Everything is different this year because of the corona measures; introduction weeks, student life and education. In order to give new students a proper and warm welcome, a lot of work has been done to create the frameworks for a mentor programme. The working group 'Tutoring and Cohorting' has prepared…

'Make sure you separate yourself from your work.' And, 'Your dissertation doesn't have to be a magnum opus.' It was raining tips for PhD students at the humanities PhD event on well-being on Tuesday, 5 September.

A group of confidants including a former student of Meijers managed to avert his deportation to a death camp. In her lecture on 27 November, Cleveringa Professor Marjan Schwegman revealed the history of the persecution of the Jewish Professor Eduard Meijers.

The field of leadership suffers from ‘adjectivism’, says Professor Ben Kuipers. He immediately caveats this by saying that he too is going furnish the word leadership with an adjective: ‘Public’. But the goal here is to view leadership in a different light in his new role as Professor of Public Lead…

It is sufficiently plausible that, during her employment, a professor of archaeology at Leiden University was guilty of prolonged transgressive and unacceptable behaviour, ‘which also at that time could be classed as unacceptable’.

For Harry Flore, chair of the LBSP business asociation and CEO at Hal Allergy, the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) has no secrets. But he can well imagine the park is a black box for some staff and students at the university: 'I welcome collaboration on all fronts.'

Paul Wouters is not keen on people with a dual agenda. However, for the coming period, he himself will be in that very position. Besides his work as Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSW), he is temporarily coming to strengthen the Board of the Faculty of Science. Who is this Acting…

The balance is positive: the faculty is growing faster than expected, reserves have been built up, and new programmes are attracting many students. At the same time, rapid growth requires realistic budgets, targeted staff expansion and agility in changing circumstances.

To better prepare students for their laboratory education, a team of education experts and students have created a collection of interactive videos. After launching their website labprep.video, the material is now available to everyone in higher education. Project leader Marjo de Graauw: ‘We also created…

Being a student member of the faculty board? Ebrar Kaya fulfilled this role last year as assessor of the Faculty of Humanities. In September, Anne Wellink took over from him. In this interview, we look back and ahead at the assessorship with them.

Rembrandt van Rijn was enrolled as a student of the arts at Leiden University, but he was more interested in becoming a painter. What traces now remain of this famous phantom student?

Leiden Professor of Maths Frans van Schooten Jnr. (1615-1660) and his wife Margrieta were painted by Rembrandt. This is the claim made by mathematician and art historian Johan Zwakenberg in his recently published article in the 2018 Leiden Yearbook. Leiden art historians are not completely convinced…

Since January 2026, Alex Geurds has been the new Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology. His start was calmer than many expected, but behind that calm lies a period of exploration, listening, and strategic forward thinking.

Relatively simple adjustments can reduce nitrogen losses on dairy farms in peatland areas. That’s the conclusion of the PhD research by by Leiden environmental scientist Jeroen Pijlman at the Louis Bolk Institute. Protein-poor grass species and narrow-leaved plantain in the grassland can limit nitrogen…

Third-year Security Studies students tackle real-world security challenges for organisations such as Microsoft, the NCTV and Schiphol. From AI and human smuggling to international cooperation, they present their recommendations to professionals in the field.

Ambroise Paré, Thomas Sydenham and Herman Boerhaave: all were great medical innovators in their time. We know far less about the 19th-century Russian physician and scientist Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov. PhD candidate Inge Hendriks researched him in Dutch and Russian archives and collections. She discovered…

Social media gives people a voice but also fuels online hate, especially against marginalised groups. PhD candidate Eva Nave: ‘While end-to-end encryption protects activists, it also enables criminal activity, creating a more accessible version of the Darkweb.’

After nine years, Mirjam de Baar is leaving as vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities. ‘It will take some getting used to letting go of this vice-deanship because the education portfolio is very close to my heart and I’ve worked hard for it in recent years in close cooperation with many colleagues.’

Arthrosis needs a multidisciplinary approach, says Professor Jaap Harlaar. He brings experts from different university medical centres together to unravel the secrets of this condition and thus improve its treatment. This new Medical Delta professor was appointed as Professor of Clinical Biomechanics…

It was time for a celebration in the Faculty Club on 11 December. Twenty driven lecturers were awarded their Senior Teaching Qualification by Vice-Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl.

Johan Christensen, universitair docent bij het Instituut Bestuurskunde, heeft 1,2 miljoen euro subsidie gekregen van de Research Council of Norway. Christensen is co-leider van een project genaamd INFLUEX dat de invloed van experts gaat onderzoeken. Naast Christensen maakt ook Valérie Pattyn van het…

The last names for the future European Commissioners were made public at the beginning of September 2019 and also which candidates have been put forward for the new European Commission by the different member states.

