Symposium

Jorge Heine writes about 'bricks-and-mortar' diplomatic posts and their significance during a pandemic.

Before he became Minister of Finance, CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra invested for years in a shell company in the Virgin Islands. This has been revealed in leaked documents known as the Pandora Papers. How exactly does tax avoidance work? And are there other options? Tax lawyers Jan Vleggeert and Tanja…

Herta Mohr was a promising Egyptologist who died in Bergen-Belsen. Lawyer Amandus Wolfsbergen died in Auschwitz, without knowing that the his work would continue to be a respected authority for many years. Thanks to research by PhD candidate Adriënne Baars, some more personal information has been added…

In a festive and intimate award ceremony, plant scientist Omid Karami received the first edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award out of the hands of Wim Klop, Director of the Biotechnology Center at DSM. Several speakers spoke about Krijn Rietveld and why Karami deserves the prize that…

For almost fifty years EL CID has been the whirlwind start of their studies and student life for thousands of first-year students. With up-and-coming DJs, food trucks and informative workshops, ambitious EL CID committees have made sure that the introduction week has grown into a mega-festival.

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.

An international team led by Leiden astronomers has taken the first-ever image of a young, Sun-like star accompanied by two giant exoplanets. The researchers used The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope for this, known as ESO’s VLT. Images of systems with multiple exoplanets are extremely…

In the depots of the Faculty of Archaeology, many artifacts, accumulated after decades of fieldwork across the world, are stored. A new project, the Leiden Inventory Depot (LID), aims to unlock this wealth of information to the outside world. The 3D scanning of objects takes a central role in this endeavor.…

Carolijn Brouwer and ambitious are synonymous. That has got her a long way. She was the first woman to be part of the winning team of the Volvo Ocean Race, the toughest of sailing races. 'Would I take part again? Only for a bigger challenge - as skipper, for example.'

University lecturer Peter Burger has been researching the reliability of stories for almost 30 years. Whether political news item or urban myth, he debunks falsehoods and half-truths on an almost daily basis. He recently received a prize for his complete oeuvre.

Why do some smokers quit much more easily than others? Can we think ourself to insomnia? And does playing music together help to calm conflicts? Psychology students investigated these questions and presented their findings during the Psychology Science Day 2023.

In Dutch TV programme Early Birds, Marvin and Kevin Groen (26) showed viewers areas of nature in the city that often go unnoticed. These good-natured brothers - twins, in fact - were a big hit with the viewers. How much influence do they have on one another's studies and work?

International students who have been awarded a LExS scholarship from Leiden University were welcomed in the Academy Building on 5 September. The 50 students were presented with a certificate symbolising their scholarship.

Each year it is estimated that thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking in the Netherlands. Many of these victims are minors. Assistant Professor of Criminal Law Luuk Esser conducted research on the current legislation to combat human trafficking. His PhD defence is on 25 September.

Fourteen of the candidates for the European parliamentary elections on 23 May studied at Leiden University. We ask four of them about their motivation and ambitions. In this article: Conny van Stralen, who studied German, and Maurice Hoogeveen, who studied history.

In the course 'From Ceramics to Plastics: The Mediterranean in 12 objects' students were taught to work with 3D scanning technologies. One of the underlying reasons to introduce students to this technology was to teach them to reproduce objects. ‘More and more archaeological information is stored in…

When we talk about the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it is not just about the Netherlands. On the contrary: our Kingdom consists of no less than four countries, three of which are Caribbean islands. This structure is complex, to say the least. Although all countries are officially equivalent, in practice…

Children in the Netherlands develop prejudices based on ethnicity at an early age. Ymke de Bruijn (27) came to this conclusion in her dissertation ‘Child Interethnic Prejudice in the Netherlands: Social Learning from Parents and Picture Books’. For her PhD project she took a closer look at the behaviours…

The brain structure of young people with conduct disorder differs significantly from that of their typically developing peers. This is the conclusion of an international study that analysed more than two thousand MRI scans, recently published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Dr Moji Aghajani, one of the principal…

Alumna Jolien Schukking has been working as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg since 2017. In this special role, she provides legal protection at an international level in major cases and concerning various topics. What is her job like and what motivates her?

Mathematician Stéphanie van der Pas, winner of the C.J. Kok Jury Award for her PhD thesis in 2017, divides her time between research and education, and between pure mathematics and practical application.

Jean-Eric Paquet, a Director-General at the European Commission, visited Leiden University on 20 February. He was impressed by the researchers’ drive, the wide range of topics that they research and the strong collaboration with Leiden Bio Science Park.

Edith Schippers, Minister of Health, will be investing six million euros over the coming four years to boost research on new antibiotics. The programme will be set up by several different parties, including the Leiden Centre for Antimicrobial Research.

Using enslaved people as servants, becoming an administrator in the Dutch West India Company or making uniforms for the colonial army. Many people from Leiden played a role in colonialism and slavery. Historians are conducting preliminary research and finding striking examples.

