How do you go about the sustainable restoration of a nineteenth-century ship without affecting its historical worth? Leiden University students from the master’s programme in Industrial Ecology spent six months working on this question. We spoke to Hidde Boom (25) and Tycho Jongenelen (25), two of the…

World War II is never over for those who have lived through it. This is the conclusion of Cleveringa Professor Carol Gluck and her students after reading The Assault (De Aanslag) by Harry Mulisch. The book played a central role in Gluck’s honours course.

The Japanese Studies community at Leiden University is deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our colleague, Erik Herber. He was not only an esteemed scholar and teacher, but also, to many of us, a dear friend.

Three Indonesian students participated in the Leiden summer school Crises in Biology. ‘In the end, we were all just one big group.’

Democracy is under pressure all over the world. With the #DemocracyinAction project, university lecturers Sara Brandellero and Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues want to investigate how grassroots art projects manage to keep democracy alive.

Since the beginning of September, Emma van der Plas (20) is the new student ambassador for CADS. Emma is a third-year student and is currently following a minor in Sustainable Development in Leiden. Her goal? To eliminate the stigmas surrounding anthropology.

Professor of Sociology of Law Maartje van der Woude has been appointed as the new Director of the Honours College Law (HC Law). She will succeed Sjoerd Douma on 1 January 2017. HC Law is one of the faculty expertise programmes of the Honours College that is open to students studying one of the law programmes…

Over fifty international students celebrated last Christmas at the homes of staff or students of Leiden University. As part of the Holiday Hosting Programme, the students were invited for Christmas dinner.

A portrait can inspire, intimidate or reassure the viewer. Leiden University has many portraits of professors and students, from the foundation of the University to the present day. What purpose do these portraits serve? The 'Facing Inspiration' exhibition in the Oude UB is about this question.

Amsterdam-based bicycle company VanMoof was declared bankrupt in court this week. The company had been struggling with financial problems for some time and recently closed its doors, causing great concern among customers. Several affected customers whose newly bought or repaired bikes were still being…

If you have a plan that could improve the education or the learning environment of the Faculty of Humanities in terms of diversity or inclusion, you can apply for a grant from the faculty’s JEDI Fund. This year, Nasreen has been helping to develop a new syllabus for the first-year Ancient History co…

Researchers from the Institute of Biology Leiden have discovered how good intestinal bacteria regulate our innate immune system. This surprising discovery could make it possible to treat diseases related to inflammation, such as diabetes and colitis, with a cocktail of good bacteria. Publication in…

The number of women in the Netherlands dying before, during or after childbirth has halved.

In September 2025 Leiden University hosted a greatly successful academic conference

The people who lived in Saqqara, City of the Dead in Egypt, died thousands of years ago, but they are not all that different from us. This is what a study by the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, The Netherlands concludes. If you wanted to prove that you had good taste in ancient Egypt then…

Martijn Manders conducts research on the sunken VOC ship De Rooswijk. Tirzah Schnater from the Ministry of Education, Culure and Science produced this impressive report of the work of this underwater archaeologist.

Following our Leiden Brussels Alumni Event, I (external officer M. Blaauw, ed.) met our very own Leiden Law alumna Helena-Loutas Paraskeva. An Australian who works for the European Commission. Interesting, how did she get this job, what does she do and how did her Master in Leiden affect or influence…

Dr. Katharine MacDonald (Faculty of Archaeology) sketches the background to a recent paper in Science Advances, co-authored by her and other members of the Liveable Planet team.

For two years, assessor Olivier Fajgenblat was a familiar face of this faculty. Starting September 1st, it will be up to Jonatan Wirix-Speetjens to look after the interests of students in all kinds of matters. Together they look back on and look ahead to being assessor at the Faculty of Humanities.

Today it was made public that Hendrik Lenstra has been appointed by the Dutch Royal Academy for Sciences (KNAW) as 'Akademiehoogleraar' (Academy Professor). The Mathematical Institute congratulates him, and is very honored to have him as part of its staff.

LIACS graduate Lieven van Velthoven won yet another award for his Media Technology MSc graduation thesis entitled

Neanderthals were the first people to make glue, but how did they do that? Leiden archaeologists discovered how, and their findings did not go unnoticed.

What does the retail crisis mean for the future of Europe's urban centres? Assistant professor Alistair Kefford answers this very question in the French television programme 27.

Two new university lecturers for ACPA

We are very proud to announce that our LUC Science Lab is finished and ready to be used by LUC students.

Sofia Ranchordas (1985) has been appointed Chair European and Comparative Public Law and Rosalind Franklin Fellow at the University of Groningen. She will start this position on October 1st.

