The Leiden Ranking – Open Edition is completely transparent. The ranking compiled by the CWTS uses open data and publishes the algorithms that are used.

On 13 January 2020, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named 95 members ACM Fellows who have demonstrated excellence across many disciplines of computing. Among the new ACM Fellows is Professor Holger Hoos of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, who was specifically selected…

A vaccine based on sugar coats does have the potential to combat a multi-resistant staphylococcus. That is what Jeroen Codée and his colleagues from Utrecht state in Nature. In doing so, they are contradicting the earlier conclusions of German colleagues.

For his PhD, historian and army major Dion Landstra researched the effectiveness of observers in peace operations in the Balkans between 1991 and 1995. What risks are acceptable for bringing about and maintaining peace? Landstra will defend his PhD on 28 September.

Leiden University publishes the highest percentage of preprints in the Netherlands. Why is that and why post your article online before it has been peer reviewed? Professor of Quantitative Science Studies and keen preprint poster Ludo Waltman explains.

On Thursday 1 December 2016 at 13.45 hrs, Francisco Sepulveda Ramirez will defend his doctoral thesis ‘Residence in Tax Treaties' at the Academy Building of Leiden University. Supervisor is Professor F.A. Engelen.

For long, the government showed little empathy for military veterans with physical or psychological scars. This is what PhD research by Theo van den Doel has revealed. The Ministry of Defence looked at each case through a legal lens. Veteran support has improved enormously since, but the policy does…

It is with deep sorrow that we share the news that our dear colleague Andrea Evers passed away on Monday, 4 August 2025. Since 2013, Andrea had been affiliated with the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University as Professor of Health Psychology. She was an undeniable driving force…

As of January 2022, Ivo van Vulpen has been Professor by Special Appointment of Science Communication at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION). Van Vulpen will be researching science communication in general and will aim to underline the value and importance of science communication.

From anxiety disorders to an extremely unhealthy lifestyle. In the Leiden University Treatment and Expertise Centre (LUBEC) children and adults receive treatment that is in line with the newest scientific insights. The centre is also a training and research institution, so students and researchers are…

Two Leiden students stand a chance of winning the ECHO Award for Higher Education. Deniz Rana Kuseyri (Rana for short) and Ruşen Koç are two of the six finalists for this annual national prize that is awarded to students who promote diversity and inclusion in their own discipline.

Ahab Bdaiwi, University Lecturer of Islamic history, religion and philosophy, was received the first Faculty Impact Award. His interest lies in ‘everything that has to do with antiquity’, especially the religious and philosophical ideas that arose at that time. ‘They can move people. And many of those…

This is a good time for it to happen, in the opinion of Professor of Fatherlands History, Henk te Velde. The abdication of Queen Beatrix is a good starting point for celebrating 200 years of the Dutch monarchy, in 2013. Te Velde is a member of the National Committee for 200 Years of Monarchy: 'By standing…

Natalia Grincheva (2020). Museum Diplomacy in the Digital Age. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-8153-6999-8, 164 pp., £27.99 (paperback).

PhD defence

Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights Outstanding Student Research Theses

Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) have discovered how specialised immune cells can detect and remove cancers that are ‘invisible’ to the conventional defence mechanisms of the immune system. Their work has been published in Nature. The findings…

Leiden University hosted the second annual PhD workshop on European and International Insolvency Law organized by the Foundation Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (BWILC). The event that provided PhD candidates from universities all over Europe the chance to discuss their research with fellow PhD…

This year's Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to the three American researchers who have unravelled the mechanism behind the biological clock. Joke Meijer, Professor of Neurophysiology and an expert in the field of the sleep-wake rhythm, explained in Dutch newspapers Trouw and NRC why this discovery is…

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) appointed Professor Thomas Bäck as an IEEE Fellow in the class of 2022. Bäck is becoming a Fellow for his contributions in synthesising evolutionary computation. Less than 0.1% of voting members are selected each year for this member grade…

Professor emeritus Leonard Blussé of the Leiden University Institute for History has won the ‘Special Book Award of China’. The Chinese government awards this prize to translators, writers and editors who have contributed to making China better known among non-Chinese.

Leiden researchers Tazuko van Berkel (Greek and Latin Language and Culture) and Noel de Miranda (Tumour Immunology, LUMC) will join the KNAW’s Young Academy next year. They will be inducted on 22 March 2021.

Eight early-career researchers from around the world have been awarded a 51 Pegasi b Fellowship – a prestigious opportunity for astronomers. Julia Santos, a PhD candidate at Leiden Observatory, is one of them. We asked her four questions about this remarkable fellowship.

