An extra-long procession with musical accompaniment will mark the beginning of the university’s 450th birthday celebrations on 7 February.

In traditional style, 2025 was ushered in at our faculty with the Meijers Lecture followed by the New Year's Reception. On Thursday 16 January 2025, the Meijers Lecture took place in the Lorentz Lecture Hall where the Meijers Prizes and the Van Wersch Springplank Prize were also awarded. At the New…

Her specialist field is molecular astrophysics, and she is the most quoted scholar in her field. In this, the year of astronomy, she is the ideal person to give the Dies lecture at the university with the world's oldest astronomy institute; it goes without saying that the lecture will be on the newest…

Having lectures on sustainability when you're a first-year student of Law, or a course on climate change when you're studying Public Administration may sound odd, but that is just what Associate Professor in Environmental Sciences Thijs Bosker wants to see happening. Together with his colleague Paul…

Citizens underestimate their role, but they really can make a difference, says legal specialist Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen. Combatting injustice is still the mission of this former National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children. She will deliver the Cleveringa lecture…

In 2017, in an ordinary field, two brothers from Brabant discovered more than 100 ancient coins. The Leiden historian who examined the coins concluded that they constituted a genuine Roman treasure. Here follows a reconstruction in three acts.

Egyptologist Lara Weiss is curator at The National Museum of Antiquities and has been leading the VIDI research project 'Walking Dead' since 2017. The exhibition 'Saqqara: Living in a necropolis', which will be on display at the museum starting March 10 next year, is part of the project.

Three years ago, on 13 October 2017, the Leiden Medievalists Blog was established. In their blogs, Leiden researchers from all disciplines talk about the Middle Ages in a fun and interesting way. Editors Jip Barreveld, Marlisa den Hartog and Thijs Porck talk about the blog and why the Middle Ages are…

During the opening of the academic year, true to tradition the LUC Teaching Prize will be awarded to the best lecture at the University. Get to know the nominees. This week: Christine Espin.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will head a delegation that is visiting Indonesia at the end of June. The visit is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘Leiden’ institute KITLV-Jakarta. What does this institute do and why is Indonesia important to the University?

Alumna Nadia Kadhim started in 2017 as a corporate lawyer implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at one of the companies where she volunteered. By late 2022 she had received both a Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Award and was on the Forbes 30 under 30 list with her legal start-up…

From virtual education to a friendly meeting place where refugees and Dutch students can get to know one another. Investing in refugees is in the interest of the whole of our society. This was the message of the students who opened the Academic Year of Leiden University on 5 September.

A common notion is that autistic people feel no need for social contact, that they are socially clumsy and show little prosocial behavior. But is that image correct? According to developmental psychologist Carolien Rieffe, an important goal of Autism Awareness Week (March 28 - April 5) is to remove…

The Europaeum academic community was awarded the Scaliger medal on 23 September in recognition of its promotion of academic values. Andrew Graham, trustee to the Europaeum and founder and honorary advisor to the Scholars Programme, was presented with the medal by President of the Executive Board Annetje…

In the past half a century, China has transformed from an underdeveloped and inward-looking country to a major player in world politics. The country asserts itself more boldly on the world stage; not only in relation to nearby countries and places such as Taiwan, Japan, and other countries that share…

Eveline Crone, Professor of Neurocognitive Developmental Psychology, has been awarded the NWO Spinoza Prize for her high-profile research on adolescent development. NWO announced the award on 16 June. What will Crone do with the award of 2.5 million euros?

In this blog post, Paweł Surowiec and Ilan Manor draw on insights from their edited volume Public Diplomacy and the Politics of Uncertainty.

A review of Elke Devroe's participation in the European Society of Criminology of 2016 : The first conference of the European Society of Criminology was held in 2000 in Lausanne. Now, 16 years later and lots of new ESC-members later, the 16th Annual conference of the European Society of Criminology…

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law, the conference ‘Public and Private Regulation of Financial Markets’ was held on the 11th of May 2017 at law firm Stibbe in Amsterdam. The conference attracted an international audience originating from more than five different…

How can we speed up the transition from large cities to a circular metropolis? This is the question that Leiden students and former students Elsemieke, Fabian and Eveline are getting their teeth into. They and seventeen other young academics are taking part in the National ThinkTank and they have four…

Conducting experiments next to the huge speakers of the Alpha Stage at Lowlands. This was reality for researchers Max van Duijn and Tessa Verhoef, and they were loving it. 'Yesterday evening we were completely covered in mud.'

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.

Below are some of the scholarly works published within the context of the Institutions for Conflict Resolution programme.

The Leiden University Institute for History is responsible for the main part of the historical research carried out at Leiden University. The institute has a wide-ranging academic scope.

