The human dimension must be brought back to the fore, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in response to the child benefits scandal. But how? A group of researchers – including Leiden psychologist Sandra van Dijk – have written a book offering practical suggestions. They presented the book to Rutte on 28…

How do you make lobbying and rhetoric both challenging and understandable for high school students? Professor Jaap de Jong found the answer in climate activist Greta Thunberg. Together with his colleague Arco Timmermans, he developed a digital guest lecture on how to present a convincing story.

Anyone can tell a story. That is the guiding principle Hans Dekker, Senior programme leader at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL), and his colleague Suzanne Verhees use to kick off their multi-day Storytellling course. Arjan van Unen participated in the course over the summer and learned how…

Public Defence by Jaap Brouwer and activities of prof. Marcel Cobussen PhD, Dick de Graaf, Nizar Rohana, Brigitte Kovacs, Lilo Nein, Danne Ojeda, Hans Kalliwoda, Frank Blokland, and Thalia Hoffman

Professor Jojanneke van der Toorn has held the chair in LGBT workplace inclusion for five years. To celebrate, organised an international online conference on workplace inclusion, in cooperation with Workplace Pride that was hosted by the university on 20 and 21 May.

Rob Goedemans (52) is an information manager at the department Information Management and Facilities (IFZ) and member of the crisis team. He is involved in facilitating and providing information about distance learning. We asked Rob how he is helping our faculty through this hectic period.

Major developments worldwide are creating new challenges for society. The pandemic has hit us hard, for example, and we are already feeling the effects of global warming. How can society and politics deal with the urgent problems of our time? That is the theme of the Global Transformations and Governance…

“United Nations peacekeeping is a proven investment in global peace, security, and prosperity. Together, let us pledge to do all we can to enable that mission to succeed”. – Secretary-General António Guterres

Imparting students with a critical attitude and cross-curricular skills. That is what Rawi Ramautar wants to strive for as the new programme director (OD) of the bachelor of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences. 'A programme director has to create a programme of which students say: I find it challenging and…

Come to the Night of Discoveries art and science festival on 16 September. Various researchers from the university are speaking at the festival.

The Van Bergen Prize was awarded to not one, but two initiatives at the Diversity Symposium on 22 January. ‘Leiden City Safari’ is a fun city tour that will help incoming Dutch and international students get to know the city of Leiden – and each other. The interactive ‘OpenUP!’ symposium will invite…

Hans Slabbekoorn is specialised in animal sounds. On 1 July, he was appointed professor of Acoustic ecology and behaviour. A great honour, according to the new professor. ‘This job never gets boring, whether I am investigating the urban jungle or marine noise.’

Getting to know all his colleagues as fast as possible, and learning about the faculty’s strengths: these will be Jasper Knoester’s first challenges. Jasper became the new Dean of the Faculty of Science on 1 January, and he is optimistic about the corona restrictions. ‘Obviously, this isn’t the start…

As a result of the current coronavirus outbreak, almost all of our teaching is done online. However, even before this, several teachers were involved with remote education. Madi Ditmars and Maurits Berger talk about their experiences.

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…

For medical research, researchers often recreate tissue in the lab. Organ-on-a-chip technology emulates organs, right down to the blood that flows through them, thus creating a realistic test model for drugs or research into disease processes. Researchers from the LUMC are coordinating an NWO Gravitation…

By means of a presentation, a panel discussion, and activities in the fresh air, the event themed ‘Environmental Humanities’, organised by the Honours College Humanities, managed to unite both people and disciplines. ‘There is a gap between humanities and sciences, but they are more alike than you might…

On 29 October, seven innovative lecturers from different faculties will join the existing ten fellows of the Leiden Teachers' Academy. The current fellows have been engaged for the past year in implementing their innovation projects. How are these progressing?

The Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) is looking for a: PhD The Illustrated Aesopian Fable in Education in France 1500-2010 (1.0 fte) Vacancy number: 16-123

During the course BBO II: Multi-Level Governance, students learn to make the link between theory and society by completing a challenging practical assignment.

Activities of Nizar Rohana, Catalina Vicens, Andrea Stultiens, Shaya Feldman, Jack Segbars, Karen Lohrmann, Patrizia Bovi, Susan Williams, Giuliano Bracci, and Eleni Kamma

Already during their bachelor’s programme, students in Pharmaceutical Sciences are presented with challenging projects. One of these is the Bachelor Research Assignment (BOO in Dutch), which is often their first real experience with scientific research. This means a lot of responsibility and failures,…

Africa needs a narrative that is consistent with the developments that are taking place all around the continent. In these developments, talented youth, creative tech hubs, and leapfrogging play a big role. We need to invest accordingly.

The centre of our Galaxy is so dark and dense that it is almost impossible to observe what is inside. By catching the rare hypervelocity stars that are ejected from it, Elena Maria Rossi aims to unveil the mysterious environment around the supermassive black hole inside. But she’ll also be solving another…

Monique Koemans werkt sinds 2,5 jaar op de Nederlandse ambassade in de Verenigde Staten. 'Leiden is een opvallende rode draad in mijn leven.'