Now that war is once again raging in Europe, the question of when you need to stand up against injustice has become more relevant than ever. In his Cleveringa lecture on 24 November historian Gert Oostindie will discuss why colonial domination was not regarded as an issue in Leiden for a long time.

In the search for new medicines against diseases such as cancer, a Leiden team has developed a new workflow. This approach combines artificial intelligence (AI) with molecular modelling and is suitable for finding unknown and innovative drug structures, the researchers proved.

Echoing corridors, chaotic lessons and the obligatory chit-chat in the playground: for pupils with autism, an average day at school is exhausting. As a result, many of them feel lonely. Elijah, an expert from personal experience, says: ‘In the breaks, I’d sit on my own in a room.’

On 23 September, the Leiden alderman for the Management of Public Space was presented with a Ginkgo Biloba in the Blekerspark. This special 'Peace Tree' was grown from a seed from a tree that survived the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima. The Peace Tree is being temporarily housed in Leiden's Hortus…

Frans de Haas started his work at the MI with a clear mandate. Listening and talking are what he will mainly be doing ‘My role is to make sure that everyone feels comfortable in the new situation.’

The knowledge held by indigenous people is essential if you want to study the history or the language of a particular region. Leiden archaeologists and linguists are now looking for ways of involving local people more systematically in their research.

Jurist Gineke Wiggers wants to predict the expected impact of legal articles. Carel Stolker, Rector of the University and, like Wiggers, a legal specialist, is enthusiastic about the research. ‘A big data project like this will help us establish the effect of our work on society.’

Over a period of seven years, researchers from the International Brain Laboratory mapped 279 brain regions at the cellular level. Their findings are now published in Nature, with both data and software openly shared. Cognitive neuroscientist Anne Urai: 'Any researcher with a good question can make use…

‘China has become an academic powerhouse, which is good reason for Leiden University to expand our partnerships with universities there.' A delegation headed by Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker visited China and South Korea, to renew and extend existing partnerships.

Leiden University College The Hague celebrates a milestone by seeing its 1000th graduate receive their diploma.

A delegation from Leiden University, headed by Vice-Rector Hester Bijl, was in China from 9 to 11 October. During the visit to different universities and partner organisations, existing bonds were reinforced and new contacts made. These agreements will make the future exchange of students and researchers…

On January 16, 2022, our respected and beloved colleague Prof. dr. Bas Edixhoven passed away after a short period of serious illness.

How do bacteria sense and adapt to their environment? Ariane Briegel, Professor of Ultrastructural Biology, is intrigued by this question. Using new techniques, she produces three-dimensional images of bacteria that provide us with new clues about their sensory system.

On 4 December Professor Emile van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal passed away. Van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal worked at the African Studies Centre from 1967 to 2002, when the ASC was not part of Leiden University yet. He became professor by special appointment at Leiden University on behalf of Leiden Law School in…

How do people vote? How rational are voting choices? How much do external factor weigh in? In this article social scientis provide some background.

Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam, Stefanie Meeuwis, and Eliška Procházková have all been awarded a share of the Aspasia diversity grant obtained by Mariska Kret. These three promising young psychologists will each receive 10,000 euros as a stepping stone towards a career in science. This gives them three months…

The one-day symposium ‘War in Europe: the impact of Russian aggression in Ukraine two years on’ on 23 February 2024

A million people in the Netherlands attempt to quit smoking each year, often without lasting success. Health psychologist Kristell Penfornis carried out doctoral research into the role of self-image in smoking cessation. “If smoking is normal in your social circle, it more easily becomes part of your…

Leiden University is home to over a hundred specialists studying the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. From 2017-2018 onwards, they will join forces to offer two new options for specialisation within existing MA programmes: Medieval Studies and Early Modern Studies.

AI ultrasounds: LUC alumna empowers women in rural Africa

Psychologists Anna van ‘t Veer and Eiko Fried will start a scientific integrity workshop tour after the summer, called Responsible Scholarship: Psychology. Their aim: giving the subject a more prominent position in the academic’s mind.

Maak kennis met digitale veiligheid in de podcast over de BSc Cybersecurity & Cybercrime. Experts bespreken actuele thema’s zoals ransomware en online fraude.

Ellen de Bruijn and Berna Güroğlu, both of the Psychology Institute, have been proposed for professorships by the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Güroğlu: ‘I feel honoured that the University has approved the appointment.’ De Bruijn: ‘It’s great, and really motivating, that Leiden University…

The Sackler Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights was established at Leiden University through an endowment given by Dr. Raymond R. Sackler and his wife, Beverly, international philanthropists with a commitment to supporting scientific research. The lectures mark the annual celebration of International…

‘Foreign policy’ may seem to the general public to be merely an official response to problems entering the nation from across the border. Yet the political reach of diplomacy has extended, and diplomats will have to find ways to engage more with home citizens, including those who feel sidelined and…