Starting with the ‘why’, putting herself in her students’ shoes and providing structure. These are three ways in which environmental scientist Ranran Wang tries to make her course as interesting and manageable as possible. With success: she has been nominated for Science Teacher of the Year 2022.

Young researchers met this month for the fifth Science Communication Summer School. ‘This is the first time some participants get to meet other researchers who also enjoy science communication. It’s great to see’, says Julia Cramer, one of the coordinators.

From time management and mindfulness to online leadership. Nearly all of the training courses, coaching sessions and introductions offered by HRM Learning & Development are now online. Programme coordinator Jasmijn Mioch and trainee Marleen Zwetsloot explain the options.

A group of biology students are working on a solution to the world’s plastics problem by getting bacteria to make biodegradable plastic.

The question of land property titles is a common source of conflict between indigenous communities and federal authorities all over the Americas. A new Panamanian law have led indigenous communities to reach out to archaeologist Dr Natalia Donner. A grant from the Centre for Indigenous American Studies…

Since 2008 every half a year an SBB student starts with an internship for Merck Serono Ventures in Geneva. Head of the company Roel Bulthuis selects and works with the SBB interns and shares his experiences as an employer. He is very pleased.

Leiden prof. emeritus Grzegorz Rozenberg is honoured with the first life time award in formal languages, a research area of theoretical computer science. During a small ceremony at his house, he received a statue that was specially made for the occasion.

Are there cross-cultural principles of law?

The prestigious American Journal of Comparative Law (2016, pp. 790-4) just published a book review of Sofia Ranchordas monograph ‘Constitutional Sunsets and Experimental Legislation’ (Edward Elgar). The book is partially based on her PhD dissertation for which she was awarded a cum laude doctorate degree…

LUC student Imane el Morabit is one of the winning students of the Next Generation Women Leaders Award 2017, presented by the consultancy firm McKinsey & Company.

In a newly published book chapter, Transparency and information: Factors needed to promote ethical investments, ELS lab member Sarah Vandenbroucke discusses why information and transparency are needed to promote ethical investments.

ELS lab member Helen Pluut concluded this year’s lecture series on Empirical Methods in Legal Research. Helen discussed diary studies as an example of multilevel research designs.

We are happy to announce that the following missions have been approved by the Ministry of Antiquities, pending final security confirmations:

Last Wednesday February 7th, LUC The Hague celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2017 ½. Around 250 guests joined the ceremony at Leiden University’s Wijnhaven building, followed by a festive reception at LUC The Hague in honour of the 34 graduates.

On October 21st, 2019, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, handed out the National Prize for the Youth in the academic achievement category to our PhD candidate Omar Aguilar Sánchez. He received this honour for his work on Mixtec pictorial manuscripts.

The short documentary film was selected to the short film corner of the Cannes Film Festival.

The construction work on the South Cluster is going ahead throughout the summer. See the photo's and the video below!

The subject of the research is ‘difference and repetition’, an area which bears a direct relationship to Wjm Kok’s practice, in which the production of work always emerges and passes through series.

Alumna Minke Lok (26) programmes many announcements in various languages at almost all major airports in Europe, including at Schiphol. ‘Millions of people around the world hear what I create.’

Radio telescope LOFAR maps the sky. It produces incredibly detailed images of the universe - and vast amounts of data. Huub Röttgering, director of the Leiden Observatory, talks about the challenges of working with those enormous datasets.

The seminar is dedicated to the work-in-progress of Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy staff and doctoral students. The paper is sent in advance and discussed in the meeting. The seminar is open to all.

Crime victims cannot always fully exercise their rights, said Maarten Kunst, Professor of Criminology, in his inaugural lecture on 26 October. His mission is to find out why exactly this is and to see whether change can be brought about.

At first glance, archaeology seems like a job that is hard to take home. Nothing could be further from the truth though! Our archaeologists are currently developing new dating methods, are looking for lost cities in their living rooms, and perform daring acts of experimental archaeology!

At the Capstone Conference, Honours College students of the Humanities Lab presented their final projects. In small groups, they conducted research on relevant societal issues – gathering insights from a multitude of disciplines. ‘The aim is to learn as much as possible from each other.’

Brain research and statistics are advancing our understanding of language and language acquisition. Linguists are still essential, however, says Professor of Dutch Linguistics Sjef Barbiers. Inaugural lecture on 8 December.