On 28 October 2021, the ombuds office of the city of Zurich - incidentally the very first communal ombuds office in Europe - celebrated its 50th anniversary.

We are very pleased to announce that KU Leuven joins the partnership of the Netherlands Interuniversity School for Islamic Studies (NISIS). KU Leuven is the first Belgian university to take part in NISIS. Prof. Amr Ryad will take place in the NISIS board as representative.

Dirkje Schinkelshoek, Executive director of the Faculty of Science, will become the new Director of Operations and Finances at NWO Domain Organisation (NWO-D) in The Hague as of 1 September.

In May-June 2014, the BA and MA students from Leiden University supervised by Rachel Schats and Frank van Spelde excavated over 90 single coffin burials in Kampen on a cemetery belonging to a Medieval infirmary.

We welcome Paul Sharp as The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's first Honorary Editor.

Leiden team runner-up in the European Regional Round at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court 2016!

Everything is different this year because of the corona measures; introduction weeks, student life and education. In order to give new students a proper and warm welcome, a lot of work has been done to create the frameworks for a mentor programme. The working group 'Tutoring and Cohorting' has prepared…

Stress, conflicts, and dilemmas: the life of a manager is not always a bed of roses. An Honours Class at Leiden University helps student board members make sense of things: ‘It’s not about being liked.’

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

Oberon Janszen, alumnus Bestuurskunde, ging na zijn studie als stagiair bij de Inspectie der Rijksfinanciën aan de slag

My name is Pepijn Reeser, I’m 34 years old and I graduated in 2008 as a historian. I’ve been working in the museum world for about ten years, mainly as a freelancer. My most important project is Het Taalmuseum (the Language Museum); I’ve been involved in that since 2016. Leiden University is one of…

Accreditations. All study programmes have to deal with them and once every six years they cause a good amount of tension. How do you survive the assessment panel? And how does an accreditation proceed in times of corona? Chair of education Kim Beerden recently coordinated the accreditation for the research…

From exercises for working more healthily to practical tips about getting a good night's sleep. Students and staff who take part in the Healthy University Workshops on 18 or 19 October will be given tips to suit their personal situation.

The Leiden Hortus botanicus has received an inheritance of 5 million euros. This is a gift from the estate of Carla van Steijn, who was a loyal visitor to the Hortus during her lifetime. In accordance with her wishes, the gift will be used for new activities and to optimise accessibility for less-able-bodied…

Are you interested in ancient Egypt, the rich cultural heritage of Mesopotamia or bliblical Hebrew and Aramaic? Students of all faculties can follow electives of Ancient Near Eastern Studies without prior knowledge or special entry requirements. Archaeology student Annely Arends talks about her expe…

Every person on earth can read another person’s mind. Not in the way psychics or witches do, but by putting themselves in the shoes of others and considering how they perceive the world. This kind of empathy greatly facilitates communication and interaction. Max van Duijn studies this phenomenon to…

China is an important partner of Leiden University. We collaborate with more than 20 Chinese universities and welcome around 400 Chinese Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students.

In mid-March 2020, the global coronavirus outbreak changed everything in the Netherlands. Staying at home as much as possible and the 1.5 metre rule became the standard. One year on, we reflect on the past year with four Leiden Law School ‘insiders’. What kind of year did they have? And what are their…

Engineering, law, and business students came together in the LDE Space & Society Honours Programme to explore how space and society can mutually benefit each other. At the final event, they looked back upon a steep learning curve. ‘We tossed them into the water and they had to swim.’

Every year many Leiden lecturers and students visit an international university for the purposes of research or study. In the coming newsletters a different Leiden scholar will give his or her view from abroad.

We know we should do it, and we often want to, but… Why is it so hard to live a healthier life? Professor of Behavioural Interventions in Population Health Marieke Adriaanse explains.

After a process of more than two decades, the new Greek-Dutch dictionary was presented on Wednesday 5 June. University lecturer Lucien van Beek acted as manager of this project headed by Ineke Sluiter for the last nine years. He is also one of its editors-in-chief.

After an extremely painful conclusion, the Western allies have left Afghanistan and the Taliban have regained supremacy. How will Afghanistan move forward, and what does the departure mean for global relations? Rob de Wijk, emeritus Professor of International Relations and Security, analyses the failure…

PhD student Doris van Bergeijk brought 40,000-year-old bacteria from mammoth poop back to life. She hopes to find new information that can help research at the Institute of Biology Leiden into antibiotics and antibiotics resistance. Read about it on European Antibiotic Awareness Day, 18 November.