Yuchen Lian defended her thesis on AI and language evolution at Leiden University.

At the start of the new year, we celebrate the release of a new selection of collection items into the Public Domain. This year, Leiden University Libraries (UBL) is making approximately eight hundred items freely downloadable via Digital Collections.

Three years ago, Associate Professor Alicia Schrikker published 'De vlinders van Boven-Digoel', in which she chronicled several stories about colonial life in present-day Indonesia. Now there is a translation, by Rianti Manullang, who is also an assistant professor at Universitas Indonesia and doing…

For the Bachelor Honours Class 'Mass Extinction', students produced podcasts about the past, the present and the future of mass extinctions. What exactly is lost when a species goes extinct? What are the practical consequences? But also: does humanity have the moral duty to protect other species?

With a combination of incidental sunshine, torrential rain, and wind chills, weather conditions were not ideal for a hiking excursion. Even so, last Saturday, honours students braved a trek across an estate and a golf club in Wassenaar to learn about the relationship between gardens and nature. From…

During the meeting on 26 February with the future users of Aleida Nijland, design agency Studio Linse presented the interior design. The design is based on earlier input from users, and focuses on functionality, comfort and a future-proof working environment. The interior has been designed to be a pleasant,…

When a bacterium becomes resistant to one antibiotic, it may sometimes become more sensitive to another. This biological side-effect offers an unexpected opportunity in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

How can universities and research institutions, businesses and government bodies in the Leiden region drive ‘broad prosperity’?

On 18 March the municipal elections will be held, and you can cast your vote strategically for what you consider important in your town. This raises at least three important questions: what is strategic voting, how do you know if you are a strategic voter yourself, and what do you need to do to use…

The EU has been negotiating a trade deal with Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, for over 25 years. In recent weeks, significant progress has been made. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Mercosur leaders in Asunción, Paraguay, on 17 January to sign the deal.

For medical research, researchers often recreate tissue in the lab. Organ-on-a-chip technology emulates organs, right down to the blood that flows through them, thus creating a realistic test model for drugs or research into disease processes. Researchers from the LUMC are coordinating an NWO Gravitation…

As of 1 December 2024, Uta Wehn is professor by special appointment of the chair 'Citizen Science and Sustainability' within the Focal Area Engagement and Inclusion at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. The new chair has been established jointly by CWTS and IHE…

Can cognitive decline in people with Parkinson’s disease be measured using digital tests at home? According to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, the answer is yes. They investigated this with a Kiem grant from Leiden University.

Much research into the colonial past of scientific institutions stops as soon as a colony gains independence. In two new projects, university lecturer Anne-Isabelle Richard focuses on the decolonisation period. How did universities deal with the changed reality?

How can Europe lead the way in vaccine development that is fast and for all? To answer this pressing question, Professor of Vaccinology Meta Roestenberg is holding a panel session on 14 July at the EuroScience Open Forum in Leiden.

Alumnus Robert van Asten has been an MP for D66 since 2025. He studied Tax Law at Leiden University from 1997 to 2005. After a career in that field, he switched to local politics and later national politics.

Violence such as assault or head-butting causes pain, shock and distress. It is often seen as savage or senseless. But for those who commit it, violence has meaning, argues violence researcher Don Weenink in his inaugural lecture.

Sang-Ah Yoo is a freelance journalist and is following the lateral entry programme Dutch at ICLON Leiden University. She enjoys showing students what language can do for you.

Yousef Sweid was called a ‘stinking Arab’ in the sandpit at his Jewish kindergarten in Haifa. In a packed lecture hall, the Palestinian-Israeli actor performed a powerful excerpt from his show ‘Between the River and the Sea’.

Given the teacher shortage, secondary schools could use an extra pair of hands. Alfrink College in Zoetermeer is glad to have students from the university helping out in class. ‘We hope students will see how great it is to work in teaching.’

Since criticising the war in Ukraine, Russian author and cardiologist Maxim Osipov has fled Russia. Come September, he will be Leiden University’s writer in residence and teach a course on Russian literature.

