Climate change, social inequality, and the COVID-19 crisis are examples of wicked problems—issues that require collaboration across different disciplines. In partnership with the African Studies Centre, David Ehrhardt and Caroline Archambault (LUC), along with African partners, are researching the best…

People who are attracted to more than one gender often experience a disadvantage in the workplace and labour market. How can the workplace can be improved for bi+ people.

Who can pitch a book so well that everyone wants to read it? These are the winners of the 2025 Alternative Reading List Awards.

Dutch universities have responded positively to the new coalition plans. Investments in education, research and innovation will be prioritised, and the stringent cutbacks proposed by the previous cabinet will be reversed. Optimism is the order of the day in Leiden, though caution is advised.

In the booklet ‘Research with Windows Wide Open’, eight professors in the social sciences and humanities advise colleagues who want to make an impact with their research. They include Leiden professors Andrea Evers and Leo Lucassen. The booklet, published by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

In September 2023 the new minor Sustainability, Climate Change and Food starts. This minor critically examines the complexities of food sustainability through ecological, socio-economic, political, and cultural systems.

The results of the Personnel Monitor 2022 are out. Now the ball is in all of our courts. What does the Monitor tell us and how can we act on it? I hope that as an organisation we can get a good dialogue going as the first step towards improvement.

What looked like an ordinary coot’s nest turned out to be a five-star location with a remarkable backstory. Beneath a jetty on the Rokin in Amsterdam, biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra discovered a true time capsule — complete with face masks from the COVID era and a Mars wrapper dating back to the 1994…

What did medieval scholars think of the books they read? In her inaugural lecture, Professor Mariken Teeuwen will talk about the texts they wrote in the margin.

Five lecturers from Leiden University have received a Comenius teaching award. With the grants they can carry out an innovation project.

Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) spoke with lecturers and students from Leiden University at Campus The Hague on 27 October about the impact of the Israel-Hamas war. He wanted to know how the conflict was affecting the academic community. Lecturers and students shared their…

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.

Since a few months, Executive Director Niels Laurens no longer has to divide his attention between two faculties but has been able to fully focus on FGGA. A conversation about the dynamics within our Faculty, his management style, and the steps we will all have to take together to improve issues such…

Three new initiatives will provide a more diverse view of Leiden’s academic history, literally and figuratively: a historical study on the background of students and scientists, a new book about the Academy Building, and two new sculptures of female scientists, Ewine van Dishoek, Professor of Molecular…

North Korea is generally thought to be an isolated country. But, according to PhD candidate Tycho van der Hoog from Leiden’s African Studies Centre, the opposite is in fact the case. North Korea actually has strong alliances with countries in southern Africa. Van der Hoog is trying to shed more light…

‘What if we switch off all the lights one evening? That idea crossed my mind from time to time. And when I mentioned it to a taxi driver one day, he said: “Oh, you mean: lights out, stars on!” That’s not completely true, of course, because the stars are always on, but his phrase summed up the idea n…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Nine students dove into a challenging iGEM project this summer. With their idea, they aim to make antibodies more efficient - and in the meantime learn at least as much about collaboration, creativity and their own future.

A better balance between teaching and research duties, greater recognition of team performances and the elimination of simplistic assessment criteria. The ‘Academia in Motion’ paper published by the Leiden University Recognition and Rewards describes the main problems with recognition and rewards in…

It is not widely known that Una Europa is not only intended for academic staff. Our university is actively involved in Una Europa: an alliance of 11 leading European research universities. This collaboration provides students and all staff with new international opportunities for cooperation and development.…

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

Lecturers Marjo de Graauw and Malte Riemann have both received a Comenius Teaching Fellowship.

