These were the main speakers and session leaders at The Knowledge Orchard 2025:

On 10 november 2021, Carmel van Niekerk-Jacobs defended the thesis 'Realising the right to reproduce with assistance in South Africa'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. J.J. Sloth-Nielsen and Prof. T. Liefaard.

What are the most important perpetuating factors of chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome, and which interventions are effective in influencing these factors?

Since itch and pain can be very burdensome, especially when individuals suffer from (either of) these symptoms chronically, it is important to know the factors by which these sensations are influenced. It becomes more and more clear that psychological factors play an important role in the experience…

Why the dunes of The Hague matter for the water from your tap

Managing a remote team calls for a different leadership style.

The research team

ADHD & ME aims to explore how enhancing self-esteem can break the relation between ADHD symptoms and comorbid disorders, such as anxiety and depression. In this study we assess the effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program called Competitive Memory Training (COMET) for improving…

The majority of scientists, from archaeologists through to zoologists, collect huge volumes of data. Their massive databases contain large amounts of information which is difficult for humans to filter. With a solid grounding in statistics, we can develop algorithms for analysing and identifying patterns…

While many healthcare professionals indicate that they frequently use placebo effects and their mechanisms, there is little formal training on how to deal with placebo and nocebo effects in clinical practice. This project aims to address this gap between scientific knowledge on placebo and nocebo effects…

The plans for making the University Library (UB) more sustainable will be carried out in three steps: first the glazing at the front of the building will be replaced with HR++ glass, then the skylights will be renewed and finally the air conditioning system will be updated. Once these steps have been…

Leiden is a picturesque university city that’s brimming with history and boasts a student culture that’s tangible just about everywhere. The university has contributed to the city’s unique atmosphere for over 400 years, since its founding in 1575. Leiden’s historical centre is full of student associations,…

MSc Law and Society brings together students from law and social sciences to examine the dynamic relationship between legal norms and social reality. Its global orientation, interdisciplinary approach, and focus on social justice make this master’s programme unique in its field.

Every student who wants to apply for the bachelor’s programme in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University will need to start at Studielink. The application procedure consists of three steps.

Leiden University enjoys an excellent worldwide reputation, built on over four centuries of outstanding teaching and research. The university is located in the historic city of Leiden, with easy access to many museums and art institutions.

In the Master's programme Crisis and Security Management, you will study contemporary security challenges from both local and global points of view, gaining a deep understanding of the ‘wicked problem’ of security and crisis topics in a complex and globalising world.

Within the Global Ethnography specialisation, you can develop your own research project or make use of the research opportunities offered by our staff members listed below.

Below you will find answers to some frequently asked questions about admission to the MSc Crisis and Security Management.

This Research Master’s programme will train you to become a researcher.

The knowledge and skills you will acquire will qualify you for many different jobs. Possible careers include: researcher of learning, behavioural and emotional problems in children, or designer of prevention and intervention programmes.

How is student life in the Hague as a Population Health Management student?

LUC alumni are socially responsible, versatile leaders, qualities which make them well placed to pursue selective internships and careers. Provided with an inter-disciplinary background and a solid skillset, opportunities for our alumni are plentiful. Our alumni praise the emphasis on flexibility and…

We are convinced that you’ll have a wonderful time at Leiden University, but you don’t have to take our word for it. If you’re looking for objective opinions of what it’s like to study here, listen to what current students and alumni have said about it!

Spontaneously helping one another, why do we bother? It is believed that lending a hand to others promotes social bonding, helping us to connect with each other and even build friendships. In our experiment, in which the adult researcher ‘accidentally’ dropped matches on the floor, most adolescents…

The English language and Culture bachelor’s programme at Leiden University will help you develop an excellent command of both spoken and written English and immerse you in the rich global culture of English literature at a high academic level.

Discover all the Leiden Science teaching talent that was part of this year's lineup.

Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS)

The master’s Health, Ageing and Society is centered around research and innovation for the ageing population. You will be challenged to to innovate and improve the future of our ageing society. Curious to see how this works in practice? Join the upcoming HAS events! We organize student for a day and…

Would you like to know more about the Master Population Health Management? Or about studying and living in the city of The Hague? The University organises several information sessions to help you make the best choice.

