This study aims to examine how South Korea (hereafter, Korea) and Japan, two neighboring countries in Northeast Asia, have been responding to and mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

Organised in three separate sessions throughout the day, and broadcast live online to guests and families who could not join, over 200 students received their Bachelor’s Diploma of International Studies on 3 September 2021 at the graduation ceremony in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden.

On Friday 16 May Juul Eijk successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

This research aims to investigate how different social forces interact with hydropolitics in the Eastern Nile Basin and what are the constraints of engagement.

Understanding others’ emotional behavior is essential for navigating daily social life. But how is such an understanding achieved? The eye-tracking study by Yung-Ting Tsou and colleagues shows that children with hearing loss adopt a unique visual strategy that makes uses of explicit visual information…

Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Schmidt, Co-Promotor: Dr. ir. S.J.T. van Noort

On 22 June, Anneke Koning defended the thesis 'Return to sender: a multi-method study of guardianship against transnational sexual exploitation of children'. The doctoral research was supervised by Joanne van der Leun, Masja van Meeteren and Johan van Wilsem.

On Tuesday 14 January 2025 Milan Ismangil successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Simulations of galaxy formation provide much more information about galaxies than a telescope. Simulations have been improving significantly in recent years. Astronomer Evgenii Chaikin made such a significant contribution to this field that he graduated with honours on February 27th.

Are you keen to immerse yourself in a new culture, broaden your horizons and make friends for life? If so, come to the Study Abroad Festival on Friday afternoon 14 October.

Mapping sanitary infrastructure in large urban societies in the Low Countries, 1200–1900

When Henriëtte Hoffman was ten years old she was enthralled by The Last Emperor, a 1987 film about the twelfth and last emperor of the Manchu dynasty. It was an interest that eventually led to a five-month stay in Chengde in China for her Asian Studies research master’s programme. During her time in…

What are International Studies Alumni doing after graduation? Get to know Guido, Paulien and Lennart. They all studied International Studies at Leiden University in The Hague and are now working in three different fields.

Metals surfaces form a group of effective catalysts for the reaction of small molecules such as hydrogen (H2).

The collaboration between Leiden University (Medical Center) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona forms one of the most powerful international alliances for the creation and transmission of knowledge in the field of transfusion medicine.

PhD defence

What is students’ engagement in problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL) in teacher certification programs?

Part of ‘Moralising Misfortune: A Comparative Anthropology of Commercial Insurance’, an ERC Consolidator project of Erik Bähre.

On December 6th, 2024, Rector Hester Bijl welcomed participants at the Leiden Jewish Studies Association’s First Annual Conference “Jews at Home: From Creation to Corona” and also presented two Leiden University students with the inaugural Leiden Jewish Studies Association “Best Thesis in Jewish Studies”…

On Wednesday 20 November 2024 Sara Mirahmadi successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

This study discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan societies and how that position was informed by Buddhist monastic ideology.

Programme director of the bachelor's programme Security Studies Daan Weggemans kicked off the first webinar for prospective students this afternoon. In Kaltura Live he had an international audience of about 60 interested people.

On Friday 29 August 2025, 370 students received their Bachelor's degree in International Studies. The diplomas were awarded in the historic setting of the Pieterskerk in Leiden. Family members, friends, and staff gathered to celebrate this joyous occasion with the graduates in a packed Pieterskerk.

Did your grandfather or grandmother also study in Leiden? And your parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters...?

Political scientist Wouter Veenendaal (Leiden University) provides an in-depth case study of clientelism in Malta, the smallest member state of the European Union. He reveals that not only that patron–client linkages are a ubiquitous feature of political life in Malta, but also that the smallness of…

Combined hormonal contraceptives (CHC) are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In 2013, a review was published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In this review, the authors concluded that the risk of VTE varies by the type of progesterone in the CHC. Subsequently,…

The Organ Art of the first female German concert organist and Bremen Cathedral organist and

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.P. van Wezel

Promotor: M. Ubbink, Co-promotor: G. Siegal

This thesis describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of TLR2/6, TLR4, TLR7/8 and TLR9 ligands, of which the activity can be conditionally controlled.

The cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R) is associated with several inflammatory diseases with an unmet medical need (e.g. Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis, reumatoid arthritis). Development of new chemical biology strategies to study this protein is essential to aid future development of drugs for these…

Carbohydrates, or sugars, are the most diverse and most abundant biomolecules known. However, the isolation of carbohydrate samples in sufficient amounts and purity is often impractical or even impossible, so the chemical synthesis of glycosides becomes relevant. The glycosylation reaction, in which…

The long-held desire - to link structure directly to function and to explain molecular mechanisms based on basic chemical or physical principles - is finally coming closer, satisfying not only our scientific curiosity but also offering new solutions to the many challenges in the field of health, energy…

PhD defence

Kinase inhibitors are key therapeutic agents, particularly in oncology, yet their clinical efficacy is often hampered by off-target effects and limited understanding of their cellular target profiles.

The adsorption of D2 and CO2 on catalyst surfaces is studied using a molecular beam in ultra-high vacuum.

Haunting the future through poetry

On Wednesday 3 September 2025 Yu Ai successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Are you thinking about studying abroad for a semester? We came across two students who want to share their experiences with you.

On 2 September 2022, 300 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With about 1000 people present, including the graduates, the International Studies…

This thesis is based on five papers on several topics.

On Friday 23 June, the Austrian Studies Fund was established with a festive gathering in the Faculty Club. This fund is the successor of the Austrian Studies Foundation and will continue and expand the program of activities of the Central European Studies chair at Leiden University, which was established…