Fat is a very valuable food component, packed with calories, especially important when other resources might be scarce. Our earliest ancestors in Africa already cracked open bones to extract the fatty marrow from bone cavities. But now a new study published in Science Advances demonstrates that our…

Pioneering in the archaeology of Somaliland, hosting international TV and radio shows, and producing a very successful MOOC: Dr Sada Mire already has a formidable track record.

It is crucial that Leiden University reflects on its colonial history. These were the words of Cleveringa Professor Gert Oostindie in his inaugural lecture on 24 November. ‘As a university community, we must dare to hold up a mirror to ourselves and, where possible and necessary, also take concrete…

The story of Tutankhamun, the Egyptian pharaoh, is world famous. But did you know that the Ancient Egyptians mummified not only people but animals too? The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden recently put a bunch of animal mummies through a CT scanner. This was in collaboration with Canon Netherlands…

Physicist Scott Waitukaitis receives an NWO Veni grant to research the Leidenfrost effect for squishy materials. This effect is well-known for dancing water droplets in a frying pan.

Leiden chemist Marc Koper is the winner of the 2017 Faraday Medal for his significant contribution to electrochemistry, from fundamental science to practical application.

On Saturday 7 December, Leiden professor of Observational Astrophysics Ignas Snellen received the Hans Sigrist Prize from the University of Bern. The prize was awarded to him for his groundbreaking research on planets outside our own solar system.

Recently, the BAIS Alumni Association organised their yearly reunion. Due to the current circumstances, there was a twist: the reunion – as many events that are currently being organized – took place online. This was a perfect solution for a Bachelor programme that finds its students from all over the…

SAILS started the new year with a new professor. Joost Batenburg will join the SAILS team with his expertise in Imaging and Visualisation. This makes him the second professor appointed for the SAILS programme.

On 7 November, the Europe Hub welcomed Pierre Bachelier, Director of Student Affairs at the College of Europe, to Leiden University. Mr Bachelier presented the College of Europe's postgraduate programmes that Leiden University students can take once they have completed their master's degrees.

Professor Amir Zadpoor is developing biomaterials, and engaging in 3D, 4D, and bioprinting. 'Collaboration and regular contact with clinicians serve as a sanity check for all our ideas.'

Looking for a great day out during the Christmas holidays? The University’s Rembrandt Route in Leiden is a fun and educational activity for both young and old. This special outdoor exhibition takes in seven University buildings, and there’s a treasure hunt for children [in Dutch]. Get your free English…

Students came from far and wide to the Master’s Open Day to make sure that a Master’s in the Humanities at Leiden University is the best option for them.

Dennis Broeders has been appointed 'Global Chair' at the University of Bath for the year 2023-2024.

As of February, Pepijn Reeser steps down as the project director of the Taalmuseum (the Language Museum). Exhibition designer and project manager Tessa Askamp takes over his role.

We can all do something to contribute to men working less and being more active at home, argues university lecturer Max van Lent in a podcast of Dutch ‘De Telegraaf' newspaper.

As of 1 July, Professor of Mathematical Biology Roeland Merks has got a full appointment at Leiden University. Before this expansion, he worked one day a week at the Mathematical Institute (MI). Merks will work half of his full appointment at the MI and the other half at the Institute of Biology Leiden…

With the official launch of the Al-Babtain Leiden University Centre for Arabic Culture, Leiden University and the AbdulAziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation have opened the door for new opportunities of cultural and academic exchange. Have a look at last week's festivities.

The Jan Brouwer thesis award for social sciences 2015 was awarded last April 14th to Master graduate in Public Administration Raffael Hanschmann for his thesis “The impact of the economic crisis on EU environmental policy making. Insights from discourse network analysis”.

Prof.dr. Annelou van Gijn has obtained a Marie Curie subsidy for research on wetland activity patterns in Mesolithic Northwest Europe. This funding has been used to employ the researcher dr. Aimée Little. The project will commence in November 2011.

Every day, Veilig Thuis employees receive hundreds of reports of domestic violence and child abuse. Despite their efforts, they are heavily criticised due to the long waiting times. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, appeared on talk show ‘Eva’ to discuss the Dutch care and welfare…

Geert de Snoo is making the transition from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology to the management of KNAW. Starting 1 October, the professor of Environmental Biology will begin his role as Director of Research Policy in a new, consensus-based management team.

Mass claims are increasingly common in the Netherlands. Branda Katan, Professor by special appointment in Corporate Law, spoke to news website NU.nl about the chances of their success: ‘A lot of time and money goes into these cases.’

Urgent sociatal challenges such as global warming, international security and migration can not be solved by national parliaments. The House of Representatives loses control over problems that are being tackled at European level. The recommendations of the state commission are inadequate.

