The master programme was officially opened by H.E. Kees Klompenhouwer – the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Czech Republic. During his lecture, entitled “Traveling through Europe’s darkness and daylight – A geopolitical Odyssey”, Ambassador Klompenhouwer shared valuable insights on the history…

On 10 March 2017, Professor Karel Luyben (TU Delft) welcomed the ‘Metabolomics GO FAIR Implementation Network’ as community initiative to start the European Open Science Cloud. The network aims to implement the FAIR data principles in the field of metabolomics in Europe.

The aim of Plan S – open access in science – is quite right, says the League of European Research Universities (LERU), of which Leiden University is a member. But the proposed implementation plan will cause too much difficulty for researchers and institutes. LERU has therefore come up with ten recommendations…

From filtering UV light in sun cream to preventing perspiration odour in socks and sterilising fridges and washing machines. The use of nanoparticles in products is increasing. But what is the impact of these miniscule particles on the environment?

The author Manon Uphoff from Utrecht will be Leiden University’s new ‘writer in residence’ from autumn 2025. As the writer in residence, Uphoff will contribute to several courses on writing offered by the BA Dutch Language and Culture programme.

Leiden chemists Marc Koper and Ian McCrum have discovered that the degree to which a metal binds to the oxygen atom of water is decisive for how well the chemical conversion of water to molecular hydrogen takes place. This insight helps to develop better catalysts for the production of sustainable hydrogen,…

The roof of the lecture halls at the Faculty of Science was fitted with solar panels in June, making it the biggest solar-panel-covered roof in Leiden.

A delegation from Leiden University will be visiting several Japanese universities and research institutions from 18 to 26 November to discuss research and teaching collaborations.

On Tuesday 4 September, in a full lecture hall C1, Dean Geert de Snoo opened the Academic Year for the Faculty of Science. A year in which the ethics and responsibility of scientists will be invoked.

The KM3NeT neutrino detector celebrates the installation of the first string of detectors in the Mediterranean Sea off the French coast. It will measure neutrinos’ spooky spontaneous change in flavor. Leiden physicist Dorothea Samtleben is closely involved in the project.

Soil salinity is affecting large areas in the world and millions of farmers are faced with decreasing yields and many are even forced to migrate . Dutch scientists (Prof Dr. Gerrit van Straten (Wageningen University), Prof. Dr. Peter van Bodegom (Leiden University), Prof. Dr. Jelte Rozema (VU University…

On Monday, 27 November 2017 the report 'Pre-trial detention of juveniles in practice' has been published. The report is compiled by researchers from the departments of Child Law and Criminology of the Leiden University.

Leiden will be scientific capital of Europe in 2022. The theme of the festivities was announce on 28 October: Who Knows. After all, does anyone have a monopoloy on wisdom these days? Who decides what is true? And does anyone actually know what the future holds?

Professor Frits Kalshoven passed away on 6 September 2017 at the age of 93. Kalshoven was internationally renowned as an expert in the field of international humanitarian law (IHL). From 1970 onwards he was a professor at our law school, where he had also been a student himself and where he was awarded…

On 1 February 2016 the fourth issue of the Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, titled 'Breaking the Rules: Textual Reflections on Transgression', was published.

Welcome to Leiden and The Hague! So there you are, an international BA or MA student, in a city where you don’t know the way and don’t speak the language. What now? Don’t panic: with our international introduction programmes, you’ll soon have learnt all the ins and outs. And another important thing:…

Maritime archaeologist Martijn Manders has been appointed professor of Underwater Archaeology and Maritime Cultural Heritage Management at Leiden University. He will combine his new appointment at the Faculty of Archaeology, which began on 15 July 2022, with his current position at the Cultural Heritage…

Cars, wind turbines, solar panels and smartphones. ‘Critical’ raw materials like platinum or cobalt are used in all the technologies that are essential for the energy and digital transition. But we should be aware of the scarceness of these materials, a new campaign warns.

As of the 1st of January 2021, Lisa Cheng, Professor of General Linguistics, will be the next Scientific Director of the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL). She tells us about LUCL and shares some of her thoughts about her upcoming role.

Samen met andere studenten bracht Fien Lurvink hulpgoederen naar Oekraïne en nam vluchtelingen mee terug.