In 2017 Sasja van der Vaart-Verschoof defended her dissertation on Early Iron Age elite burials of the Low Countries at the Faculty of Archaeology. Out of 36 applications from ten different countries, her dissertation was awarded the Prix Européen D’Archéologie Joseph Déchelette on June 15th.

A delegation from Leiden University will be visiting Mexico from 21 to 25 October. The visit aims to strengthen the ties between Mexican universities and Leiden University.

Developmental psychologist Anne Miers of Leiden University is involved in a large-scale research project investigating the efficacy of interventions regarding social skills, resilience and insecurity. The project is funded by a grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research - Health…

The EU-funded project SKIES (SKilled, Innovative and Entrepreneurial Scientists) will train astronomy graduate students in transferable skills for academia and industry. SKIES integrates open science, social innovation and entrepreneurship topics. The project kicked off on 1 March and will run for…

The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) will start construction this year of the largest non-profit stem cell and gene therapy facility in the Netherlands, and one of the largest facilities in Europe. NECSTGEN – the Netherlands Center for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies…

Miriam Cohen will defend her PhD dissertation entitled “Reparations for International Crimes and the development of a Civil Dimension of International Criminal Justice” on 28 June 2017 at Leiden University. She wrote her thesis under the supervision of Professor L.J. van den Herik and Professor C. S…

A wide range of plant species is essential to our earth because of the different materials and foods these plants provide. But plant diversity has decreased drastically in recent decades. PhD candidate Kaixuan Pan explains what we can do to increase it once again.

In Dutch newspaper NRC, Pieter Omtzigt says he finds it 'unconstitutional' that he has no right to vote in committee meetings. Omtzigt believes he is as much a Member of Parliament as other MPs. However, since 2017, a breakaway group is no longer entitled to a proportional share of staff support and…

Grotius Centre in The Hague is located on the doorstep of international criminal courts and tribunals. In our teaching, we seek to benefit from this unique environment. Practitioners come to share their expertise in dialogue with our students, and we try to provide a platform where current practices…

What is the state of democracy in developing and transition countries in 2024? Terrible, according to the BTI Transformation Index.

Associate professor Alice Twemlow introduces a new elective which will start in September, called: Design and the Deep Future. We asked her to tell a little bit about herself and the elective she will be teaching in the first semester of the next academic year.

Associate Professor of Physical Geography Paul Hudson at Leiden University College was interviewed by TIME Magazine on the Mississippi floods that have been harassing the United States this year.

Michelle Spierings has been awarded the ‘Glushko Dissertation Prize’ for her thesis work on: ‘The Music of Language: Exploring grammar, prosody and rhythm perception in zebra finches and budgerigars’. The award recognises and honours young researchers conducting ground-breaking research in cognitive…

The Europa Institute has invited Dorjana Bojanovska from Macedonia to visit Leiden Law School to conduct her master thesis research from 6 March - 31 March 2017. Dorjana is a student at the Comparative Constitutional Law program at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University. The…

Matthijs van Leeuwen and Frank Takes have been appointed directors of education at LIACS as of 1 September. They will succeed Marcello Bonsangue, who has held the position since 2016. Van Leeuwen and Takes have been appointed for a period of four years.

A marvelous mosaic synagogue floor has been discovered at the Israeli excavation site of Horvat Kur. The timeworn stones of the mosaic clearly form the name ‘El’azar’. Leiden University researcher Jürgen Zangenberg and a group of Leiden students played a role in the excavation. ‘El’azar was likely an…

Bastiaan Rijpkema has been appointed Professor by special appointment of the new chair Tolerance at the Faculty of Humanities with effect from 1 July 2021. The chair was established by Stichting Leerstoel Uytenbogaert.

Sarah van der Kwast

Which two Leiden scientists will present their research in the most compelling way in three minutes? It could be those with the most supporters. The Leiden preliminary heat of FameLab is taking place on 14 February. Sign up now to be in the audience!

Marloes van Noorloos is appointed Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure at Leiden University from 1 February 2025.

Yusen Yu wins the prestigious Graduate Student Prize of the Middle East Medievalists (MEM) with his article

On Thursday 10 November, the GTGC organized a research seminar. During this seminar Saori Katada presented her paper on Regional Approach to Financial Statecraft: Japan and India in the Face of Rising China.

Minute nanoparticles are bringing about a completely new industrial revolution. But little is known about the possible dangers to the food chain. An international group will be examining this issue, and Leiden researchers will be playing a key role.

Comparing terrorist attacks with falling off a step ladder is absurd, writes Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn in NRC Handelsblad on 27 September 2017.

Prof.dr. Rozenberg, emeritus professor in Theoretical Computer Science at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), received a royal decoration from the deputy mayor of Leiden on December 15th 2017. He has been appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.