Stuck at home with little to do? Don’t worry, because we have the perfect space related activities you can do from home, alone or with your family, in Dutch or English.

We are very proud to announce that our alumnus Mr. Claudiu Mihai Taiatu (Adv. LL.M. student, year 2016-2017) has received the Diederiks-Verschoor Award 2017 in Melbourne, Australia for best paper, entitled ‘Space Traffic Management: Top Priority For Safety Operations’.

We are extremely proud of our alumni Nandini Paliwal (LLM 2016) and Valentina Vecchio (LLM 2017) for winning first and second place, respectively, for their essays in the EALA Prize this year.

In 2025 hebben medewerkers en studenten van de Universiteit Leiden veel mooie prijzen ontvangen en belangrijke onderzoekssubsidies binnengehaald.

Prof. dr. Lisa Cheng has been nominated for the Regional Chair at the University of Nantes (France).

Barend Beekhuizen's dissertation has won the 2016 AVT/Anéla (Dutch Linguistic Association and Society for Applied Linguistics) dissertation prize!

Lecture, Language and the Human Past

Student Marieke van der Heijden wandelt wekelijks met senioren bij het project Leren met de Stad. Zij doet onderzoek naar sociale cohesie in de wijk De Kooi.

Astronomers in Leiden have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in northern Chile to produce a new detailed image of the centre of our Milky Way. This allows them to investigate the life of stars in the most extreme region of our galaxy. The Leiden scientists, led by Katarzyna…

Sense Jan van der Molen and Ivo van Vulpen have been awarded the first ENW Communication Award by funding agency NWO for their Wall Formula project. The award aims to encourage scientists to communicate about their research. It consists of a sculpture and a 10 thousand euro sum for science communica…

On 22 January, a panel of international experts on nuclear deterrence gathered at the Campus The Hague to discuss the future of nuclear deterrence in Europe. The panel addressed key aspects of nuclear strategy and the impact of Russia's nuclear rhetoric in the context of the war in Ukraine.

A number of European countries have started evacuating their citizens and there is a threat of military intervention by neighbouring countries: the situation in Niger is deteriorating rapidly. A military coup has thrown the country into turmoil, partly aided by social media.

The West has missed several opportunities to prevent the invasion of Ukraine or, at the very least, to better support the Ukraine, claims Frans Osinga, Professor by special appointment War Studies.

What’s at stake at the NATO summit in The Hague? Three academics from Leiden share their insights.

The Van Loon project sets out to safeguard the archives of Dutch archaeologist Maurits van Loon (Amsterdam, September 22, 1923 - Montpellier, October 12, 2006) and make them accessible for further study.

To be eligible for Literature in Society: Europe and Beyond at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Arts, Literature and Media (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Astronomers who simulate galaxies do not always get the same result, even when they start from identical conditions. New research from Leiden University shows that this is not a flaw, but a consequence of how galaxies behave — and how they are modelled.

Barend Beekhuizen's dissertation has been nominated for the annual AVT/Anéla (Dutch Linguistic Association and Society for Applied Linguistics) dissertation prize!

Ingrid Tieken, Professor at the English Department of Leiden University, has been awarded a Vrije Competite grant by NWO.

The Faculty Board has reappointed Gijsbert Rutten as the Director of Studies for the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics.

After 25 years, this December will finally see the launch of the long-awaited James Webb space telescope (JWST). Leiden astronomers are watching with great excitement: not only were they involved in the construction of important instruments on board, but the telescope will also reveal many new secrets…

Lecture, Sociolinguistics & Discourse Studies Series

On this page you can find information on past events, either organized or funded by SAILS.

Una Europa launches regular seed funding calls. Leiden University and other Una Europa partners also often offer funding for projects involving Una Europa universities.

In an essay published in three prominent European newspapers, Professor Luuk van Middelaar takes a close look at Europe’s role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ‘Europe shows plenty of political energy, but what is still lacking is strategic cool-headedness, in facing a nuclear power.’

On 16 April, an edition of Zembla, the Dutch documentary programme produced by BNNVARA, investigated the connection between Thierry Baudet, leader of Dutch political party Forum for Democracy and the Kremlin. Ben de Jong, visiting lecturer at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, was interviewed…

Two years ago, Russian tanks crossed the border into Ukraine. The war seems to be getting closer and closer. Is it time to dust off and reintroduce military service? Our students have their say.

For decades, scholars have wondered about the development and dissemination of languages around the world. What are the odds that peoples living thousands of miles apart speak varieties of Indo-European languages that are closely related? This riddle has now partly been solved thanks to an international…

A linguistics journal based at Leiden University has risen to the ranks of the top-10 journals in the Humanities.

Arie Verhagen said farewell as the chair of Dutch Linguistics and is appointed as the new chair of Language, Culture and Cognition.

The climate crisis, the return of TB and the digitisation of cultural heritage. The Netherlands and Indonesia face many of the same challenges. A visit by a delegation from Leiden University to Indonesia at the end of June highlighted the benefits of cooperation.

Dark matter represents around eighty per cent of the total mass in the Universe. Yet, we still don't really know what it's made of. Astronomer Pavel Mancera Piña is looking for answers. With a Veni grant from NWO and the most advanced telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, he will investigate…

Lecture, SMILE - Experimental Linguistics series

Lecture, Comparative Indo-European Linguistics (CIEL) Seminars

Marian Klamer's LAISEANG project has been awarded a research grant by CLARIN.

On 1 January 2019, Gijsbert Rutten became LUCL’s new Director of Education. We asked him about his plans.

A newly opened museum in China appears to be devoted to the origins of the Austronesian-speaking peoples, who some 5000 years ago spread from East Asia across the Pacific, seeding it with a distinctive culture and some 1200 languages. But those displays are also a statement in the long-running dispute…

A live online New Year’s event on Tuesday 12 January marked the start of the New Year. Dean Joanne van der Leun toasted 2021 and as usual at this event, the annual Meijers prizes and thesis prizes were awarded.

Yiya Chen has been appointed professor of Phonetics at Leiden University as of March 1, 2020.

Lecture, Com(parative) Syn(tax) Series

Leiden scientists lead COLIBRE, a groundbreaking set of cosmological simulations. By including key missing physics, cold gas and cosmic dust, they offer the most realistic picture yet of how galaxies formed and evolved since the dawn of time.

As of this October, linguist Roberta D'Alessandro is appointed as Member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science (CFRS).

Assistant professor Ronny Boogaart, associate professor Henrike Jansen and assistant professor Maarten van Leeuwen have received the popularisation award from the National Research School of Linguistics for their book Maar zo bedoelde ik het niet (That's not what I meant).