Five questions about PREPARE, the new research project funded by the EU and led by Joana Cook. Cook is Assistant Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and lead investigator on PREPARE.

From research on the first human ancestors to leave Africa to mathematical models in random disturbances. For Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Dutch Research Council.

An article by assistant professor Caspar Jacobs has been included in the prestigious Philosophers’ Annual, which compiles the ten best philosophy articles each year. In ‘Comparativist Theories or Conspiracy Theories?’, he addresses the question of whether objects have fundamental properties.

The life cycle of comets near the star Beta Pictoris is similar to that of comets in our own solar system. This is the conclusion of a team of astronomers from the Netherlands, France and Brazil. It seems that, just like in our own solar system, there are fewer comets as the star gets older. The researchers,…

Aske Plaat is the scientific director of LIACS, the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Systems. He is also an ambassador for Leiden University's LGBT+ Network. His enthusiasm shines through when he explains why.

Alumnus Théo Pavlović received the Master's Speckmann award for his thesis: PAN RECORDS - A digital journey through the ethnic music niche that was supervised by Bart Barendregt. This price is awarded to the best fieldwork reports for ethnographic fieldwork. It includes a certificate and a prize of…

Facility

The Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR) and the Beheerstichting Theologische Fondsen hand out two thesis prizes each year, one for the best bachelor thesis and one for the best master thesis.

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded Nathaniel Martin a Proof of Concept (PoC) grant. With it, his group aims to make a dangerous but potent antibiotic less toxic. He receives €150.000.

What are the benefits for us of collaboration with Chinese partners? What sparks off Leiden researchers' interest in collaborating with colleagues in China? Leiden University shows in three short films what joint projects are like.

Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor of Law & Technology at eLaw, is co-author of the article 'Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) 2.0: A Manifesto of Open Challenges and Interdisciplinary Research Directions' which has been awarded the 2025 Best Paper Award by Information Fusion.

During the Food for Thought lunch meeting on 2 December, colleagues from across the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs gathered for the SSH Sectorplan theme Resilience in Youth to exchange insights and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration.

To increase the accuracy of climate models, it is crucial that they include past human land-use and human-driven vegetation changes. Here archaeology can make an important contribution. Current models are based on reconstructions of past vegetation. However, their accuracy is limited because it does…

The more than 370 sensors that have been hung up in Leiden University buildings to count the people present will not be switched on again. The equipment will eventually be removed from the buildings.

Op woensdagmiddag 17 mei vindt een groot evenement plaats, waar alle Leidse onderzoekers kunnen kennismaken met de interdisciplinaire stimuleringsprogramma’s om samenwerkingsmogelijkheden te verkennen. Waarom is dat ook voor jou interessant? We geven vier redenen.

The Digital Legal Talks (DLT) conference is part of the Dutch Sector Plan Law, which is a key component of the broader Sector Plan Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). This initiative represents a collaborative effort between Tilburg University, the University of Amsterdam, Radboud University Nijmegen,…

Identifying novel antibiotic compounds to tackle antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers from Leiden University and VU Amsterdam will unite through a project now funded by NWO’s Open Technology Programme (OTP), which awarded the collaboration nearly one million euros.

On 19 June, the grounds of the Kamerlingh Onnes Building were transformed into LAWLANDS! It had everything: sun, music, science, beach, games, quizzes and, above all, an enthusiastic audience of staff and students.

Het National Ocean Decade Committee heeft twee nieuwe leden benoemd van de Universiteit Leiden. Hilde Woker en Renate Reitsma zullen zich als leden van dit comité inzetten om het het belang van oceaanwetenschappen te promoten.

LUC students and staff came together this past semester to transform a local urban garden into a hands-on space for learning, experimentation, and community building.

The call for the ’26-’27 Kiem grant opens on Monday 30 March. Leiden University staff can apply for 10,000 euros for an interdisciplinary research or teaching initiative. This is the last Kiem round.

For her research on social-emotional regulation in children Michelle Achterberg on Wednesday, May 25 2022 received the Dutch Association of Developmental Psychology (VNOP) Dissertation Prize. With her PhD research, she mapped out which mechanisms play a role in social emotion regulation in childhood.…

In consultation with the Executive Board of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and having heard the views of the Faculty Council, the Executive Board has appointed Bart Barendregt as Dean of the Faculty until 1 April 2027.

