communicator Pedro Russo is awarded the K.J Cath Prize and € 2,500 for his outreach efforts that bring science to the general public. ‘There are so many bright scientists, and so few people communicating about science.’

Two Leiden University science communication projects have been awarded a WECOM grant through the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA). One project is a study of the history of the deaf community in the Netherlands and the other is of a condition that causes people to lose their way.

Dilara Erzeybek and Oumaima Hajri, two PhD students in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology received a Mosaic 2.0 grant last week. This NWO programme supports PhD students with a non-western migration background - an underrepresented group within science - in order to foster diversity in…

The BA Religious Studies programme has been awarded the label 'Topopleiding' (Top Education) in the Keuzegids 2021.

The Guggenheim Fellowship is a prestigious award for US nationals. There are more than 3,000 applications every year, and this year only 188 were honoured. Professor Jonathan Silk is one of these 188, the first ever at Leiden University, and he tells us more about the fellowship and what he will do…

On Monday 2 March at 16:00, the Faculty of Archaeology opened the travelling exhibition Archaeo‑Sexism. The exhibition will be on display throughout the month in the F0 corridor of the Van Steenis Building, as part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on 8 March.

How important is a child’s right to meaningful peer relationships? Vaishnavi Ramalingam wrote her master’s thesis on this topic, and was recently awarded the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) Jan Brouwer Thesis Prize 2026.

The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) has a new professor: as of 1 March, Frederic Lens has been appointed Professor of Biodiversity and Anatomy of Plants. For Lens, the appointment feels like a wonderful recognition. ‘I am pleased with Leiden University’s appreciation of my contributions to research…

Ramsey Albers wins Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2022

The list of highly Cited Researchers identifies the world’s most influential contemporary researchers across 21 scientific fields. Prof. dr. W. Jiskoot is cited one out of three in the field of Pharmacology & Toxicology in the Netherlands, and as one of four of all categories in Leiden.

Since 1992, Professor Thijs van Kolfschoten, has been excavating at Schöningen.

Prof. Dr. Wil Roebroeks has been elected as recipient of a Humboldt Research Award after having been nominated for this award by the German scientist Prof. Dr. Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Universität Mainz / Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz.

Former PhD student Gerard van Westen was granted the C.J. Kok Award also known as “Discoverer of the Year”. A festive ceremony took place at the Faculty’s New Year’s reception on January 7, 2014.

Hoogleraar Internationaal Belastingrecht Tanja Bender heeft een vermelding gekregen in het boek Recognising 100 Years of Women in Tax.

Associate Professor Gianclaudio Malgieri (eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies) and Professor Margot E. Kaminski (University of Colorado Law School) have published a new article in the very prestigious Yale Journal of Law & Technology, titled Impacted Stakeholder Participation in AI and Data…

Over the past two centuries, the concept of human dignity has moved from the fringes to the centre of the international legal system. This book is the first single-authored detailed historical, theoretical and legal investigation of human dignity as a normative value, the intellectual sources that shaped…

Wim van Saarloos will become Vice-President of KNAW with effect from 1 September 2016. He will also take up the post of Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Faculty of Science at Leiden University with effect from 1 January 2017. He will then relinquish his position on the Board of Governors.

What are we referring to when we talk about ‘good work’? And what does it mean to be a good employer? Helen Pluut and Merel Cornax address these questions in a recently published editorial.

Dr Ilze Bot (LACDR) has been appointed professor of Cardiovascular Pharmacology with effect from 1 March. A recognition of her work as a scientist. 'This allows me to continue and expand my line of research within the LACDR and Leiden University.'

Eveline Crone has been selected for the Distinguished Scholar Award of the Social & Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS). 'It's very special to get recognition from your peers in the United States.'

Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University and expert on decentralisation issues, gave an online presentation of his research before the subcommittee on Political System, Constitutional Reform and Form of State in Chile and reported…

The Dutch Royal Couple received 70 scientists at the yearly gala for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam on 14 June 2023.

Merijn Tinga, the Plastic Soup Surfer, launched the Pick Up 10 campaign. This campaign, supported by Google and National Geographic, uses photo recognition to identify and monitor litter through an app.

Professor Petra Sijpesteijn has been elected as an International Fellow of the British Academy, a prestigious recognition that highlights her exceptional contributions to the study of early Islamic history.

On Monday 9 May, Erwin Muller, Professor in Security and Law at Faculty of Law and Dean of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs of Leiden University, presents the Veterans handbook to Minister of Defense Ank Bijleveld-Schouten.

The MSc Life Science & Technology receives a bronze medal in EW Best Studies 2023. Every year, Elsevier selects the top programmes in higher education. A medal means that students are above-average satisfied with the quality of their programme.

Patrick Overeem lecturer at the Institute of Public Administration has been appointed by the Executive Board of the University as a Teaching Fellow of the Leiden Teachers' Academy.

Ontwerpers en onderzoekers gaan bij het verzamelen van data vaak uit van mannen als ze mensen bedoelen. Dat is onhandig en onveilig.

Wim Jiskoot has been honored by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists as an AAPS Fellow.

The ISIE Society Prize is awarded every two years for outstanding contributions to the field of industrial ecology. It is the ISIE's highest recognition of professional achievement.