111 years ago, Heike Kamerlingh Onnis liquified helium for the first time, a tour the force that netted him the Nobel prize. It took a laboratory of a size rarely seen. Now, ultracold helium has become a commodity for physics research. In Wolfgang Löffler's lab, it is ready at hand thanks to a coffee…

Ominous witches, gruesome monsters, and hideous freaks: from Saturday 15 June, Kunsthal Rotterdam will be putting the spotlight on the shady depths of human imagination in the exhibition Hello darkness, my old friend. Seventy works on paper from the collection of the Leiden University Libraries confront…

She left Leiden after her PhD and now, 14 years later, she returns as Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy. Mariska Kriek investigates how galaxies originate and evolve. And she is eagerly awaiting the launch for the new James Webb telescope: ‘The coolest things we are going to find are those we’re…

Network-on-Chips are hardware that are used to communicate between different parts of a microchip. They have been around for over twenty years, but they still cannot be widely used in real life because they consume too much power. Computer scientist Peng Wang tried to find a solution for this power-inefficiency…

Modern Japanese culture can best be described in one word: cute. Hello Kitty, the most important symbol of cuteness, can be found in all layers of society. Leiden Japanologists Ivo Smits and Kasia Cwiertka put together a volume of articles on this curious phenomenon.

Tiny selenium particles could have a therapeutic effect on ischemic brain strokes by promoting the recovery of brain damage. Pharmacologists, including Alireza Mashaghi from the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research discovered that selenium nanoparticles inhibit molecular mechanisms that are responsible…

Asexual procreation in female wasps leads to an accumulation of genetic mutations, and the shrivelling of their sex organ. Leiden biologist Ken Kraaijeveld published this discovery in Evolution. His research is one of the first experimental studies into the consequences of asexual procreation.

Mindfulness is all the rage. But what is mindfulness and is this popular form of medication completely harmless? Come to the workshop on 19 September by Chris Goto-Jones, Professor of Philosophy and mindfulness therapist, and find out for yourself.

Leiden University is a fantastic example of a network university: we create an impact with the city, stakeholders and regional and international partners. The lines of communication are really short and there is a great sense of togetherness. Our good relations with the city have also informed how we…

Patients on patient forums share all sorts of things about their illness: from side effects and advice to messages of support. PhD candidate Anne Dirkson uses artificial intelligence (AI) to retrieve this information. ‘Ninety per cent of the side effects weren’t officially registered.’

Now that selling via digital platforms is flourishing, we need to take a closer look at the rights and obligations of all the parties involved. This is the subject of the inaugural lecture by Leiden Professor Vanessa Mak on 15 October.

Research master's student in history Jesse Dijkshoorn collaborated on a transcription system for medieval texts. ‘It’s nice to make the Middle Ages accessible to people.’

Researchers at LIACS have found a vulnerability in open-source code that’s been used around the world for over 15 years. They’ve also developed an AI-based tool to fix the problem automatically. ‘You really can’t afford to lean back.’

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies is proud to announce a fortified partnership with the International Bar Association to annually stage the largest moot competition focused on international criminal law: The International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition.

Twelve weeks of hard work later, the big moment has finally arrived: the third-year students of International Studies are ready to complete the 'Practising International Studies' (PRINS) consultancy programme by pitching their advice. We were invited to attend the presentations on behalf of Free Press…

Quantum Rules lab van Leiden Universiteit biedt proefjes en experimenten voor middelbare scholieren om te leren over kwantum natuurkunde. Henk Buisman vertelt over het 5 jarige jubileum.

On 7 May students from the Leiden Leadership Programme (LLP) and the International Leiden Leadership Programme (ILLP) gathered with an interdisciplinary panel to have a discussion about Intercultural Leadership.

Today is the general election in the Netherlands – although the polling stations have actually been open for two days already because of the coronavirus restrictions. Leiden researchers and students are involved in all manner of ways, and are analysing the campaigns and possible results.

Lecture hall A0.06 in the Schouwburgstraat in The Hague was packed with parents, friends and other loved ones on Friday, 27 September. No fewer than 61 graduates received their Urban Studies diploma there, the highest number in the four years since the programme started.

Neighbourhood newspapers, newsletters and Facebook groups: Leiden residents have dozens of ways to keep each other informed about news in their neighbourhood. Students from the pre-master's programme in Journalism and New Media mapped out all these different media and asked themselves: what is the future…

Even embryos can become embroiled in an evolutionary arms race with another species. Leiden biologists demonstrate this with larvae of the rosy bitterling that parasitize the gills of freshwater mussels. They published their research on February 19 in PNAS.

Students and PhD candidates come to Leiden and The Hague from all corners of the world. On 16 November, the municipality of Leiden presented current international students with a certificate as a token of appreciation for their presence in the city. ‘This makes me feel even more part of the local co…

After years of hard work, Urban Studies graduates were presented with their diplomas. How do they look back on their studies? And what can we expect from them in the future?

Twenty students and alumni from our faculty recently went on a working visit to NATO. Led by Leiden alumna Beaudine Verhoek (MA in International Relations), who is now Officer for Political Affairs and Security Policy at NATO, we were treated to an informative programme at the organisation’s brand-new…

Leiden University College The Hague received the 'Top rated Programme' seal from the Keuzegids Universiteiten 2023 (Dutch University Guide). It is the tenth consecutive time the Liberal Arts & Sciences programme focusing on Global Challenges is awarded the honorary seal.