Restructuring of corporate groups was discussed at the joint conference of the European Law Institute (ELI) and the Business & Liability Research Network of Leiden University took place in Leiden (the Netherlands). During this conference, developments at both the national and European levels were discussed.…

On 27 January 2017 the fifth issue of the Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, titled 'Breaking the Rules: Artistic Expressions of Transgression', was published.

Most people would not even consider it, starting a PhD at the age of 62. However, for the former Teylers Museum curator Bert Sliggers it was like a dream that came true: ‘The opportunity I was given felt like a gift, it brought me and Teylers Museum a lot.’

Oxford University Press has published the edited volume based on the European Law Institute's (ELI) project 'Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law'. The project ran from 2013 to 2017 under the auspices of the ELI and was conducted by Bob Wessels and Stephan Madaus, who were assisted by Gert-Jan Boon.

The Edisen Foundation has won the 2016 Mr. K.J. Cath prize. This student organisation set up by two Leiden students gives lectures in care homes.

Martin Richardson, who graduated in 1997 from what was then the Leiden LLM Programme in European Community Law (now: Leiden Adv LLM European and International Business Law, EIBL), has recently been appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland, meaning that he is now a judge of the highest…

Teachers of English as a foreign language in China and the Netherlands have different notions of themselves as teachers in relation to cultures associated with the English language. This is stated in the doctoral thesis of Dadi Chen, who graduates from the Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching…

Do you have a creative idea for improving contacts between Dutch and international students? Work out a plan and you could win the Van Bergen Prize and earn 5,000 euros to put your idea into practice. Deadline 22 October.

On Thursday, 11 May 2017, Nobuo Hayashi will defend his PhD dissertation entitled “Military Necessity” at Leiden University’s Academy Building (Rapenburg 73). He will argue that military necessity denotes normative indifference in international law.

Brexit has been a kind of shock therapy for the EU and has eventually led to more appreciation for European cooperation. That is what Professor Luuk van Middelaar claimed on 30 November at the conference ‘Brexit and the future of the European Union’ which marked the 60th anniversary of the Europa Institute…

As of 1 January 2020 Daan Weggemans has succeeded Ruth Prins as programme director of the bachelor Security Studies. We asked him several questions about himself and his new position.

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…

On 23 March 2017, his Majesty King Willem-Alexander visited The Hague Security Delta: a network in which businesses, knowledge institutions and governments work together on knowledge development and innovation in the field of security. This includes the Cyber Security Academy, where the Master's programme…

Leiden astronomer Anthony Brown had the honour to give the prestigious Spitzer Lectures at Princeton University. In five lectures spread over the beginning of May, he gave an insight into the Gaia Mission. ‘One of the intellectual highlights of the year.’

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.

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…

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 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…

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…

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

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…

Various guests with a background in human rights, law, politics and international relations will be taking part in the ‘Human Rights and the World Cup Qatar’ debate on Friday 30 September. Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) Secretary-General and Leiden alumnus Gijs de Jong will be there to provide…

In the week of 22 May, a delegation of the Faculty of Science visited Indonesia to strengthen the cooperation with the Universitas Gadjah Mada, the Universitas Indonesia and the Kebun Raja (botanical garden) in Bogor. Furthermore, the delegation visited the faculty of Pharmacy of the Institut Teknologi…

Professor of Financial Law Matthias Haentjens is recently appointed member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Conflict of Law regarding Securities and Claims. The Group’s tasks shall be to assist the Commission with its work on conflict of laws on third-party effects of transactions in securities…

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.

Arabist and papyrologist Petra Sijpesteijn has received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council for her research on the early Islamic Empire. The five-year ERC grant will fund the research project

President Joko Widodo was received on 22 April in the Academy Building at the Rapenburg by Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker and Henri Lenferink, Mayor of Leiden. Jet Bussemaker, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, was also present.

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.

On 17 November 2017 the Board of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) in The Hague welcomed the Mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, and Alderman Paul Dirkse for a working visit, and introduced them to the campus in The Hague. During the visit, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed…

This week Dr. Lara Weiss (of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden), who together with Dr Christian Greco (of the Museo Egizio in Turin) heads the project "The Walking Dead: The Making of a Cultural Geography in Saqqara", was visited by the NVIC team. During the visit she introduced them to the…