The United Nations has declared May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity. A moment of global reflection on everything on Earth and its indispensability. Anthropologist Marja Spierenburg stresses the importance of the interaction between natural and social sciences in addressing sustainability…

Opportunities and challenges of digitalisation, the platform economy, and flexibilisation of European labour markets.

Leiden physicist Maarten Kruithof has discovered how our DNA is infallibly able to fold itself and to unfold again. In his dissertation he demonstrates how DNA is folded in a single long, very flexible spiral.

Leiden University's 2017 annual report has now been published. This year for the first time the University has also published a separate sustainability report. Leiden University is the first university to produce a separate report on the progress of its sustainability policies.

These are turbulent times at Dutch universities. We have all seen what has been and is still happening at various campuses in the country. Protests, demonstrations, occupations. Situations and scenes that deeply affect us all.

Migration and diversity are key factors in one of the most fundamental transformations of society today. Students study this phenomenon in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus master’s specialisation in Governance of Migration and Diversity.

The project aims to explore the history of the concept “barbarism” in Europe from the 18th century to the present. Responding to the contemporary popularity of the term “barbarism” in political rhetoric and the media, and the lack of reflection on the implications and legitimacy of its use, the project…

We need to be quicker and better at discovering side effects. In her inaugural lecture, Agnes Kant, Professor by Special Appointment of Innovation of Pharmacovigilance, calls for more research on these adverse effects.

On 29 October a terrorist attack occurred in Nice. On the same day assaults also took place at the French consulate in Saudi Arabia and in the city of Lyon. How is it that France is so frequently targeted by extremists?

University lecturer Astrid Van Weyenberg has won the Faculty of Humanities Teaching Prize. ‘Astrid is a lovely person who can teach well.'

From March 27 to 31 Byvanck Professor Carrie Vout gave the intensive masterclass Classical Art - Definitions, Politics, Limits. This special lecture series was open to students and PhD candidates in Archaeology and Classics. One of the attendees, Nicky Schreuder, on the class: 'It was a critical and…

Jelle van Buuren, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, discusses the death of Al-Baghdadi and whether this could also mean the end of IS.

When parking in reverse, your car skids off just a little, hitting the wall of the parking garage. On the car dashboard, a warning light immediately starts blinking. This technique from new cars can also be used for another purpose, namely in the treatment of Parkinson's disease patients.

Together. If we look back on the corona crisis some time from now, that will have been the keyword in the political communication, says Arco Timmermans. Having allies is imperative, especially in these times.

Leiden University no longer wishes to collaborate with fossil fuel partners that are not demonstrably committed to achieving the Paris Agreement targets. Exceptions will be made only if a collaboration demonstrably contributes to the energy transition. This proposal by the Executive Board was discussed…

The Indonesian Student Association in the Netherlands, ‘Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia Belanda’, has teamed up with the Indonesian embassy in The Hague and Historia.ID magazine to create an exhibition to mark the association’s 100th anniversary. The student association, which was founded in Leiden, played…

The Rein Dool painting depicting board members of Leiden University will be moving soon to the Reception Room in the Academy Building, where more people will be able to see it.

The Executive Board has adopted a new Code of Conduct on Integrity for staff. This new code encompasses all the existing regulations within Leiden University, including in the field of research, behaviour towards students and purchasing. 'This Code of Conduct is a very clear statement,' commented Rector…

Dear friends of the institute,

New Chinese CSC PhD’s are welcomed at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry. On the 28th of September 2012 a three week introduction program started especially for this new incoming group of scientists.

It was not light, but its absence that caught Stephanie Noach's attention a few years ago. With her research on darkness in art, she aims to show how darkness can question and sometimes even undermine colonial imagery.

The bachelor education programmes of Physics and Astronomy in Leiden combined have the highest percentage female first year students in The Netherlands, according to numbers published by the Dutch Journal of Physics.

We can all do something to contribute to men working less and being more active at home, argues university lecturer Max van Lent in a podcast of Dutch ‘De Telegraaf' newspaper.

As part of our quality control system, we will host the Mid Term Review (2016-2018) on 28 June 2019. In this exercise, our faculty research programmes will be evaluated by an external committee and assessed against the criteria of: scholarly quality, societal relevance and viability.

Markus Davidsen, assistant professor of Religious Studies, is the winner of the 2021 Impact Prize. He is receiving the prize of 1,000 euros for the material he has developed for religious education in secondary schools.

On 13 June the first Leiden Disability Studies Lunch was organized upon the initiative of the ERC Rethinking Disability team, based in the Institute for History. Its aim was to allow students and staff members from across various institutes of the Faculty of Humanites and also from other faculties to…

A hidden disability can make studying a considerable challenge, partly because of the disability itself, but also because others may not realise that extra support is justified. To overcome this problem, the Faculty of Humanities is introducing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

In a world beset with war, climate problems and skyrocketing energy prices, it is good to have some 'slack time' now and then. That was Dean Mark Rutgers' message at the Faculty of Humanities' New Year reception.