Embryonic stem cells have the remarkable ability to develop into any type of cell. On their way to become for example a liver or a heart cell, they must repeatedly decide between alternative developmental paths. How they make these decisions is largely unknown. An international team of biophysicists…

'How is the Dutch government tackling the corona crisis?' and 'what are the most important aspects for such approach to succeed?' are questions that Dr. Sanneke Kuipers and Mr.drs. Wouter Jong explore in their article for the Montesquieu Institute.

For her bachelor’s thesis, Molecular Science and Technology student Madouc Bergers synthesized her own molecule that can inhibit the breakdown of sugars. Although most students do not even manage to make one building block, Madouc made three. Partly because of this, she has been nominated for the Science…

On 10 May 1940, the Netherlands was taken completely by surprise by the attack of the German army. Wasn’t it? In his dissertation, Wouter Linmans debunks the idea that the Second World War took the Netherlands by surprise. ‘From 1935 onwards, all major political parties wanted to invest in the military.’…

Leiden University College The Hague turns 7 today (29 September 2017). Lieke Schreel, educational director of LUC has been with the college from the start. She shares her thoughts on another year and birthday of the College.

The European University for Well-Being is organising a hackathon from 14 to 21 September to generate concrete proposals for this virtual university and to create a EUniWell identity. Leiden students and staff are welcome to take part.

Land van Ons, a cooperation that buys agricultural land for the restoration of biodiversity and landscape, and Leiden University join forces. Together, they will investigate over a longer period of time which agricultural management leads to the best restoration of biodiversity. The research will start…

Four professors specialising in migration will soon be appointed as Leiden-Delft-Erasmus professors: Professor Thea Hilhorst and Professor Peter Scholten (both Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Professor Marlou Schrover and Professor Olaf van Vliet (both Leiden University) will each receive a second…

On 27 January 2017 the fifth issue of the Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, titled 'Breaking the Rules: Artistic Expressions of Transgression', was published.

The American historian and Japan specialist Carol Gluck is the new Leiden Cleveringa professor for the 2014–2015 academic year. On 26 November 2014 she will give the Cleveringa inaugural lecture, in which she will examine how World War II is commemorated in Asia.

X-ray and CT scanners are widely used devices in research, diagnostics and the industrial sector. And yet they are not nearly as fast and accurate as we would like. Mathé Zeegers is researching the newest technique in the field at the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science: spectral X-ray imaging.…

How many cities were there actually in the Roman Empire? And why did some regions only have a few cities, while others consisted of a tight urban network? Luuk de Ligt, Professor of Ancient History, wants to know the answer to all these questions. With the ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million awarded to…

Leiden University Academy is making lifelong learning even better! The entire range of programmes on offer for professionals has been expanded and united under this name.

De Leidse student Noah Madretsma heeft de finale gehaald van de verkiezing voor VN-jongerenvertegenwoordiger Mensenrechten en Veiligheid. Wie is hij en waarom wil hij VN-jongerenvertegenwoordiger worden? Tijd om eens kennis te maken.

News from Food Citizens? Winter School alumnae

Spend an hour on any social media canal (Facebook, Twitter, you name it) and you will find opinions and frustration. Frustration about asylum seeker shelters being built in local villages; frustration about trade negotiations with the US, Ukraine or any other country; and thousands of opinions about…

In two weeks' time, the official opening of the Humanities Hub will take place in the Huizinga Building. The first projects have already begun. Professor Journalism and New Media Jaap de Jong and director of the AI and Digital Humanities Lab Jelena Prokic share their experiences.

Protests against textbooks on trans persons in America and against a reading hour by drag queens in Rotterdam: it has been raining protests recently against people with a gender expression that does not match their birth sex. Why does this evoke such resistance? We asked Professor by special appointment…

The Netherlands Institute in Morocco is open to students from all Dutch universities. Two students explain why they are spending a semester studying in Rabat.

The new programme Synoptic Optics, funded by the NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences, will develop new optical techniques. Researcher Frans Snik and Professor of Experimental Astrophysics Christoph Keller from Leiden Observatory will test novel approaches to monitor air pollution and discover…

The High Troughput Microscopy Dutch Flagship Node that includes the Leiden Cell Observatory Screening platform is now officially ratified as a Euro-BioImaging (EuBI) Node Candidate

Good education is the basis for a fair and sustainable society. To maintain a high level of education, teachers, pupils, lecturers and students need new resources. One of the ways that Leiden University supports them in this is by conducting academic research, largely together with practicing teaching…

In his inaugural lecture Dennis Claessen will explain how he wants to ensure that lecturers have less admin to do.

A TikTok by student Loïs de Jong from Leiden University in which Leiden sparkles as a student city won the final of the Leiden Media Contest on 13 June. According to the jury, the film was ‘the most appealing for today’s generation of current and prospective students – it includes nearly all elements…

All the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun in an ecliptical plane. This is to be expected because our solar system was formed from a so-called protoplanetary disc. PhD candidate Anna Miotello has studied these kinds of discs and how they influence the formation of stars and planets. PhD…