It is with deep sorrow that we share the news that our dear colleague Andrea Evers passed away on Monday, 4 August 2025. Since 2013, Andrea had been affiliated with the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University as Professor of Health Psychology. She was an undeniable driving force…

Better health for all the residents of The Hague region. This is the mission of Health Campus The Hague – formerly LUMC Campus The Hague. Eight partners – the LUMC, Leiden University, the municipality of The Hague and five healthcare institutions (see box) – are collaborating intensively in healthcare…

It is still unclear how the Neanderthals died out. For long, one theory seemed most likely: the emergence of the highly intelligent Homo sapiens, or modern humans. This competition hypothesis is no longer the dominant theory among scientists, research among archaeologists and anthropologists has shown.…

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

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

During the award ceremony of the Christiaan Huygens Prize on 16 October, mathematician Rosa Schwarz received an honourable mention. Schwarz, former PhD candidate of the Mathematical Institute, received the mention for her dissertation ‘Logarithmic approach to the double ramification cycle’.

Young Academy Leiden (YAL) will change its board this month and welcome seven new members. Outgoing chair Julia Cramer and incoming chair Rachel Plak look back at the highlights of the past year and discuss YAL’s plans for the coming period.

How do you behave towards patients with life-threatening conditions who do not want to know all the details of the state of their health? This question brought psychologist Liesbeth van Vliet and anthropologist Annemarie Samuels together. It’s an unusual partnership, but their interdisciplinary approach…

A truly special moment in the Senate Chamber of the Academy Building: the portrait of Professor Judi Mesman has been unveiled. 'Leiden University only reserves places in this chamber for its foremost scholars, and you are certainly one of them,' said Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl.

Ecologist Sebastiaan Grosscurt became a successful wildlife journalist after graduating. But he decided to focus on science instead. He started his PhD research this year on the cumulative effect of light and noise pollution on animal behaviour.

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…

The Advanced Nano-electrochemistry Institute Of the Netherlands (ANION) consortium will receive 23.6m euros in Gravitation funding for research on important electrochemical processes for energy transition. An additional four consortia with members from Leiden have also been awarded funding.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

A team of developmental psychologists and educators are involving young people in the communication about brain development. A second team of Leiden neuroscientists conducts research into music and spatial skills and searches for healthcare applications. Both teams were awarded a sum of 10,000 euros…

For two years, Ineke Sluiter was president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Now, she is returning to the university full time. ‘I always carry themes like accessibility, diversity and inclusion with me.’

On December 16, 2023, our respected and beloved former colleague prof.dr.ir. Bert Peletier passed away.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. Normally Jasper looks back on a day in his life, but in the last newsletter of the year he does it a little differently....

Seven Leiden professors have been elected as members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In total 23 new members will be inaugurated on Monday 13 September.

Walter Gam Nkwi is lecturer at the Institute for History, University of Leiden since 1 September 2019. He also lectures at the Den Haag campus. Walter introduces himself below.

Students and staff from Leiden University are protesting in The Hague on 25 November against the billions in cuts to higher education. ‘The cuts are a terrible idea and we want to show why’, says Claire Weeda from WOinActie. ‘Research and teaching are essential to society.’

There was no shortage of smart questions during the recent information sessions. The meetings, in which the Faculty Board provided an update on the faculty's current situation and did its best to address concerns and questions, were well attended. Attendees posed important questions and contributed…

Martine van Trigt, Head of Research Affairs, discusses how her team supports researchers with their research.

Last Thursday the Dutch House of Representatives held a debate on children being put into care when the childcare benefits scandal (toeslagenaffaire) had caused problems for their families. Four Leiden University academics were asked by the House to produce a fact sheet for this debate, bringing together…

On January 7th Minister van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science of The Netherlands announced that the project Island(er)s at the Helm: Co-creating sustainable and inclusive solutions for social adaptation to climate challenges in the (Dutch) Caribbean is one of two projects awarded with funding…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Jeroen Touwen has been reappointed as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 1 January. ‘The Faculty Board’s role is to serve the organisation: we try to manage the University as effectively as possible with the available resources, so that research and education can flourish.’