On 5 May, we celebrate the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945 and the fact that we have been able to live in freedom ever since. But what does freedom mean, and how does it relate to our safety? Various FGGA experts draw connections with their own fields of expertise.

Over the past year, many of our staff and students have won prizes, been awarded a substantial grant or been appointed to an academic association or a position in public life. All of these are good reasons to include them in our 2019 Hall of Fame. We are proud of them all.

Conference

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PhD defence

From the new street language Smibanese to 17th-century manuscripts: the first national Dutch Studies Open Day explores a wide range of topics. The Open Day will take place on Saturday 7 March in Leiden. Frits Spits will broadcast his radio programme ‘De Taalstaat’ (The Language State’) from the Kamerlingh…

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of our former colleague dr. Karin Willemse, who passed away on Saturday 18 March 2023.

In 2016 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force. The GDPR aims to give control to individuals over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international businesses by unifying regulation within the EU. PhD candidate Helena Ursic-Vrabec examined the…

The Greek diasporic queer poet Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) has been recognized as a central figure in world literature and literary modernism. On December 9th, a symposium around his work will take place at Leiden University Libraries. This will be combined with the launch of Maria Boletsi's book…

What happens in the brains of people with psychiatric illnesses? With a €23.23 million gravity grant, scientists from different fields will search for biological causes over the next decade. ‘By joining forces, we hope to improve diagnosis and treatment for patients with these diseases.’

Are you a school or university student, and do you feel very anxious before and during exams? Take advantage of these tips by Leiden student psychologists, from how to stop ruminating to how to conquer a black-out.

Our annual "Science to Experience" exhibition of student works is hosted by the V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media. This year's theme is "LIVING".

The Senior Teaching Qualification is for experienced lecturers who have done more than lecturing alone. Ten quotes from the first ten lecturers to receive the STQ award.

‘There’s a lot of evaluation in the Netherlands, but this doesn’t always lead to change,’ says Wout Broekema, Assistant Professor of Crisis Governance at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs. Learning from a crisis is complicated, but experts can help.

The SAILS conference The Future of AI is Here (and Guess What … it’s Human) brought together researchers and policy makers to discuss the important issues in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). Where are the opportunities and what are the dangers?

Alumni event, Brussels

Inaugural lecture

This is an incomplete list of scientific publications by students and staff of the Creative Intelligence & Technology MSc programme.

Not one but two openings: the minister who defended her plans and many who emphasised the importance of standing together with the arts and social sciences: the opening of academic year 2019-2020 in Leiden was not without event.

How has progress been made on diversity and inclusion at Leiden University over the past decade? Attendees reflected on this at the D&I Symposium 2024: Untold Stories. And in the workshops, students and staff discussed the next steps toward a more inclusive community.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will retire on 8 February. If there’s one theme running through his career, it’s the links between the University and society. In this series of pre-retirement discussions, Stolker will talk one last time to people from within and without the University. In this edition…

Better supervision of PhD candidates, clear guidelines on career paths and an MRI scanner that can be accessed by all researchers: these are the recommendations from the new self-evaluation. Colleagues say: ‘This forces us as an institute to formulate our mission and vision more precisely.’

As Board Secretary, Corry Donner aims to be a ‘spider in the web’; someone who keeps a watchful eye on and brings together all the different perspectives of the institute’s board. Now she's left her carefully woven web at the university and transfer her tasks to her successor. Last September, we talked…

The airspace had almost closed last year as Leiden students and staff rushed to leave the Netherlands Institute Morocco (NIMAR). How is this Leiden institute in Rabat doing over a year later? ‘Luckily we’d done a crisis exercise a few months before. Everyone managed leave the country in time.’

On 29 January, the Mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, was awarded Leiden University’s Scaliger Medal. The longest-serving Mayor of Leiden was presented with the medal by the University’s longest-serving Rector Magnificus, Carel Stolker. Lenferink was awarded the medal in recognition of his achievements…

During Cyberweek, from 17-24 October, the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) highlighted its research and teaching on cybersecurity, digital developments, and their impact on society.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will retire on 8 February. If there’s one theme running through his career, it’s the links between the University and society. In this series of pre-retirement discussions, Stolker will talk one last time to people from within and without the University. In this first…

How can our university really become inclusive? This is what students and staff discussed at our annual Diversity & Inclusion symposium. ‘It’s moving from a have-to to a want-to’

A new year that will bring all sorts of developments in the world of research. What are the new year’s resolutions in social sciences research at our faculty? What unites us, and what exciting developments do we anticipate?

For every period, it is a challenge to unearth the details of political trafficking; yet the effort needs to include all relevant persons, groups, and institutions – not only those wielding formal responsibilities. We hope to reinvigorate this effort by inviting specialists to present their research…

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University ceremony

Alumni event, New York

Roundtable

Conference

The rise of authoritarianism, the strengthening of the radical right, and the role of the EU in defending democracy—these are just a few of the issues causing concern today. Is the EU capable of defending democratic values within the Union and beyond its borders? In an interview from the Lithuanian…

The Centre for Public Values & Ethics (CPVE) is an interdisciplinary, academic centre of expertise aiming to conduct and disseminate scientific research on normative issues in the public sector, in particular the fulfillment of public office and the planning, making and executing of public policy, both…

To what extent is the image of the Taino settlements on Hispaniola representative for the whole island, or is it only related to a few large settlements of known caciques?

This project studies travel writing about the Dutch East Indies written between 1800 and the end of the Second World War. By analyzing both Dutch travel texts and Indigenous travel texts in Javanese and Malay, it presents a new, double-voiced perspective on (the historiography of) the Dutch colonial…

Each student chooses an individual topic or theme on which they would like to do a graduation research project. Read the below rules and guidelines before you embark on the graduation project.

The scientific interest in stone sculpture has been present in the archaeological investigation of Nicaragua from the mid 19th century onward.

Predictors of work functioning in persons with multiple sclerosis

There are currently two projects in Coptic Studies that are supported by the NVIC. Both are directed by Dr. Karel Innemee and both take place in the Wadi Natrun.

Academic ceremony