With the rise of AI, interest in computational linguistics and language models has taken flight. But machines are far from being able to go it alone. In her inaugural lecture, Professor Carole Tiberius will stress the importance of research on word combinations. ‘We know a great deal but there is a…

There are more molecules that could conceivably be candidate drugs than there are stars in the universe. How can we ever efficiently identify those molecules? Professor of AI and Medicinal Chemistry, Gerard van Westen: ‘I’m going to use artificial intelligence as the co-pilot to make an automated search.’…

Although there is considerable evidence that nature in the city is beneficial to both people and animals, we still do not have an overall picture of those benefits. To rectify that, a Leiden PhD candidate and a student – armed with a cargo bike – are using The Hague as a life-size laboratory.

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

Lecture

Exhibition

Finally we know for sure that there is a black hole at the centre of our own galaxy. Today, astronomers unveiled the first ever photo of Sagittarius A*, a super-massive object at the centre of the Milky Way. This picture could only be taken thanks to the cooperation of telescopes worldwide.

Chloe Gros is a Postdoctoral Researcher at eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies. Her work focuses on responsible AI for critical infrastructure as part of the AI:Liner project as well as on science for robot policy as part of the ERC StG SAFE & Sound project.

Mohammed Raiz Shaffique is a Researcher and PhD candidate at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies. He is conducting research on Age Assurance and Online Child Safety, as part of the Better Internet for Kids+ initiative of the European Union. He is doing his PhD on Law and Robotics (Physical…

Title research: Textualism: the final solution?

Dr Gavin Robinson PhD LLM is Assistant Professor in Criminal Law and Digital Technologies at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University.

Dr. Henning Lahmann is Assistant Professor at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies.

Dr. Carlotta Rigotti is an Assistant Professor at eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University. Her research sits at the intersection of law, gender, and technology, where she examines contemporary manifestations of structural and intersectional subordination of women that are…

Marie Schwed Shenker M.A. is a PhD candidate at eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies. She is conducting research on Law and Robotics (Social Assistive Robots) as part of the ERC StG SAFE & Sound project.

Professor B.H.M. (Bart) Custers PhD MSc LLM is full Professor of Law and Data Science and head of eLaw, Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University.

Remus Dame investigates the coupling of genome organization and genome activity and the factors that fine-tune these processes in bacteria and archaea. He studies the proteins involved in vitro as well as in vivo using state-of-the-art biochemical and biophysical approaches.

Gelijn Molier works since 1 September 2006 for the Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of the Law at the department of Jurisprudence, first as an assistant professor and since 2013 as an associate professor.

I am a Veni (NWO) post-doctoral researcher within the Human Origins and Material Culture Studies groups at the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden. My research concerns primarily pyrotechnology in the Palaeolithic, with a focus on fire use and fire making by Neandertals and early modern humans. As an archaeologist,…

Jan kolen is Professor of the History and Heritage of European Cultural Landscapes at the Faculty of Archaeology.

Simone van der Hof is a full Professor of Law and Digital Technology at the Center for Law and Digital Technology (eLaw) at Leiden Law School, Leiden University.

On Human Rights Day 2024, the International Court of Justice is charged by the General Assembly with delivering an Advisory Opinion asking, in effect, what does the climate crisis imply for the rights of vulnerable states and people? Researcher Jens Iverson shares his thoughts on this event.

A wind turbine near your home? The energy transition is not seen as just by all parties concerned. It’s essential to involve local residents, argues Emma ter Mors, social psychologist. As a researcher, she focuses on identifying factors that influence public acceptance of energy technologies. Isn't…

Dubai is teeming with world leaders these days at the United Nations' annual climate conference. What can we expect? We look ahead with university lecturer and environmental politics specialist Shiming Yang. 'The funding always comes slowly.'

A smart city is of no use if its residents don’t trust it. Tanaquil Arduin, Chief Data Officer at the Municipality of The Hague, and Bram Klievink, Professor of Digitalisation and Public Policy at Leiden University, explain how this can be avoided – to some extent. ‘Make sure civil servants and residents…

All over Europe you will find ethnographic museums with large collections of indigenous objects from Latin America. These collections shaped the image of native populations in the European mind. An ERC Starting Grant allows Dr Martin Berger to look at the bigger picture, contextualizing individual collections…

Conference

The theme of the Opening of the Academy Year on 4 September was sustainability and how the university could take the lead as a change agent. How is it going about this and what else can it do? There was also room for a critical note.

Should we ban snack bars from neighbourhoods where residents are overweight or have diabetes? At the Common Sense about Health knowledge festival, scientists, civil servants and other professionals discussed how South Holland can become healthier. The Healthy Society Map makes it clear where there are…

Open Mic

2021, again, sees a rich harvest of bachelor theses in Political Science. Students have been tackling fascinating subjects—ranging from European solidarity in the COVID-19 crisis to the representation of women in democratically elected parliaments—and crowning their research projects with interesting,…

On 15 January, the winner of the famed LION Image Award will be announced. Submissions ranged from the famous 3d printed microboat to an eerily abstract graph depicting a Majorana fermion.

The annual LION Image award goes to the 30 micrometer long 3D printed microboat image that went viral earlier in October 2020, submitted by Rachel Doherty of the Daniela Kraft lab.

On Thursday 15 January 2026, the Meijers Lecture was held and the Meijers Prizes and Van Wersch Springplank Prize presented. Suzan Stoter, Dean of Leiden Law School and portfolio holder for research, introduced the lecture to a full house.

Virtual reality is increasingly being studied in therapeutic contexts. While most studies have focused on adults, children may also stand to benefit. PhD researcher Nina Krupljanin is investigating how young people experience virtual environments – and the findings are encouraging.

How did you get to where you are now? This is a key question in the Academic Life Course board game, developed by and for academics. ‘In a normal working week we hardly ever talk about the career choices we make, but with this game, we do.’

The nominees for the IRO thesis prize 2021 and for the Prof. Dr. J.Th.J. van den Berg prize 2021. Who wrote the best Political Science bachelor’s theses?

Lecture, Food for Thought

Lecture, Open Mic

Wei Chu is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology and PI of the HOME project.

Gerrit Dusseldorp is an expert on the behaviour of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers both in Northwest Europe and South Africa.