Minister Kajsa Ollongren has offered the new training programme for council members at the congress for council members in Den Bosch. The training program is compiled by the Centre for Professional Learning at Leiden University in The Hague, and is made available to all (new) council members by the…

Lodewijk Govaerts has been appointed by Ingrid van Engelshoven, caretaker Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), as a member of the Board of Governors of Leiden University.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has granted health psychologist Andrea Evers a visiting professorship funding for Luana Colloca. This funding is linked to the KNAW’s Visiting Professors Programme which enables outstanding foreign researchers to spend time working in the Netherlands.…

Will Belgian politician Didier Reynders become the new secretary-general of the Council of Europa? At the end of January he submitted his candidacy and he now only has one rival: the Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marija Burić.

We are very happy to announce two new teachers in the Practicum Artium programme: Nadine Stijns and Yin Yin Wong.

The Moria deal has been marked as a controversial issue in the formation process for a new Dutch government – a development that fits with the government’s hesitancy in implementing what is already a meagre asylum policy, writes master’s student Nina Fokkink in an article in Dutch newspaper NRC.

Following a period of intensive discussion, the University Council (UR) approved the University Quality Standards Plan on 10 December. The UR endorses the content of the plan in broad terms and is pleased with the extra efforts made by the University.

On 15 March, the Centre for Digital Scholarship at Leiden University Libraries has started the pilot ‘You share we take care’. In cooperation with Leiden University researchers, the program aims to make publications freely available six months after initial publication. More than 60 researchers from…

Professor Andrew Webb has been appointed Simon Stevin Master 2017 by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, an award that carries a prize of 500,000 euros. Webb, who is Professor of MRI Physics at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), will use this funding to focus on developing new…

Demissionair minister Weel rest nog maar één maand de tijd om een nieuw Asielnoodmaatregelenwet te leveren, waarin illegaal verblijf strafbaar wordt gesteld. Geerten Boogaard, hoogleraar staats- en bestuursrecht, schat in dat dit niet lukt, zegt hij in Trouw

On 13 June the first Leiden Disability Studies Lunch was organized upon the initiative of the ERC Rethinking Disability team, based in the Institute for History. Its aim was to allow students and staff members from across various institutes of the Faculty of Humanites and also from other faculties to…

As of 1 February prof. Mariëlle Bruning, dr. Stephanie Rap and Denise Verkroost LL.M. will start the second part of the research project concerning the participation of children in youth care.

On Wednesday 18 May, the students of the LL.M. Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights presented their work to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child with the aim to provide recommendations on how to make its decision more accessible to children.

Hugo de Jonge, currently Minister of Housing, has chosen to appear before the Dutch House of Representatives to talk about his time as ‘Covid Minister’. This sets a dangerous precedent according to Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law at Leiden University. However, under Dutch constitutional…

Joanita Vroom, Professor Archaeology of Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia at the Faculty of Archaeology, has again received a DANS Klein DataProject (KDP) bursary for her project entitled ‘Data Atlas of Byzantine and Ottoman Material Culture: Archiving Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeological Fieldwork…

With the What's Next? series we hope to inspire current Media Technology MSc students, show the variety of paths taken after the studies, and bring together alumni. Editions of the series are generally organized around a particular theme by Media Technology MSc students themselves, and followed by social…

Japanese newspapers, photo archives from the Dutch East Indies or information on gender and sexuality: all these can be found in the University Library's 621 humanities databases. A flyer campaign to raise awareness of them begins this week.

Dr Antonio Missiroli has been appointed as Associate Senior Policy Fellow for Emerging Security Threats at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA).

Mayke Kaag has been appointed Professor of the Anthropology of Politics and Governance in Africa at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (CADS) on behalf of the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL).

The Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) received a grant award from NWO for a joint proposal with Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI, Amsterdam), Tata Steel (IJmuiden), BMW (Munich), and database company MonetDB. Within the NWO Data Science program ‘challenging big data‘, LIACS is…

It is with great sadness that Leiden University has learned of the death of Professor Cees Fasseur (11 December 1938–13 March 2016)

Underneath you will find the 12 most important Facebook events that took place at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs in the past year, and an overview of our Instagram highlights of 2018.

Italy recently struck a deal with Albania to accommodate thousands of boat migrants in two reception centres in Albania. Is this not contrary to asylum law? Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor in immigration law comments in a Dutch RTL news article.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dutch group of the Francophone comparative law Association Henri Capitant the Dutch group organises a symposium on Thursday 21 September 2017 in Leiden.

On Wednesday 16 June 2021, Karim Khan was sworn in at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Experts say this is no easy time to join the ICC.

Ticketmaster – the largest ticket sales company in the world – is under fire from both consumers and Dutch MPs. The reason is the sale of tickets for the Lowlands festival, where resale tickets are costing at least 100 euros more than the original ticket price of 300 euros. Political parties GroenLinks,…