Relatively simple adjustments can reduce nitrogen losses on dairy farms in peatland areas. That’s the conclusion of the PhD research by by Leiden environmental scientist Jeroen Pijlman at the Louis Bolk Institute. Protein-poor grass species and narrow-leaved plantain in the grassland can limit nitrogen…

The number of Waldorf schools in the Netherlands is growing rapidly. Over the past ten years, student enrolment has increased by more than 40 percent. Thijs Jan van Schie not only teaches at such a school, he has also conducted research on this type of education — not in the Netherlands, but in the…

‘All the groceries, but not a fig for young workers’, read a banner during the occupation of Ahold’s headquarters in 1981. ‘For a long time, young workers were not taken seriously, but they managed to put themselves on the map’, says historian Rosa Kösters.

Protest is a human right and an important way to hold the authorities to account. But how does the right to protest relate to academic freedom and the right to education?

Gaan vaders minder werken als andere vaders dat ook doen? Helpt betaald ouderschapsverlof hen om meer op te pakken in het huishouden? Hoe bepalend zijn sociale normen voor verschillen op de arbeidsmarkt? Onderzoeker Max van Lent gaat het uitzoeken.

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

What’s the situation like in Spain in these times of corona? Dr Jan Otto Landman (Medicine, Leiden, 1979) has a GP practice in Torremolinos and Fuengirola, Southern Spain, and since 16 March he has been writing blogs about corona on the Facebook page of his practice. He has covered issues such as the…

Paul Christiaan Flu, originally from Surinam, was a brilliant tropical doctor, who in 1938 rose to the position of Rector Magnificus of Leiden University. The war years brought his lightning career to an abrupt end: his son was murdered and he himself was imprisoned in a concentration camp. A sad family…

Hit the brakes! That’s the advice of the Council for Public Health and Society in a recent report. Eight psychologists share their insights on how to slow down and reconnect.

To be eligible for MSc Crisis and Security Management at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for MSc Crisis and Security Management at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for MSc Crisis and Security Management at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for MSc Crisis and Security Management at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for MSc Crisis and Security Management at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

The public are experiencing the effects of international policy more directly and the contacts between citizens and civil servants are also changing. Read about the impact of these developments in the new research dossier on 'Governance and Society'.

On 4 May, Leiden University remembered the victims of the Second World War from our university community. Alumni, students and present and former staff of the University came together for this Hour of Remembrance.

Professor Jenny Doetjes has received an NWO grant to research the cross-linguistic properties of quantity expressions and our brain's influence on language.

Prosecutor Karim Khan has asked the Pre-Trial Chamber at the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Larissa van den Herik, Professor of Public International Law, discusses the case on Dutch radio programme ‘Nieuws en Co’.

Researchers Dr. Natascha van der Zwan and Dr. Philipp Golka from the Institute for Public Administration have started an evaluation of Dutch pension funds at the request of the Monitoringcommissie Code Pensioenfondsen. Focus of the evaluation is the role of internal supervision in ensuring good governance…

Sasha Lubotsky, professor of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, and Ineke Sluiter, professor of Classical languages and culture, have been appointed members of the Academia Europaea.

The Dutch Tax Authorities leaked information about an international tax audit to Uber. In addition, they ‘obstructed and delayed’ an investigation by other EU Member States, says the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) based on internal documents from the tech company.

To increase the accuracy of climate models, it is crucial that they include past human land-use and human-driven vegetation changes. Here archaeology can make an important contribution. Current models are based on reconstructions of past vegetation. However, their accuracy is limited because it does…

UNPLASTIC, a research project by Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) won the Dopper Changemaker Challenge 2019. LUC student Roos Kolkman represented UNPLASTIC during the semi-finals on Saturday.

Dutch doctors hold social media platform Snapchat responsible for the illegal sale of vapes, and are threatening legal action. Bart Schermer, Professor of Law and Digital Technology, spoke to RTL news: 'Snapchat is not liable for the content of its users'.

On 13-14 October, Dr. Joris Larik, Assistant Professor for Comparative, EU, and International Law at LUC, took part in the Duke-Pretoria Conference on Comparative Foreign Relations Law. During these two days in the South African capital, draft chapters for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Comparative…

On 8 July, the Young Researchers Group of the European Banking Institute organised the 11th edition of the EBI YRG Virtual Workshop Session. Barbora Budinská presented her research on judicial review of national law applied by the ECB in banking supervision

An MRI scanner is much more than a machine alone. It is an extremely versatile technique that provides numerous opportunities for finding out more about the workings of the human brain, says Thijs van Osch, Professor of Radiology, with a particular emphasis on experimental cerebrovascular imaging. Inaugural…