For the duration of a month, the portraits of female professors only will hang in the Senate Chamber of Leiden University. This is the initiative of Athena’s Angels, who want more room for women, literally and figuratively. Vice-Rector Simone Buitendijk unveiled the portrait photos on 8 March.

Debate

Andrew DJ Shield (History) and Ann Marie Wilson (Leiden University College) have been awarded a seed grant for their project, “Transnational Gay/Lesbian Activism since the 1960s.” Granted: €3000.

To achieve societal impact, you need to do more than solely writing academic articles. That's the idea behind the Master Honours Class 'Leiden Revisited', in which students demonstrated with art how residents at the outskirts of Leiden experience the city. 'It's the perfect way to start the debate.'

Livia, aged 7, was in class four. She loved to chat and was good at reading aloud. At least, at home. At school she never read aloud and she hadn't spoken a single word. What was going on? Selective mutism was the subject of the inaugural lecture by Maretha de Jonge, Professor by Special Appointment…

The Veni grant is awarded annually by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). This year, multiple researchers from Leiden University and 2 researchers who will soon be working at the university will receive a Veni grant from the NWO. Thanks to this grant, which can amount to up to 320,000…

Always losing your way, even in places you’ve been visiting for years? You may have Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD). Psychologists from Leiden are investigating this relatively little-known condition at the Lowlands festival. ‘The ideal place to study getting lost.’

Poland votes for a new president in a first round of elections on Sunday. Lecturer Jan Meijer points out: ‘The result will have a lot of impact on Donald Tusk's liberal government and its plans for reforms.’

Lecture

Schools are essential to children’s development and provide numerous options for growth. They also facilitate learning beyond the classroom and give children tools that support their social and emotional development. But each child is different and some children have communication problems. How can…

Writing essays, refining grant applications, or creating a new course curriculum—ChatGPT assists students and researchers in these endeavours. What this new technology means for working in academia, was discussion at the fourth Psychology Connected event.

What should future education look like? And how can we make sure that young people develop to their full potential as bright and socially-minded adults? These and other questions were at the heart of two of the National Research Agenda's research routes. The first results of the routes were presented…

If you expect something is going to itch, the itching really does get worse. Leiden health psychologist Danielle Bartels has proved the effect of negative expectations on itching. What’s remarkable is that this nocebo effect in itching can be reversed. ‘That offers good prospects for clinical practice,’…

Four researchers from Leiden University will receive funding from arthritis foundation ReumaNederland over the next five years. This should facilitate long-term research into arthritis.

10 October is the Day of Sustainability. What is the current status of sustainability at Leiden University? Things are moving ahead. Professor of Environmental Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Geert de Snoo, outlines a new prospect: biodiversity.

Each month we will be spotlighting material we have been reading, or that have been recommended to us that relate to AI and a particular theme.

Conference

As a student in the programme Politicologie: Nationale en Internationale Politiek, you will examine societies and power relations with the analytical eye of a scientist. You will deal with interesting, important topics such as elections, civil wars and international cooperation. In doing so, you will…

Debate, Symposium

The newly opened Culture Arcade exhibition is a place where cultural heritage and video games come together. It is co-organized and curated by the VALUE Foundation of which Faculty staff members Aris Politopoulos and Csilla Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke are part of, together with the Prince Claus Fund.

Lecture, Lunch Talk

This research master specialisation involves general courses, track-specific courses, electives, research internship and your thesis.

What types of construction materials are used in the Global South, where are they, and what levels of societal services do they support? How will material use evolve under different development pathways and paradigms? What are these materials' environmental and societal impacts now and in the future,…

Seminars, workshops

Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University studies the everyday practices of individuals and groups around the world in relation to the complex global challenges of diversity, sustainability, and digitalisation.

The secular West is struggling with the rise of AI, but so too is Muslim Southeast Asia. What can we learn from each other?

Is it ethical to freely redistribute photographs taken in colonial contexts, historically and today? Christoph Rippe, PhD-candidate Cultural Anthropology, suggests that people might not have been always fully aware of what happened to their photographs after they were taken. 'But nowadays, with the…

In this Educatips collumns, Child and Education Studies lecturers share their key insights about teaching. This month: Rachel Plak and Karlijn Pieterse wanted to better prepare students in the course Autism and Diagnostics for clinical practice. That's why they introduced a new type of assignment.