Assistant professor Joost Willemse firmly believes that as a teacher, you’re never done learning. ‘Students ask questions about things you’ve never thought of yourself. Ultimately, that makes you better at your job.’ That’s why he always encourages his students to ask questions. And it’s appreciated:…

In 2025, Leiden University College (LUC) celebrates its 15th anniversary with the theme 'Global challenges, local impact'. To kick off this anniversary year, we have shared fifteen stories over the past few weeks showcasing how LUC students, researchers, and alumni contribute to societal challenges…

Egyptologist Marleen De Meyer has been appointed the new Director of the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC). Dr De Meyer has worked for the institute, which promotes Egyptian, Dutch and Flemish collaboration in the field of education and research, since 2016.

Marcel Cobussen, professor of Auditory Culture and Music Philosophy, has made listening his speciality. From the sounds of a microwave to chirruping birds, he studies how people treat noise in their environment and what kind of information sounds can give. His mission: to teach people to listen better…

The Linked In profile of alumnus Arne Driessen describes him as a ‘serial entrepreneur’. After studying Japanese he ended up working for a translation agency, after which he founded his own online marketing company, which he later sold to enable him to do something different again: making offices more…

The Executive Board of Leiden University has appointed the new Board for the Faculty of Archaeology. Read more about their plans for the future of the Faculty.

It is said that robots replace human interaction, but not always. This spring, the robots were the reason why the eLaw Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) Law School in Lithuania got together.

Over the past few hundreds of years, the world has changed radically. However, cultural stereotypes from the 17th century are still alive and well today, and even academic researchers sometimes use terms coined centuries ago. Why do they do that? Herman Paul, Professor of the History of the Humanities,…

Graduation MIRD Class of 2024: 'The world is better off with students like this'

Nearly a year since the abrupt switchover to mostly online learning, the Digital Education seminar gave teaching staff the opportunity to review their experiences. What can stay in 2021 and what must go? Frequently voiced opinions: yes please to digital tools that make lectures more interactive; yes…

Data about COVID-19 were everywhere during the pandemic, but how will all this data continue to be managed and kept open so that it is usable in the future? We spoke with Kathleen Gregory, researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), who will study this question in a new project…

Why is water wet? What is ADHD? In De Hoe?Zo! Show, curious 9-and-10-year-olds get answers to their questions. PhD candidates take to the stage to demonstrate just how exciting science can be while enhancing their own communication skills at the same time.

Leiden bachelor students analyse data EC soccer Students are now familiar with something sports journalists already knew: summer holidays can be a time of hard labour. Everybody else is lying on the beach, but for you, it is the busiest time of the year. Leiden bachelor students collected the data…

Nominated as best Master thesis by the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA), Robin Neumann has received the second prize in the Leiden University best thesis competition.

How to take ownership of your career? To find out, students from ‘Design Your Career as a Climate Change Maker’ visited a farmer who has done just that. They learned from him that it’s never too late to start working on something you believe in.

Anthropologist Marit Brun captured Leiden’s student life during her studies, which won her the ‘Best Leiden photo’ competition. She now wants to continue with photography and making travel guides with a nod to anthropology.

With his dance routine and YouTube clips, he even manages to make grammar fun. His infectious enthusiasm and innovative teaching methods have won Thijs Porck, a lecturer in Old and Middle English, a nomination for the LUS Teaching Prize.

Organised in three separate sessions throughout the day, and broadcast live online to guests and families who could not join, over 200 students received their Bachelor’s Diploma of International Studies on 3 September 2021 at the graduation ceremony in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden.

A dissertation covered in hot pink faux fur, antique prints of PhD ceremonies, a pot encrusted with sealing wax: the Hora est! anniversary exhibition at Oude UB takes you to the ritual yet idiosyncratic world of PhD ceremonies.

Nicoleta Paraschivescu highlights the pedagogical and artistic aspects of partimenti in her book 'Giovanni Paisiellos Partimenti: Paths to a practical understanding', released today.

‘Let us not forget the power of genuine engagement,’ dean Sarah de Rijcke stressed at the New Year's Reception on 7 January 2025, which was also attended by Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl and addressed the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The Young Academy has gained a new Leiden humanities scholar as a member. University lecturer Greek language and literature Tazuko van Berkel will be appointed as a member as of March.

Itandehui Jansen graduated from the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam and is currently making films as part of her PhD project at Leiden University. And with great success. Her films have been shown at the IDFA and the Short Film Corner of Cannes, and have won a number of prizes.…

Chinese export paintings have a much greater cultural-historical and artistic value than was previously thought in the Netherlands, according to external PhD candidate Rosalien van der Poel. She advocates making these works accessible to the general public. PhD defence 30 November.

Quantum technology, statistics and a survey with memes: definitely not your everyday research. Julia Cramer (Leiden Institute of Physics) and Sanne Willems (Institute of Psychology) investigate how people perceive quantum.