As of 19 April 2022, professor Jacobijn Gussekloo has been appointed Dean of the Honours Academy at Leiden University. Gussekloo is professor of Primary Care and director of the master’s programme Vitality and Ageing. Gussekloo succeeds professor Jos Schaeken, who has been Dean since March 2020.

Numerous of enthusiastic administrators, professionals, policy makers, and citizens gathered last week for an assembly organised by ‘Gezond en Gelukkig Den Haag (in English: Healthy and Happy The Hague). They discussed a different approach to health, health care and society, while exchanging best pr…

In the opinion article ‘Maak praten over de dood niet tot een morele plicht’ (Don’t turn talking about death into a moral obligation) Annemarie Samuels and Liesbeth van Vliet, argue together with Marike de Meij and Sander de Hosson that it is important to have conversations about death and dying but…

Tackling human trafficking has been a priority on international, national and local policy agendas for some decades now. Yet a number of knowledge gaps stand in the way of how the issue is approached. Interdisciplinary research is essential if we want to expand our knowledge to benefit policy and pr…

Dialysis patients experience a range of physical and mental symptoms that interact and influence each otherIn her doctoral research, psychologist Judith Tommel wanted to find the optimum approach to help these dialysis patients improve their quality of life. ‘We need to make sure we avoid excluding…

The ERC has awarded a Starting Grant to five promising researchers from Leiden. Two are from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, one is from the Faculty of Humanities/Governance and Global Affairs, one from the LUMC and one from the Faculty of Science.

Sarah Cramsey, Special Chair for Central European Studies and Assistant Professor of Judaism and Diaspora studies, recently received an ERC grant for historical research into early child care in Central and Eastern Europe. In this short interview, she will give some more information on her grant, her…

The University of Oslo and Leiden University have joined forces to organise a Tutorial on Robots and Society: Ethical, Legal, and Technical Perspectives on Integrating Robots in the Home and Healthcare Systems and Services at the IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communica…

Maria Vasile and Ola Gracjasz met in Donostia-San Sebastian, in the Basque Country, on the 7th of June 2022 to take part in the 1st Feminist Anthropology Conference in the Spanish state (I Antropologia Feminista Kongresua), and together present some of the outcomes of their Ph.D. researches. The conference,…

It is one of the most personal and simultaneously most universal experiences of human life: caring for a young child. Professor Sarah Cramsey has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to investigate how factors such as nationality, political systems, and religion influence the first thousand days after…

Prehistoric people may well have had an emotional bond with domesticated dogs much earlier than we thought. Leiden PhD candidate and vet Luc Janssens discovered that a dog found at the start of the last century in a grave dating back 14,000 years had been sick for a long time and had been cared for.…

There is a lot of measuring going on in mental healthcare, but not enough use is being made of the information from these measurements. This is what Edwin de Beurs concludes in his inaugural lecture ‘Measuring, knowing and then what?' on 27 November. The professor by special appointment of ROM and Benchmarking…

On Thursday May 11, medical anthropologists from Leiden University organized a festive opening of their new network, the Leiden University Medical Anthropology Network (LUMAN). In August 2022, these Leiden-based scholars started gathering and organizing this new network with two main goals, namely to…

Natashe Lemos Dekker has been awarded the Distinguished Women Scientists Fund 2021. This travel grant for female postdocs allows her to spend a period as a visiting fellow at the UCLA Department of Anthropology in the United States.

Medical Anthropologist Lemos Dekker has been interviewed about dementia and euthanasia for Relevant, the magazine of the Dutch Association for a Voluntary End of Life.

Drug use during pregnancy seems like a choice without any consequences. However, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) has decided to prosecute a mother for using alcohol and drugs during her pregnancy. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Child Law, tells current affairs programme ‘Nieuwsuur’ that she…

A lively discussion on impact and society

Danique Reidsma, student Economics, Policy and Management (EBM) at Leiden University, recently gave a presentation at a symposium of the Dutch Association of Social Security (NGSZ) in The Hague. She presented her own research around the question of whether eHealth can help to keep health care expenditure…