In her daily life, she is a student of Life Science and Technology, but not this summer. Guusje van Bolhuis is participating in the Olympic Games with the French hockey team. ‘Studying and playing hockey at top-level are very different, but with the right mindset, you can go far in both.’

Farmers on the outskirts of Nairobi National Park protect their livestock using flashing lights on top of the animal enclosures. This system keeps lions away at night. Leiden research has shown that the method is both simple and effective. Publication in PLOS ONE.

Brazil is one of the world's largest emerging economies, but more is needed if it is to use this economic power for all parts of Brazilian society. This will be the subject of Professor of Brazilian Studies Edmund Amann's inaugural lecture on 20 November.

The Middle East has a rich literary tradition, which is steadily gaining a foothold in the West. Modern literary works deal with contemporary issues, such as the legacy of colonialism, the struggles between traditionalism and modernity, the place of women in society and the war in Israel/Palestine.

A delegation from Leiden University recently embarked on a knowledge mission to various NGOs, universities and government organisations in Indonesia. New partnerships were formed and important knowledge exchanged, and researchers from Leiden gave guest lectures.

'After my BA International Studies I decided to do the MA International Relations, and that proved to be a good choice,' Mats Radeck (23, Trier, Germany) says. He is in the last phase of the MA, working on his thesis on

Connecting, discussing success stories and taking the next steps with all the sector plans offer, that is what the Meet & Greet on the sector plans was all about. On June 2nd, nearly 20 assistant professors from FGGA and FSW, appointed under the sector plans, came together to connect with the wider…

During the final session of the PRE-University Class Security Challenges in the 21st Century, students showcased their thorough analysis of contemporary safety and security challenges. The results were impressive, according to both the teachers and the assessors: ‘You almost forget that they’re high…

A delegation from Leiden University is visiting Brazil from 14 to 18 March. The first day of the visit was spent with scientists in São Paolo.

What’s at stake at the NATO summit in The Hague? Three academics from Leiden share their insights.

Chiara Porro from Australia studied International Relations and Diplomacy at Leiden University and has been Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See since August. How did she end up at the Vatican and what is it like? ‘The Pope told me his door was always open!’

The enlargement of the EU to include ten East and Central European countries went smoothly. But further expansion is meeting resistance and Poland and Hungary are now abandoning a number of democratic principles. What are the reasons? Antoaneta Dimitrova, Professor of Comparative Governance, explains…

An archaeologist as a modern-day shaman. An unexpected comparison Professor by Special Appointment of Public Archaeology Luc Amkreutz will make in his inaugural lecture.

From research on stellar winds to sign language: an impressive seven researchers from Leiden University will receive a prestigious Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

From exploring global issues at LUC to shaping young minds in the classroom, LUC alumna Malou den Dekker shares how her academic journey led to a career in education.

On 22 May, the Dutch House of Representatives invited one hundred citizens to pose critical questions regarding the Ministries’ annual reports. This followed on from the annual ‘Accountability Day’. Caspar van den Berg, Associate Professor of Public Administration, helped think about how citizens could…

From pipetting in the lab to shining in front of the camera at a global student event. With 8.000 viewers watching the livestream, Marjolein Crooijmans presented the iGEM Giant Jamboree in Paris.

For the students of our Dutch institutions, the Netherlands Embassy supported an ‘academic retreat’ at hotel Stella de Mare in Ayn Sukhna. During this two-day retreat, our students discussed with students of al-Azhar University in Cairo on various topics. It was an open exchange of ideas and feedback…

Biodiversity in the Netherlands is having a tough time. Professor of Natural Capital Koos Biesmeijer combines research with practical advice: from the greening of industrial parks to solutions inspired by hi-tech nature. Inaugural lecture 9 March.

A team including staff from Leiden University won the Open Initiative Trophy on 11 February, a prize for the best open science initiative in the Netherlands. The winners developed Reprohak, a hackathon-like event where participants repeat research to see whether the results were reproducible.

How do I conduct research? How do I structure, conduct and record what I’ve thought of and done? The Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences Programme didn’t just want students to perform a series of tests for the Cellular Biochemistry practical course. After a complete re-vamp - ‘From traditional cookbook lab…

A CT scanner to treat eye cancer, energy-efficient software for the future and a test to identify male chick eggs. Three projects by researchers from Leiden University are to receive funding from research funder NWO’s Open Technology programme, to which the business sector also contributes.

Opponents of drastic nitrogen measures argue that the nitrogen calculation model is not reliable enough. Nitrogen professor Jan Willem Erisman: 'It is now much more important to discuss the choices we make on the basis of the outcome. The differences are much bigger than the uncertainties in the mod…

Four bachelor’s students in archaeology have embarked on a month-long field school in Aruba. They will work with Harold Kelly, a local archaeologist at the National archaeological museum of Aruba, and with the research team of Island(er)s at the Helm.

Kohei Suzuki, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration recently received a large research project grant from the Swedish Research Council.

