Professor of Science Communication Ionica Smeets will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University. She receives the award because she exemplifies how science communication can bridge the gap between experts and the general public.

After a succesful first lecture, the Leiden physics institute LION is launching an online series of (Dutch language) lectures about physics, intended for a broad audience, named the Tatiana Afanassjewa lectures. Upcoming speakers are science historian Dirk van Delft, neutrino physicist Dorothea Samtleben…

Cosine Marco Beijersbergen has been appointed as one of the distinguished 62 fellows of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE). With these fellows, the NAE emphasises the importance of technological innovation for sustainable social change. The inauguration is on 13 November.

Emeritus professor Liesbeth Eurelings-Bontekoe received the royal award from the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam for her great contribution to the quality of care, especially to clinical and health care psychology.

Health psychologist Liesbeth van Vliet receives International recognition for her research on doctor-patient communication in the setting of advanced, life-limiting illnesses. She has been awarded the Post Doctoral Research Award at the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) World Congress…

On Thursday 21 September the first monthly ILS lunch of the academic year took place. Prof. Jannemieke Ouwerkerk, from the Department for Criminal Law and Criminology, presented her research on “The Exercise of EU Criminalisation Powers after Lisbon”, showing an insight in the motives behind the harmonization…

On 11 November, Leiden University and the '3 October Vereeniging' confirmed their special relationship and collaboration in a covenant. This document lays down the way in which the two partners will be involved in the future celebration and commemoration of the Relief of Leiden.

Tradition has it that at the end of each academic year, the best master’s thesis in Political Science is awarded a prize. For 2021-2022, the jury is considering six nominations. All of great quality, but on different topics. These range from political party bans to questions regarding commitment within…

Hoogleraar Law & Society Maartje van der Woude is door de Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta gevraagd om een lezing te geven ter gelegenheid van de 96e dies natalis van de Indonesische universiteit.

The Executive Board has decided to appoint Marike Knoef as Professor of Empirical micro-economics, commencing January 2018.

A linguistics journal based at Leiden University has risen to the ranks of the top-10 journals in the Humanities.

The Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award is presented every two years on 10 December (Human Rights Day) in recognition of outstanding academic works in the field of international human rights.

Talha Gunay has recently authored a policy brief for the Horizon 2020 project, MIGNEX. The brief acknowledges the relocation of returnees as a potentially viable solidarity tool, provided that it is implemented with effective monitoring and that the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers or cancellation…

eLaw is thrilled to let you know that on 29 April (17:00-19:00), we will be hosting Prof. Luciano Floridi, Prof. Brett Frischmann and Prof. Shoshana Zuboff on the online (zoom) panel discussion with the question – Should online targeted advertisement be banned on the premise that it violates human d…

'Her publications demonstrate a strong combination of science and practice’, according to the jury. Cramwinckel received the Stevens Award on 9 February 2024 in recognition of her scholarly publications and work in practice and education.

The EU proposal for a regulatory framework on artificial intelligence will not prevent the dangers of cybercrime or the spreading of fake news using ChatGPT. Cyber criminals can use the new technology to write harmful software, phishing mails and fake news.

The winner of this year’s Iris Medal for Excellent Science Communication is Professor of Science Communication Ionica Smeets.

On 10 November 2018 Melanie Fink, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Europa Institute, spoke at the Workshop ‘Accountability for Human Rights Violations in Migration Control: New Frontiers of Individual and Organisational Responsibility’.

On Friday 27 September, through all weathers, Bachelor of Psychology graduates gathered at the Hooglandse Kerk with family and friends to receive their diplomas.

Ludo Waltman, professor of Quantitative Science Studies at Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), has been awarded the Derek de Solla Price Medal.

On 13 October 2023, Tuvana Aras, PhD Candidate at the Europa Institute and the International Institute of Air & Space Law, took part in the Second Max Planck Law Conference for Young European Scholars hosted by the Max Planck European Law Group in Frankfurt, Germany.

The civil lawsuit against the Congregation of 'Onze Lieve Vrouw van Liefde van de Goede Herder' starts this week. A total of 19 women, aged from 62 to 91, together with the women’s rights foundation Clara Wichmann wants recognition through the courts that there was a situation of forced labour at youth…

By the time you read this message, it will already be February. But since this is our first newsletter of the year, I still feel compelled to wish all of you a very happy New Year!

