Professor Rob de Wijk (International Relations) monitored Donald Trump's recent visit to Europe. We discussed the outcomes of the different summits with the Leiden scholar. ‘This visit delivered exactly what I predicted: nothing!'

No matter how hard Chinese communists tried to control the economy, they could not stop the free market from flourishing. This was the message given by historian Frank Dikötter on 7 February during a lecture on the Cultural Revolution. He will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate on 8 February.

After Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the farming culture of the indigenous people quickly disappeared. This has been demonstrated by Leiden archaeologists and colleagues from other universities on the basis of soil research. Publication in…

The National Chamber of Student Associations (LKvV) launched a coronavirus campaign today: ‘That’s why.’ The campaign was launched together with Ingrid van Engelshoven, Minister of Education. The aim of this national campaign is to get students to follow the coronavirus rules. The virus is still spreading…

Leiden University has six top bachelor's programmes according to Keuzigids universiteiten 2025, a consumer guide to university programmes. This puts Leiden in fourth place of the broad-based universities.

From 6 to 9 May the Law's pluralities conference was held at the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen. Highly interdisciplinary in the areas of literature, art and law.

What is it like to be old? Many young people cannot really imagine what it is like. For a group of Honours students, however, this question has been answered. They had the chance to wear an age simulation suit during the Bachelor Honours Class ‘Vitality and Ageing’.

Three young MI students have upheld Leiden's honour in the finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC). PhD candidate Ludo Pulles and Master's student Reinier Schmiermann travelled to Russia and came 15th out of 117 teams. PhD candidate Pim Spelier participated in the online contest…

An online course offered by Leiden University on the European Union is among the top 50 MOOCs in the world. This was announced recently by MOOC platform Class Central.

Six students of archaeology, history and art history are to follow the Silk Route in Central Asia, looking for evidence from ancient history for the enormous cultural exchange brought about by this trade route. They are conducting their research for the exhibition on the Silk Route that opened in the…

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.

This regulation – also known as the AI Act – aims to ensure that AI systems sold and used in the EU are safe and consistent with existing fundamental rights legislation and Union values. AI harvests its factual material on the Internet, but in some cases it can be misleading. This is sufficient reason…

Nadine Akkerman, University Lecturer and researcher at the LUCAS institute, is nominated for a VIVA400 award in the category 'inspiring women in science'. The Dutch magazine, VIVA, selects 400 inspiring women who excel in their field every year for different categories.

The Dutch childcare allowance affair has exposed the failings of the democratic constitutional state. Early in 2021, the government therefore pledged to establish a new public administration culture. There’s still a long way to go to achieve this.

Do you want to make your voice heard and discuss your study experience with a member of the faculty board? Sign up and perhaps you are one of the students invited to a lunch meeting with student board member Aurelie van 't Slot and vice dean Mirjam de Baar on July 5th 2017.

For over six centuries, the Tatars have been part of Poland’s social and cultural fabric. In this 8-episode series, released weekly, professor Maurits Berger and assistant professor Ewa Górska explore how this Muslim minority has maintained its identity across generations, how Islam is practiced in…

What is federalism; what are the implications of decentralisation? Do federalism and decentralisation contribute to democratisation, governance, and diversity? Virtually all African countries south of the Sahara are now either federal or decentralised—but how do their systems of governance perform?…

Anthe Janssen, a PhD student in the Molecular Physiology research group of Prof. Mario van der Stelt, has been awarded the Public's Choice Prize for Best Oral Presentation during the Young Medicinal Chemist Symposium '18 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

In Europe, citizens have a right of access to government information. The European Commission, however, has various methods to prevent this. For example, destroying all e-mails, invoking state security and protection of privacy, and not taking minutes. As a result, it is almost impossible to review…

Labour law experts have called on the Dutch government to review the bill for the Dutch Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (Clarification) Act (‘VBAR’). Experts consider this legislative proposal, which aims to clarify the criteria for assessing employment relationships, as…

The paper

The Elision Ensemble made a video production of Richard Barrett's half-hour composition 'world-line'.

The Children’s Rights Observatory is pleased to launch the Spanish version of the website. This new feature of the website is a result of the partnership between Leiden Law School and the Center for Constitutional Studies of the Mexican Supreme Court (CEC-SCJN).

The Executive Board proposes to take the decision to suspend the existing institutional student exchange programmes with two Israeli universities, and until further notice not to engage in any new exchange programmes with Israeli universities that have comparable links with the Israeli military (the…

During the opening of the academic year, true to tradition the LUC Teaching Prize will be awarded to the best lecture at the University. Get to know the nominees. This week: Christine Espin.

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.’

