From a queer art exhibition to a podcast about people with disabilities, the JEDI Fund this year again honored several projects that contribute to diversity and inclusion.

Every year, an outstanding lecturer receives the Faculty Teaching Prize. Lecturers are nominated by students, and a jury – comprising students and lecturers – decides who will receive the prize. The prize will be awarded during the official opening of the academic year on 7 September. Meet this year’s…

A delegation from Leiden University, headed by Vice-Rector Hester Bijl, was in China from 9 to 11 October. During the visit to different universities and partner organisations, existing bonds were reinforced and new contacts made. These agreements will make the future exchange of students and researchers…

It was more than twenty years ago that the plan for a Japanese-Dutch dictionary was born. Now it contains over 65,000 words, and completion is tentatively coming into view. Dictionary makers Oscar Veltink and Hetty Geerdink-Verkoren talk about their enthusiasm for this decades-long mammoth task.

In 1960, Albert Winsemius started to help the city state of Singapore achieve its rapid rise out of economic misery. He helped the Singaporean government understand how the Netherlands had managed to rebuild so quickly after the Second World War, with the help of the American Marshall Plan. PhD defence…

This year, the Netherlands and China reflect on fifty years of diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level. How has the relationship between the countries developed over the past half century? An interview with university lecturer Vincent Chang.

The 2014 Village Law will likely cause a considerable change in the character of village governance and leadership in the coming years.

Controversial environmental organisation Sea Shepherd fights illegal fishing all around the world and is not afraid to take direct action. Alumnus Geert Vons is director of Sea Shepherd Netherlands. How does he look back on his degree in Chinese Studies, and what motivates him in his work? ‘If we don’t…

On February 10, 2026, emeritus Professor Dr. Takamitsu Muraoka (1938–2026) passed away, one day after celebrating his 88th birthday. From 1991 until his retirement in 2003, he held the chair of Hebrew Language and Culture, Israelite Antiquities, and Ugaritic at Leiden University.

Artist Daan Roosegaarde, together with UNESCO and Leiden University, wants to make the stars come out during Seeing Stars Leiden. The University will therefore switch off the lights in most of its buildings on Sunday 25 September from 22:00 to 23:30 and is asking the people of Leiden to follow suit.

Over the past few weeks the world has experienced unprecedented disruption, disorder and over all change. Leiden University was no exception. Not only did all in-person teaching get cancelled and substituted by online classes, the cancellation of open days, information sessions, experience evenings…

Diplomatic Studies (DIST) is a peer-reviewed book series that encourages original work on the theory and practice, processes and outcomes of diplomacy.

ASLU 27 Sjoerd van der Linde (2012)

ASLU 28 Michalis Karambinis (2015)

Leiden University, the LUMC and Janssen have signed a partnership agreement stating that they will collaborate in different areas, including infectious disease prevention, clinical tests, drug production and e-health. By joining forces, the three partners will be able to provide better, more innovative…

King Willem-Alexander visited Leiden on 6 December to open the new wing of the Leiden Instrumentmakers School. Students of this vocational programme make instruments needed for scientific research.

On Friday 11 March (16.00 hrs.) Minister Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) will give a speech at Leiden University entitled ‘When knowledge becomes critical’. In the speech, he will address several critical challenges in science and society. The livestream will be open to all.

Pottery traditions and social interaction in the earliest Neolithic of the Lower Rhine Area

ASLU 29 Maarten E.R.G.N. Jansen, Valentina Raffa (2015)

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

ASLU 7 - A.E. de Hingh

Back to university to attend lectures with master's students: that's what professionals did at the Leiden Leadership Programme. Conclusion of the experiment? Learning about leadership leaves one wanting more. 'Great that this is possible.'

Bringing the community together, doing up the community centre or researching how to make gardens greener. Students now have a base in Leiden-Noord where they can work with local residents and partner organisations to make the city a better place to live. It was the official opening of ‘Learning with…

Lecture, Seminar

Within the scope of Leiden European City of Science, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) presented the quadrennial Lorentz Medal to Daan Frenkel in the Academy Building yesterday. The ceremony was in collaboration with the Lorentz Center and was attended by Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister…

Leiden University College The Hague celebrates a milestone by seeing its 1000th graduate receive their diploma.

From a powerful documentary to a heartwarming classic: four Leiden alumni have chosen their favourite films and will introduce them at Leiden International Film Festival.

Internal networking event

Histories Connected: Seminar

Histories Connected: Seminar

Using enslaved people as servants, becoming an administrator in the Dutch West India Company or making uniforms for the colonial army. Many people from Leiden played a role in colonialism and slavery. Historians are conducting preliminary research and finding striking examples.

Twenty-two year old student of Leiden University College The Hague, Sara Kemppainen on her role as European Union Delegate at the G(irls)20 Summit, founder of WIL, UWC Alumni, Summit Coordinator and Bachelor student committed to bringing human welfare to the center of tech policy.

SRON, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research, is holding an open day on Sunday 25 September. It has had a branch at the Leiden Bio Science Park since 2021 and works closely with Leiden University.

Many Humanities scholars keep a blog of their own. This summer, we’re putting these in the spotlight. For this week’s interview, we sat down with dr. Florian Schneider of the Politics East Asia blog.

We take our worn, torn and unwanted clothes to the clothing bank, assuming they will get a second chance. But what exactly happens with all those textiles?

The ongoing conflict in Kashmir is often seen as a political issue between India and Pakistan. Idrees Kanth, who has written a dissertation on the subject, believes that the people of Kashmir are the primary contenders in the conflict and should be allowed their right to decide their own political fate.…

In the coming years, Asghar Seyed Gohrab receives an advanced European Research Council grant of two and a half million euros to spend on his research into non-conformism in Islam. ‘Hopefully I can use this to contribute something to society, to pass something on to future generations.’

Gert Oostindie, Emeritus Professor of Colonial and Postcolonial History, is this year’s Cleveringa Professor at Leiden University. He was appointed by the University on 4 October. In his inaugural lecture on 24 November, entitled Courage and Disregard, he will talk about (academic) freedom in relation…

Hosted at the Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR) in Rabat on 26 and 27 October, 20 junior and senior empirical researchers who all work on migration in Morocco came together to discuss two important topics that are frequently neglected in migration scholarship. The researchers were from different…

On 1 January Minna Valjakka was appointed Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory from a Global Perspective. Valjakka sees her appointment as 'extremely topical' because of the discussions about the decolonisation of the arts: 'Art teaches us not just about art, but also about contemporary…

The commercial media in China are more likely to promote the stability of the regime than to undermine it. Political scientist Daniela Stockmann analyses in her new book, Media Commercialization and Authoritarian Rule in China why this is the case. ‘Many journalists do not want a disrupted society.’

On Thursday 24 June HE Mr Mayerfas and Cultural Attache Mr Din Wahid visited Leiden University to meet with President Annetje Ottow.

King Willem-Alexander has commissioned independent research into the role of the House of Orange-Nassau in Dutch colonial history. The research will take three years to complete and will cover the period from the late 16th century to the postcolonial present. The research will be carried out at Leiden…

In 2023, it will be fifty years since Vietnam and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations. This will be commemorated in both countries. At the beginning of November, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. On that occasion Leiden University Libraries will launch…

Kim Jong Il, leader of North Korea, is dead. His youngest son Kim Jong Eun is expected to be his successor. Remco Breuker, Leiden Professor of Korea Studies, gives a profile of the new leader.