Global problems such as diseases of affluence or microplastics in the sea are too complex to be dealt with from a single scientific discipline or by just one country. Leiden University has the expertise to bring solutions to these enormous problems a step closer. Read more in the research dossier on…

On Monday 18 March at 10:45 a deadly shooting took place on the 24 Oktoberplein in Utrecht, killing three people and severely injuring five others. Leiden University expresses its solidarity with the families left behind in the wake of this horrendous and regrettable incident. Several researchers of…

PhD defence

PhD defence

The European Commission sees increased labour migration as a solution to the growing personnel shortages, but the Dutch Labour Inspectorate argues that this is not a tenable business model. Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet discusses the advantages and disadvantages of labour migration for the economy…

Professor of Molecular Astrophysics Ewine van Dishoeck is portrayed as a heroine in a pictorial children's book. ‘It starts with a dream' tells the stories of twenty exceptional Dutch women who have had a positive impact on society. The book aims to give young girls role models and encourage them to…

The Dutch labour market is struggling with serious shortages in all sectors. Major causes are the ageing population, work pressure, mismatched and unused labour potential, and flex workers. In a joint article in the 'Tijdschrift voor Recht en Arbeid' (TRA), researchers from the Department of Labour…

In maart 2024 is het wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar de versterking van de verantwoordelijkheid van gecontroleerde entiteiten zelf rondom de accountantscontrole en de jaarverslaggeving uitgebracht. Dit boek bevat de uitwerking van een onderzoek voor het ministerie van Financiën opgesteld door de Afdeling…

Got an hour to spare over the long weekend? Then listen to an episode of the new podcasts that have seen the light of day at the faculty in recent months.

As from 1 February, prof. Adriaan Bedner will be the new Head of Department of the VVI.

De afdeling ondernemingsrecht van de Universiteit Leiden gaat met SEO de Evaluatie Tijdelijke wet transparantie turboliquidatie (ziet op ontbinding van rechtspersonen) voor het WODC (Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid) uitvoeren.

Debate

In the last two decades, there have been heated public and scholarly debates in France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands on the violent end of empire. Nevertheless, the broader comparative investigations into colonial counterinsurgency tend to leave atrocities such as torture, execution, and…

University lecturer Lucien van Beek has been awarded a LUF Praesidium Libertatis Grant. He will use the sum of 75,000 euros to research the thinking of people in ancient and prehistoric times. To do that, he will look for unusual or striking metaphors in the earliest Indo-European languages.

Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2022. In recent years, the alliance has expanded to include centres and new programmes as well as a curriculum of its own. What do the next ten years have in store?

On Monday 21 November a lecture was given at Leiden Law School of Leiden University by Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens and Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Ard van der Steur in which they talked about international judicial cooperation. The lecture focussed on cooperation between the Netherlands…

Assistant professor Max van Duijn is the new chair of The Young Academy. He aims to support young academics, bring research closer to society and make academia more resilient.

The jury of the C.J. Kok Award selected Stéphanie van der Pas' dissertation as the Faculty of Science's best dissertation of 2017. This was announced by rector Carel Stolker during the faculty’s New Year's reception on 9 January.

This year, an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant went to Mink van IJzendoorn, enabling him to investigate the disappearance of amphorae. ‘We take means of packaging and shipment for granted, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives; they are crucial.’

Alexander van Oudenhoven is the brand-new education director of the master's in Governance of Sustainability. The study has already entered its fourth year and Van Oudenhoven is very enthused. What makes this a special programme and what are his plans?

The Legal Post-graduate Training (JPAO) of Leiden Law School changed its name to Leiden Law Academy on 1 May 2023. A new name for the educational programme for professionals and the place to be for events and conferences. What changes will be made and what does the team hope to achieve in the coming…

Most students of Psychology want to work in mental healthcare (GGZ). This makes the master’s specialisation in Clinical Psychology a logical choice. It was an option for alumna Ruth van Vugt for a long time, but she decided to explore further and has since successfully completed the Health and Medical…

A psychology degree, a career that started in the commercial sector and now a role where she feels she can make a difference. For alumnus Marisse van Os (34) everything has come together in her current job at an innovative mental health services provider.

As of 1 September 2024, Thed van Leeuwen is professor by special appointment of the chair “Monitoring Open Science Policies and Practices” at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. The mission of the chair will be to understand the changes in policies and practices…

At the entrance of the Van Steenis building you may now visit an exhibition on material culture. Unexpectedly, it does not display pottery or tools, but building materials. And recent ones at that! Check out the exhibition on Legos lost at sea, conceived and assembled by PhD candidate Maia Casna. ‘These…

The ‘Schijf van Vijf’ is the Dutch official dietary guideline, similar to a food pyramid, that shows what a healthy daily diet looks like. The updated version places more emphasis on plant-based eating. But how big is the impact of that shift really? We asked environmental scientist Joran Lammers.