She develops algorithms that outperform leading optimization techniques and can be applied in many fields. For this work, Niki van Stein and her team have won the GECCO Humies Award. ‘With our method, we can create and refine algorithms for a wide range of applications—algorithms that are better than…

Publish Your Reviews is an initiative encouraging peer reviewers to share their reviews and to contribute to open science and transparant research communication.

Leiden University will be the stage of the annual award ceremony of the World Cultural Council (WCC) on 8 November. We answer the five key questions about these prestigious prizes.

This year’s “best master’s thesis in the area of national or international history” was written by Bareez Majid, who has completed a research master's in Middle Eastern Studies. She wins the prestigious 2015 Volkskrant–IISG thesis prize for her courageous, solid research on a former “torture prison”…

With the publication

LUMC professor and gynaecologist Dick Oepkes was made a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion on 15 April. Mayor Henri Lenferink presented him with the medal at the end of on online symposium to mark Oepkes’ retirement.

A joint global research project, “New Bank Insolvency Law for China and Europe”, which started in 2014, is nearing its completion. China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL, Beijing, China) and Leiden Law School’s Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law are finalizing an innovative joint research…

As from 1 August 2016 Jannemieke Ouwerkerk will be appointed to the position of Full Professor of European Criminal Law at the Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology of Leiden University. It concerns a full-time position. She will deliver her inaugural lecture on 7 April 2017 at 16.00.

Last Thursday, the April edition of the ILS Lunch Seminars took place. This well visited seminar took on a slightly different format, since we had the honour of receiving Leandro Mancano from the University of Edinburgh.

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.

Sport Data Center

The jury of the C.J. Kok Award selected Stéphanie van der Pas' dissertation as the Faculty of Science's best dissertation of 2017. This was announced by rector Carel Stolker during the faculty’s New Year's reception on 9 January.

Last year, LUCSoR welcomed two new Ph.D. students from Iran: Kiyan Foroutan from Ahvaz and Amir Ardalan Emami from Tehran. Kiyan works on a project on the role of the family in medieval and early modern Zoroastrianism in India and Iran (15th-18th centuries). Ardalan works on a much earlier period, the…

Dr Amy Strecker (Heritage Dept., Faculty of Archaeology) has recently been awarded a LGI BREED grant to develop her project on property and spatial justice in international law. Building on her previous research into landscape protection from cultural heritage, environmental and human rights perspectives…

Nowadays data-driven working is very important within Rijkswaterstaat. A Variety of employees is involved in analyzing the data collected on daily basis by Rijkswaterstaat. The goal is to ensure that we construct an infrastructure in the Netherlands which will be safe, accessible and liveable in the…

Linguist Willem Adelaar was appointed to Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion on October 1st. On that very same day he celebrated his 43-year connection to Leiden University. Adelaar has an impressive track record in the field of indigenous, and often endangered, Amerindian languages.

Colleagues from three departments were treated to cake by Vice Dean Jan Crijns. This was to celebrate the ratings, excellent and above-average, awarded in the Keuzegids, the master’s programmes guide for 2025.

On 28 February and 1 March 2019, Stichting Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (Foundation) held its first PhD Workshop on European and International Insolvency Law. The workshop attracted more than 25 applications from PhD students from all over Europe. At the workshop young researchers had a chance…

Prof.dr.ir. Wessel Kraaij is appointed director of the Data Science Research Programme (DSRP) at Leiden University, starting March 1st. He is the successor of prof.dr. Joost Kok, who recently exchanged Leiden for the position of dean in Twente.

On 3 November 2017 in The Hague Institute for Global Justice in The Hague, Prof. Ton Liefaard (Professor of Children's Rights at Leiden University and UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights), will address members and non-members of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law (KNVIR, link in Dutch)…

The thesis is a major milestone for master students graduating in Political Science. It demonstrates their ability to conduct research independently and to provide a thorough, objective and sound analysis. That requires instruction, discussion, thinking and hard work. Lots of it. In some cases this…

The European Association of Archaeologists instituted the European Archaeological Heritage Prize in 1999. An independent committee awards the prize annually to an individual, institution, (local or regional) government or a (European or international) officer or body for an outstanding contribution…

The first Eugene Garfield Award for Innovation In Citation Analysis has been granted to Jian Wang, Assistant Professor in the Science Based Business Program at Leiden University.

Last January, 20th, a new NSE-lunch-discussion took place. The NSE is an annual national survey among all bachelor and master students, and asks them about may topics regarding their programmes. During the lunch discussion, we highlighted several topics that stood out in the NSE-results for our program:…

On Wednesday 5 October the Europa Institute hosts a special guest lecture by Human Rights Defender Mr. Rasul Jafarov from Azerbaijan.

The American Library Association has selected the Space Scoop website as one of the Great Websites for Kids (GWS). Space Scoop, which launched a dedicated website one year ago, provides the latest space news to educate and inspire children. The website will be included in a compilation of exemplary…