Students from the Coornhert Lyceum from Haarlem visited the Babylab Leiden together with their teacher Roos Bannenberg. The 5-VWO students follow modules of 10 weeks for science orientation and they had difficulty imagining what research with babies looks like. The Babylab Leiden gave a solution.

Why do some bacteria lose their protective cell wall under the influence of stress? Microbiologist Dennis Claessen of the Institute of Biology Leiden receives a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to investigate this paradoxical feature.

Just before Christmas, three talented scientists received good news: they are receiving a personal research grant from the Dutch Heart Foundation. Ilze Bot of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research is one of those scientists. She will receive an Established Investigator grant of 650,000 euros.…

Eight scientists from Leiden University have been awarded a grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With this Vidi funding, the researchers can set up an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group over the next five years.

Alumnus Peter Burger – along with his colleague Alexander Pleijter – is the face of fact-checking in the Netherlands. ‘My degree led straight to this.’

What negotiation techniques can you use to strike a win-win deal for your client? What can you do before and during negotiations to make communication more effective?

Ineke Sluiter received an honorary degree from the University of Bristol on 18 February 2020. In the Wills Memorial Building, she addressed young doctors about the importance of academic expertise and interdisciplinarity.

Ongoing challenges such as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, rising global strategic and economic competition, and accelerating climate change have major consequences for the EU and its member states.

The Covid pandemic has had a considerable impact on academics’ work and well-being. They have had much less time to spend on their research. The Young Academy and the Dutch Network of Women Professors have conducted research into how the situation has been for academics. The two organisations have recommendations…

Early diagnosis, new treatments, and personalised care: all of these are possible if we can better unlock the wealth of information hidden in health data. Unfortunately, this data is often poorly organised, difficult to access, and not interoperable. The new international Leiden Institute for FAIR and…

The Hortus Botanicus is celebrating its 425-year anniversary this year. It’s the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands, but how did it come into existence and what kind of research takes place there?

Besides being the author of such a classic work of literature as The Hobbit, Tolkien was also Professor of English Language and Literature in Oxford. How did he incorporate his research in his fiction? An international conference on the subject is being held in Leiden on 18 June.

A time-lapse of the universe in more detail than ever before: that’s the aim of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will unveil its first images of the night sky on 23 June. Researchers at Leiden Observatory have played a major role in making it all possible.

Moving to a different city as a student can be a daunting prospect, let alone to a different country. Each year, many students come to Leiden, and many find a home away from home thanks to the Humanities Master’s Buddy Programme. Kathleen Burke and Victor Jarzargaray experienced it first-hand. “It’s…

Where should you plant ten trees so that as many city-dwellers as possible can enjoy them? If a smart algorithm knows how people move through the city and where there are already trees, it can calculate the optimal solution. Data scientist Mitra Baratchi makes this possible. Her students are now using…

The research group headed by Leiden chemist Marc Koper has discovered a catalyst that minimizes the production of chlorine gas during salt water electrolysis. The invention can enable the direct production of hydrogen from seawater. The article has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical…

Besides being the author of such a classic work of literature as The Hobbit, Tolkien was also Professor of English Language and Literature in Oxford. How did he incorporate his research in his fiction? An international conference on the subject is being held in Leiden on 18 June.

What causes depression in a child and how can they get over it? Leiden Professor of Psychology Bernet Elzinga and behavioural scientist Carine Kielstra recently hosted a webinar on the subject of depression in teenagers. The level of interest was overwhelming.

After ten years and one day, Leiden Observatory has a new director. As of 1 September, Ignas Snellen will set the course for the astronomical institute. In this interview, you will get to know Ignas. Or at least a little. That is why we gave him five dilemmas and asked the people around him who he really…

On Thursday 17 November 2016 a delegation from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Social affairs and UNICEF Tunisia paid a visit to Leiden Law School, organised by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory.

On Thursday 3 December 2020, Mr Alasdair Tyrrell, addressed students from the LLM in European Law, the LLM Advanced Programme in European and International Human Rights Law and the LLC course in European Asylum Law. Mr Tyrrell, a UK lawyer by training, had just returned from Lesbos, Greece, where he…

The design process of new buildings is extremely complex due to strict requirements. Computer models are used to create the designs. Scientists from LIACS developed advanced algorithms that help their colleagues at Eindhoven University of Technology to optimise these models.

Some fifty students started their study of Europe in Practice on 4 April. This minor includes lectures by professionals who work closely with the European Union.

Two radio telescopes in Green Bank, West Virginia have brought together a few remarkable people. A new photo exhibition in the Old Observatory visitor centre gives an insight into the remote community. Due to the corona crisis, the Observatory is not open to the public. That’s why we’ve selected a few…

Research into depression in children, Leiden alumni in the Dutch House of Representatives and an exceptional achievement by one of our students: what do this topics have in common? They are among our most read stories of 2021.