University lecturer Gerlov van Engelenhoven was to be a guest in one podcast by culture maker and anthropologist Yanise Zijlstra on intangible heritage. The collaboration went so well that they are now making a short film together for young people.

On 24-25 April 2017 Vasiliki Kosta, Assistant Professor at the Europa Institute, participated in the workshop “Human rights norms in ‘other’ international courts and tribunals”.

Assistant professor Looi van Kessel writes in The Conversation about the passing of drag performer The Vivienne, reflecting on their significance for LGBTQ+ advocacy in Europe.

What interests and motives shape how people cooperate, clash and place their trust in one another? For more than 36 years, Van Dijk explored these questions using experimental games in the laboratory. 'Games strip complex issues back to their core.'

In 2022, Leiden will be the European City of Science. The preparations are in full swing, so we would like to give you a look behind the scenes. This time we talk to Ewine van Dishoeck. She is the driving force behind the annual programme at the Faculty of Science. As far as she is concerned, there…

Lichens enthusiast Sander van Zon was eager to use his knowledge for his internship. He wrote an excellent thesis on lichens’ biodiversity in the city, of which his first scientific publication will appear soon. With it, he is nominated for the Leiden Science Young Talent Award 2022.

Many people don't know exactly what Open Science is or why it is important. In a short interview, Anna van 't Veer explains her take on it.

Met de val van Balkenende IV laait de discussie over het functioneren van politieke partijen binnen ons democratisch bestel weer op. Opgeblazen ego’s, overambitieuze politici en partijpolitieke machtspelletjes zouden echte democratie in de weg staan. Maar die discussie is niet nieuw.

On November 29, Stéphanie van der Pas receives the ASML Graduation Prize for Mathematics at the Royal Holland Society of Sciences (KHMW) in Haarlem. She proved that a new method to choose a research model works better than the usual standard method.

In a closed room in the Van Steenis building, hundreds of boxes are waiting under fluorescent lights for someone to come and see them. The jumble of handwritten and printed labels unveils how often the collection has been reorganized, moved and rearranged. Boxes full of potsherds and pottery, human…

The newly established Luxembourg Centre for European Law held its inaugural conference on 10-11 October 2025, exploring the theme of “European Union law and values in a changing world”. Martijn was invited to speak about the relationship between European values and democracy.

Over a century ago, Alexandra van Elroy's great-grandfather left for Japan, where her grandmother was born. Together with her mother, Maaike van der Loon, she reminisces about her family history, through which a key thread is the study of Japanese and Chinese.

On 12 December 2019, Dr Yannick van den Brink, assistant professor at the Department of Child Law and Rubicon Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, gave a keynote speech at the conference ‘Strengthening Juvenile Justice Systems in Europe’, which was organised in Valencia, Spain.

Bob de Brabandere discovered his deep passion for cinema through a minor in Film and Theatre Studies. He currently serves as Assistant Manager at Bioscopen Leiden and as a programmer for the Leiden International Film Festival, which commences on 9 October.

A special beginning of this unique faculty year 2020 - 2021: on Wednesday 2 September, the opening of the faculty year took place online from the renovated Arsenaal building. The opening started with a round table with nine special guests and was followed by a quiz and the presenting of the Faculty…

The university is home to many pearls of research institutes that do not make the news every day. The Executive Board visited one such pearl, the Institute of Philosophy, on Tuesday 1 July. It resulted in an inspired conversation.

It's easy to forget in these turbulent times, but on March 9th the film 'Humans of Humanities' premiered in cinema Trianon in Leiden. 160 guests saw Leiden scientists, teachers, students and alumni talk on the big screen about the value of their work as a humanities scholar. The film was followed by…

The major aim is to examine the potential of learning the body to produce a similar physiological (autonomic, neuroendocrine, or immune) and physical (e.g., desensitization of persistent physical symptoms) response to placebo medication than to active medication (pharmacological conditioning). If proven…

Social resilience and security has never been more important. Over the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a considerable disturbance to our personal and social lives. As a result, the general population reports more stress, loneliness and decreased quality of life. At the same time, there…

What can we learn from how maritime conflicts were managed in the past? What significance did Maritime Conflict Management have in shaping the standards of diplomacy and international law in pre-modern Atlantic Europe (1200-1600)?

The research group Intelligence and Security has been augmented with a team Policing Studies as part of the collaboration agreement with the Dutch National Police.

On Thursday 28 September 2017 the Institute of Public Administration of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) organizes the event ‘Good Governance in Asia and the West: What is the Difference?’ as part of the Leiden Asia Year. Below you can read the interview with professor Zeger van der…

At the Institute’s Council meeting of last December the Institute’s biannual prize for teaching was awarded. The award is named after Carla Musterd, a former, highly valued, member of staff, who was famous for her unflinching dedication to teaching standards and excellence.

Starting your PhD during two major crisis in your country; it happened to Kamaran Palani, PhD student at the Dual PhD Centre and ISGA who lives in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In spite of the difficulties in his county, Palani (34) stuck to his PhD-research about the fluidity…