Dr. Ben Van Rompuy participated as an invited expert in the annual Congress of the International League of Competition Law (LIDC), held this year in Vienna from 9 to 12 October.

Lisanne Rens has been awarded the 2017 H. D. Landahl Mathematical Biophysics Award. Rens is a PhD student at the CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica) in Amsterdam and also affiliated with the Leiden University Mathematical Institute.

Erik Deul was awarded a royal decoration on Wednesday afternoon. He has been appointed Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Mayor Peter Heijkoop of Leiden presented him with the honour.

Simulation project EAGLE has won the 2022 Group Achievement Award of the Royal Astronomical Society. EAGLE is a large collection of simulations about the formation of galaxies. The largest simulation contains as many as 6.8 billion particles and took months to calculate on the world's fastest superc…

At the start of the year a lot of journals publish lists of their most cited papers of the previous year. Three papers published by Leiden archaeologists were ranked in the top 10 of the Journal of Archaeological Science: reports.

At the 66th Ordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 15 December 2024, a landmark decision was made to establish the Special Tribunal for The Gambia.’ (Press release by the Ministry of Justice of The Gambia)

Dr Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor at eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies, has been appointed Co-Rapporteur for a new joint project of the European Law Institute (ELI) and the American Law Institute (ALI): 'Principles for the Governance of Biometrics'. The project aims to formulate…

Wim van Saarloos will become vice president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and return to the Leiden Institute of Physics as professor of theoretical physics. Currently, Van Saarloos is Transition Director at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Following years of negotiations between Member States and the European Parliament, there’s finally been a breakthrough for migration policy. What does it mean for the Netherlands, exactly? Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor in Immigration Law, discusses this on various media channels.

Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade has received a special award: the Order of St. Mellitus, in recognition of her services to the history of the Bishops of London.

In 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the Preventive Restructuring Directive (2019/1023), providing for minimum harmonisation of, among others, preventive restructuring frameworks (PRF). This book, published in February 2024, provides in-depth analyses of its implementation in seven…

The wave of restitutions expected after French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 promise to return stolen art to Africa has hit legal and political roadblocks. But while former colonial powers are shying away, it seems 'New World' countries have started doing more to repair crimes against First Natio…

Frank den Hollander has received the Humboldt Research Award of €60,000. He was nominated by two German colleagues with whom he is working together for an extensive period of time. ‘The award was a complete surprise to me.'

Szmulewicz, a PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University, gave two online presentations on ‘The unitary and decentralized state’ and ‘The need to strengthen the autonomy of the territories in the new Constitution in order to reduce regional inequalities’…

VVD party members last week voted in favour of the new distribution law, which could oblige municipalities to accommodate asylum seekers. This happened after Prime Minister Rutte pledged to work on curbing the influx of asylum seekers. To what extent can he deliver on that promise?

On 7 and 8 November, we celebrated a special milestone during the graduation ceremony for the bachelor’s students in Law, Notarial Law, Tax Law and Criminology.

Professor Nivja de Jong has been included in the list of most influential scientists by Elsevier Data Repository. This list of scientists with the highest impact is compiled annually based on citations. De Jong appears on the annual list for the third consecutive time.

Atte Ahola, who graduated last year from the bachelor’s programme in Urban Studies, has won the award for Best Undergraduate Thesis in Europe in the category of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Global Undergraduate Awards 2025.

Who wouldn’t want their own episode of Het Klokhuis? Researchers Milica Nikolic and Chris Riddell are in the running for the Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs, which aims to introduce a broad and young audience to scientific research in the Netherlands.

Lecture

In a column on Mr. Online, Dirk Visser, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, looks at what You Tube is doing or should be doing to counter copyright infringements on the platform in a credible and effective manner.

Amid the many traditions of Leiden’s 3 October Festival, a relative newcomer is beginning to take hold: the Science Market. At market stalls, the people of Leiden could explore or even participate in Leiden’s research – performing an ‘operation’ in the street, for example.