In just over a decade, Uber has revolutionised how we move around our cities. The ride-hailing app was a game-changer: you just tapped your phone and a cab would find you. You even paid through the app. However, some of the Uber’s more controversial practices have triggered the interest of law enforcement,…

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.

The public disclosure of documents under the Dutch Open Government Act (Woo) is often delayed, especially when the information is considered socially or politically sensitive. Dr Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative law, explains the case on platform for investigative…

In a new book forthcoming with Oxford University Press, Dr Helena U Vrabec, guest researcher at eLaw and privacy lawyer at Palantir Technologies, explores the area of control rights under the GDPR.

Italian PM Meloni’s election promise to limit the number of boat migrants entering the country looks like being fulfilled with help from Albania. A deal was recently approved that provides for two reception centres for asylum seekers in Albania. Dr Mark Klaassen, an expert in immigration law, questioned…

The Leiden Asia Year is almost here. Asia will be the key theme for the University and the city throughout 2017. If staff and students have any ideas about how to make the programme even better, we'd like to hear from you!

Max van Duijn, Assistant Professor at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), has been awarded a Veni grant for his research into children's empathy. The ability to empathise can be studied by telling stories. This process, known as 'Theory of Mind' or ‘mindreading’, can provide important…

Connecting scientific fields, enhancing research and teaching, and providing innovative solutions to complex social issues: that is the idea behind interdisciplinary research. What did the university achieve in 2024? A small sample.

Despite the rapid progress in solar and wind energy, a completely clean energy supply remains a huge challenge. Heavy industry, aviation, shipping and road transport are not yet able to do without carbon-based fuels. To reach the climate goals, in these industries energy consumption should be CO2 neutral. In…

Three new initiatives will provide a more diverse view of Leiden’s academic history, literally and figuratively: a historical study on the background of students and scientists, a new book about the Academy Building, and two new sculptures of female scientists, Ewine van Dishoek, Professor of Molecular…

Work out more, eat healthier, have more time to yourself: we make resolutions every year, but they often don't make it past the end of January. To help you succeed this year, we have compiled a list with New Year's resolutions you can put into practice at the University!

Just like every other organism on Earth, plants’ ultimate goal is to survive and reproduce. In order to achieve this, they must make trade-offs between where and how to allocate their finite set of resources. Whether they put their resources and energy into their growth, reproduction or maintenance,…

Mathematician Stéphanie van der Pas and psychologist Sandy Overgaauw have been nominated for the New Scientist science talent competition, a prize for the most talented scientist in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Over the past year, many students and staff members of Leiden Law School have been lauded for their extraordinary achievements. For instance: a grant received, an award won, or an appointment by a special committee. We have combined all these achievements in our Honours Gallery 2022:

Global warming, deforestation, nature conservation. All major environmental challenges that call for major measures. To see what the effects of these measures are, observation data from the Earth is used. Researchers at LIACS receive €90,000 from the European Space Agency (ESA). With this they are investigating…

Biopharmaceutical sciences master's student Nicole ter Laak has won the KNMP Studentenprijs 2023. She wins the prize for her research project on dosing guidelines of antibiotics in newborn babies with a very low birth weight for gestational age.

Foreign investments in the Dutch East Indies during the colonial period could have been of more benefit to the Indonesian economy. Foreign investments in the Dutch East Indies during the colonial period could have been of more benefit to the Indonesian economy. But the complicated relationship between…

As the father of a family with four children, he already visited the Hortus regularly. Now Tom Schreuder also comes there for his work. Every day he travels from Lisse by bike. The new Director Operations calls it a ‘perfect match’.

This academic year, researchers from both inside and outside of Leiden Law School took the opportunity to inform the interested public about their ongoing research during the monthly ILS Lunch Seminars. On Thursday 14 June, the last lunch seminar before the summer break took place. The festive ending…

Dr Mark Leiser, Assistant Professor in Law and Digital Technologies at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, has won a grant for research on fake news.

Rodrigo Ochigame’s project explores how AI redefines scientific evidence, aiming to help scientists critically navigate these transformations with the Veni grant.

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, equal opportunities for women worldwide, empowerment, and gender equality take centre stage. For years, the role of women in the past has been nearly invisible. Four archaeologists reflect on this inequality of focus, from hunter-gatherers in the palaeolithic to…

Leiden Law School is pleased to announce that Professor Ursula Kilkelly, School of Law, University College Cork, Ireland, will visit Leiden in academic year 2022/2023 as Rotating Honorary Chair ‘Enforcement of Children’s Rights’.

Bringing together institutes and research groups, how do you do that? The Faculty of Science set up a joint research theme and financed three PhD positions. After four years, the profiling programme Endocannabinoids expires. ‘It really brought us together, and the collaborations remain.’