On February 28th of this year Dr. Andrzej Tadeusz Antczak died of cancer after a long battle. Until his retirement in 2023 Andrzej was attached to the Faculty of Archaeology as an Associate Professor in Caribbean Archaeology. From 2017 until 2020 he was the Head of the Department of World Archaeology,…

Rob Jetten presented his very first cabinet on Monday 23 February. Three members have ties with Leiden University.

Organisation

Mohammad Bin Khidzer recently joined the Institute for History as a Postdoc, as part of Fenneke Sysling's ERC Starting Grant project COMET: Human Subject Research and Medical Ethics in Colonial Southeast Asia. Below he introduces himself.

Vanessa mak knaw

Senior Researcher at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and Associate Fellow of The Hague Program of Cyber Norms François Delerue was awarded the 2021 Book Prize of the European Society of International Law for his book Cyber Operations and International Law published by Cambridge University…

Lowlands Science is looking for researchers who want to conduct their research on site.

Three Leiden students will be sharing their knowledge of history while playing video games. The livestreams are part of the ‘Streaming the Past’ project and will be available on the popular streaming platform Twitch. The first livestream will be on Thursday 20 May.

With great sadness we share the news that Prof. Harold Linnartz passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday 31 December 2023. We are all in shock, and our thoughts are with his wife and children, other family, and friends. Harold was at the heart of our institute, as a researcher, as a supervisor,…

For the first time, a group of international and interdisciplinary researchers led by Karline Janmaat and her former MSc Student Chirag Chittar, have tested the several hypotheses on music simultaneously in a modern foraging society during their daily search for tubers – their staple food.

The Executive Board proposes to take the decision to suspend the existing institutional student exchange programmes with two Israeli universities, and until further notice not to engage in any new exchange programmes with Israeli universities that have comparable links with the Israeli military (the…

A delegation from Leiden University visited the Netherlands Institute Morocco (NIMAR) in Rabat at the end of February.

Research and education at the intersection of law and technology is more important than ever. With its 40 years of experience, the eLaw department, founded in 1985, is ready for the future. Time to reflect on four decades of innovation.

Three years on, and interest in Ukraine certainly hasn't waned. The auditorium at the Wijnhaven location was fully booked on Monday. Hundreds of people, including top military brass, listened to Defence Minister Brekelmans' speech. He pointed out to them: 'Here in the Netherlands, we're now living in…

They dreamed of Brussels, worked hard and finally succeeded: working for Europe. The list of Leiden University alumni in Brussels is long. A few days before the European elections, Julia Gencheva and Vincent Miča talk about how they ended up in Brussels and what their jobs entail.

Graphic Novels and Comics have developed from pulp status to an entirely self-contained medium. This form of storytelling is not limited to stories of superheroes but has been used, molded and reshaped to display historical events, classic stories and autobiographical memoirs. But where should you begin…

A culture change is needed within the University in the area of Recognition and Rewards, and a start can now be made on bringing about that change. The Recognition and Rewards steering group has published a change vision and recommendations people can start to work with. Their advice has been welcomed…

In this series the Vice-Dean and portfolio holder of education in the board of the Faculty of Archaeology reflects on the state of education.

In the ESOF2022 mini-symposium organized by the Social Resilience & Security programme, international experts with a background in psychology, philosophy, and law discussed how the online world is related to adolescent mental health issues, moral and emotional awareness and children’s rights. In three…

On this page you will find an overview of the main digital tools available for teaching faculty. These tools will help you in different aspects of your teaching, such as online teaching, testing, collaborative learning and creation of video and audio materials.

Bachelor, Master

The PhD track involves many different aspects. As well as important administrative steps that you have to take, for example, there are also introductory activities, a training programme and opportunities for research abroad.

With its ‘Quality Agreements’, Leiden University is working to improve the quality of its teaching. Much has been done since they began at the end of 2018. At a meeting for delegates from all the faculties and the University Council on 11 June, it became clear just how much has already been achieved…

Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, is organising a book launch for his new book: 'Ruminations: Framing a sense of self and coming to terms with the other'. The book launch will take place on Thursday 15 December from 16.00-17.00 hrs. at…

The university bid farewell to its Rector Magnificus, Hester Bijl, on 13 January during the ‘Hester’s Highlights’ symposium.

There is a real chance of war closer to home, political and military leaders in Europe have warned. What does Frans Osinga, Professor of War Studies, think about the threat and what we should do?