From 25 to 31 October, Professor Simone van der Hof was on a working visit to China with a delegation from Leiden Law School, including our dean Professor Joanne van der Leun.

Work started today on the Kolffpad student complex, with 289 flats for students from Leiden University. Stichtnig DUWO will own the building and the University owns the site at the Bio Science Park. The building should be complete by mid-2023.

The Leiden University Medical Center is being transformed into a Teddy Bear Hospital in the week of 20 to 24 March. During this week more than a thousand children will care for their favourite cuddly toy under the watchful eyes of Leiden's medical students. The aim of the event is to reduce children's…

In May of 2023, an agreement was signed between Leiden PhD candidate Jonathan Ouellet and General Director Onggar Akan of the A. Kh. Margulan Archaeological Institute in Almaty. The aim: a detailed study of the numismatic history of Southern Kazakhstan.

Home workers experience less time pressure and feel better as a result. This appears from PhD research conducted by Maral Darouei, who defends her dissertation from home on 9 June.

The world’s population is expected to rise to 9 billion people in 2050. At the same time, climate change urges us to dramatically reduce our use of resources. Does the transition to a circular economy offer us a way out, and if so, how? Master Honours Class’ students are looking into this issue: ‘Change…

Since January the Dutch public have been able to follow a free course on artificial intelligence (AI) and its far-reaching impact on our lives. Leiden scientists Marlies van Eck and Valerie Frissen, from the Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of the Law at Leiden's Law Faculty, are part of the…

Is aggression always bad? PhD research by psychologist Simone Dobbelaar shows that it is not. In fact, children who occasionally fiercely defend themselves and stand up for their peers often feel better mentally.

Associate professor Rens Tacoma has won the 2021 Research Prize for Historical Sciences. The prize is awarded annually by the Italy Studies Working Group for the best scholarly publication in the field of Italy Studies in Dutch or Flemish academia.

Work has begun on an accommodation complex for international PhD candidates and postdocs at the Leiden Bio Science Park.

New ways of working like working from home can have a positive impact on a person’s career, but only when their superior supports their choice. Researcher Maral Darouei will defend her PhD thesis on sustainable careers on 9 June 2020.

Akke de Hoog (26) helps asylum seekers whose application has been rejected to plan their future and voluntary return to their country of origin. Her master’s programme taught her about migration and how international politics, the climate and the economy impact different migration flows, as well as…

Together with physiotherapist and lifestyle therapist Jaap Wonders of SMC Rijnland, Helen Pluut conducted research during the first COVID-19 wave on the experiences of working people. The reason for the research was the compulsory situation of working from home many people found themselves in. One of…

Working as a diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: for many students it would be their dream. Alumnus Tom Groot Haar is busy making it a reality. 'My career seems like a preconceived plan, but it wasn't.'

A common notion is that autistic people feel no need for social contact, that they are socially clumsy and show little prosocial behavior. But is that image correct? According to developmental psychologist Carolien Rieffe, an important goal of Autism Awareness Week (March 28 - April 5) is to remove…

Work might not always be enjoyable, but what if just a glance at the to-do list brings on a sense of dread? To initiate the conversation about this, the sixth Psychology Connected focused on work pressure and workplace enjoyment, offering tips rooted in positive psychology.

Every day, Arie Kraaijenoord (64) can be seen driving around in his little blue van, delivering the mail in and around the Lipsius building. He’s been with campus general services since the post of concierge was first created.

Jojanneke van der Toorn is kicking off the new Academia@WorkplacePride year with the LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium. As a social psychologist, she wants to share knowledge and gather experiences relating to diversity and inclusion at work

25 years ago the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University was founded. In the academic year of 2022-2023 several lustrum activities will be organised to celebrate this happy occasion. The year was kicked off with a vibrant party on September 8, inviting staff, students, and alumni.

Two short documentaries by Till F. Sonnemann highlight the work conducted by Leiden archaeologists on Hispaniola as part of the Nexus1492 project.

Cyber security is only for socially awkward nerds? Three alumni of the Cyber Security Academy prove the opposite.

Alexander Geurds, Andrea Waters-Rist, and Laura Van Broekhoven are in the race for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant (Canada).

On 14 and 15 September, the 'Lobbying the Courts' workshop took place in Paris. This was an interdisciplinary workshop in which researchers from different disciplines came together to brainstorm on whether, how, and when interest groups focus on the judicial process and the courts in their lobbying…