The Dutch Development Bank's new SDG loan fund for green energy in the global south may not be as positive as it seems. Anthropology professor Marja Spierenburg raises concerns about its potential impact on local communities.

Laughing, crying or even having a moan together: close friends are worth their weight in gold in good and bad times. Researcher Lisa Schreuders explains the effects on body and mind. Can we give that magical click a helping hand? And what advice does she have for first-years in their new city?

The state, and specifically the idea of nationality, is almost all-determining in social life in the Netherlands. It determines how people identify, how we interact with each other, and what (in)equality in society looks like. However, ultimately, the idea that we can divide people into different nationalities…

In the ‘Educatips’ column, lecturers in Child and Education studies share their most important insights on teaching. This month: Tirza Smits, Kim Stroet and Marit Guda observed frustration among students working in groups, often due to poor communication. So they decided to build a tool to help.

On February 1st Cristina Grasseni started as Professor of Anthropology at the Institute for Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. She is bringing the ERC Consolidator project ‘Food Citizens?’ with her to Leiden. A few questions to get to know the new professor.

On Friday the 6th of September 2024, members of the Leiden University Medical Anthropology Network convened in the African Studies Center to discuss Global Health Interventions.

Parents from all corners of the university bring their children to De Kattekop, the university’s day nursery. How does manager Ellen Buschman use her psychology degree in her work?

Humans and bonobos show striking similarities as well as differences when they see pictures of conspecifics. Both are more interested in photos of conspecifics that show emotion. But while our human attention is more easily drawn to photos of family members and friends that express certain emotions,…

Leiden University was present for the second time at the second Leiden Pride on Saturday.

Alumna Fleur van Elk graduated cum laude for the research master's program Cognitive Neuroscience and started her PhD trajectory at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. For Humans of Psychology, Fleur talks about studying, working and has advice for current psychology students.

Leiden University is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of diversity and inclusiveness, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. This is the key message from the first annual report of the Sounding Board on Diversity Policy, presented to Vice-Rector Hester Bijl on 15 February.

Over the last 5-6 years Burkina Faso has become seriously implicated in the rapid and dramatic changes in the geopolitical situation in the Sahel. The country, once reputed for its stability and safety, has come under the spotlight for the number of violent attacks and of internally displaced people.…

Only one in five young people with emotional health problems such as an anxiety disorder receives appropriate professional help. GPs often fail to properly recognise the signals in children and young people, according to psychologist Semiha Aydin. How can we improve this? PhD defence 23 February.

With a grant from the Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund D//F, John Boy and members of the d12n research cluster will explore new ways critical technologists try to align their work with digital technology with the political goal of defending the public interest.

Five researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of on average 1.5m euros enables researchers who show potential to start their own project, lead a research team and implement their best ideas.

In the MS Cognitietour, psychologists and neuroscientists from Leiden University discuss the latest scientific knowledge with MS patients and their loved ones. This leads to insights: 'One lady told how much stress she felt from all those caregivers around her bed.'

At science festival 'Over de kop', surprising brain facts alternate with confronting stories from the operating room. Researchers explain why our brains love beans and why you should never ride a racing bike without a helmet.

There are approximately 60 million skateboarders worldwide. And yet in the academic world, this culture is not always looked upon seriously. Visual anthropologist Sander Hölsgens believes that this has to change. Last summer his book 'Skateboarding in Seoul' and the accompanying film 'Reverberations'…

Data about COVID-19 were everywhere during the pandemic, but how will all this data continue to be managed and kept open so that it is usable in the future? We spoke with Kathleen Gregory, researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), who will study this question in a new project…

In the fight for a liveable planet, we desperately need a fairer distribution of wealth and equal rights for all, argues anthropology professor Marja Spierenburg. ‘That will also generate broad-based support for sustainable development.’

Research master student Linda Bomm found in her thesis that men, compared to women, believe female sexual assault survivors less, blame women more, and judge them more negatively – especially if they identify strongly with their male gender.

Working in an operating theatre is a highly competitive sport. High work pressure, stress, and unexpected developments during operations. This requires a lot from care professionals who need to be mentally resilient to be able to deliver peak performances time and time again. What makes a care professional…