Arianna Pranger has lost her heart to teaching. A senior lecturer on the master’s programme in Pharmacy, she won the LUS Teaching Prize 2020. The programme trains students to be pharmacists.

Her book ‘Veel valse hoop’ (Much False Hope) about the persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands was immediately hailed as a seminal work. German historian Katja Happe gave the Cleveringa Lecture on 26 November. She is fascinated by what makes people take a stand.

Archaeologist Hayley Mickleburgh has already appeared in the Dutch papers a few times already due to her unusual work: the study of decomposing bodies. She studied at Leiden University, where she is now a researcher.

The monthly ILS Lunch Seminars present the perfect opportunity to unite the different Institutes situated within Leiden Law School. On Thursday 28 November, the ILS Lunch Seminar of November took place. Melanie Fink and Tycho de Graaf both presented their current and future research.

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…

Vivian studies the Global Political Economy specialisation of the MA International Relations and is the coordinator of the Humanities Buddy Programme. Originally from Malaysia, she has been studying abroad in various places. At Leiden, she focuses her studies on illicit political economy and ensures…

Particularly during this time of social distancing and remote learning, it is important to carry on meeting new people – even if you don’t always feel like it after another day staring at your screen, says Wessel van Dam. In his role as assessor at the Honours Academy, Wessel represents the interests…

Hande Taner (on the left), graduated from Leiden University College (Liberal Arts and Sciences, World Politics) now pursuing a Master’s in European Affairs at SciencesPo Paris and London School of Economics. On Monday 22 October 2018 at the OSCE/ODIHR conference on combatting discrimination, she…

For many Indonesian alumni, studying in Leiden or The Hague was a life-changing experience. This is what they told a delegation from Leiden during its recent visit to Indonesia. On their return to Indonesia, some of these alumni set up the Ikali alumni network. But why did they go to Leiden in the first…

It has been just over a decade since the first students graduated with Leiden University’s unique Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor degree. We caught up with one of those pioneering graduates.

Leiden University occupies the 95th place in the QS World University Ranking, making it the fourth Dutch university in the Ranking. In 2014 Leiden was in 75th position. However, a radical new measuring method makes comparison with previous years problematic.

Leiden archaeologists have set fire to a reconstructed Neolithic house in Horsterwold: all in the name of science. Studying the remains will help them understand present and future finds.

The Lucia de Berk case or the suicide of Slobodan Praljak at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: certain trials keep popping up in media. In her dissertation, Tessa de Zeeuw examines the cultural appeal of such cases and analyses artistic responses. ‘Artworks sometimes have…

The Faculty of Humanities' Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund provides small grants to initiatives in support of diversity and inclusion, with specific emphasis on creating an inclusive learning environment.

Below is an overview of the highlights of 2019 for our faculty.

The first of April was the official start of Phase II of the collaborative “PCAD4Cod”-project on the effect of sound on fish populations. Hans Slabbekoorn, associate professor at the IBL, is the principal investigator and collaborates with three PhD-students, Dr. Erwin Winter, (Wageningen Marine Research),…

'Find your way from the stars’, an online workshop on Nautical Astronomy, was one of the winners of The Netherlands Online Cultural Challenge 2020. The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, Leiden University’s Astronomy & Society Group, and the Department…

'An international environment is my natural habitat. I really thrive when I am in a setting where I am around people of all kinds of countries and cultures.'

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, researchers at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands have for the first time detected dimethyl ether in a planet-forming disc. With nine atoms, this is the largest molecule identified in such a disc to date. It is also a precursor…

Planets existing in other solar systems contain invaluable information about the origin of planets and life. PhD candidate Yapeng Zhang has studied their atmospheres by looking at their smallest parts: isotopes. With her research she hopes to discover what makes our own solar system unique.

As a doctor, coming to a decision together with a patient: how do you do that in the best possible way? Researchers Geert Warnar and Roosmaryn Pilgram, who jointly teach a course within the MA in Dutch Studies, are entering into a virtual collaboration with the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa to find the…

Isabelle Duyvesteyn, Professor of International Studies and Global History at the Institute of History and member of the advisory board of Leiden University’s Centre for International Relations (LUCIR) is widely regarded as an expert on civil wars and conflicts. Her new book, Rebels and Conflict Escalation,…

Alessandra Silvestri has been appointed professor in Theoretical Physics in the area of Cosmology. For her this promotion in Leiden is the icing on the cake. ‘But there are many more boxes I would like to tick.’

At the end of the year we always compile a list of our most interesting, most popular articles from that year. In the crazy year that was 2020 one topic was at the forefront of everyone’s minds: coronavirus. Fortunately, there was also room for other stories.

Sander van Kasteren only noticed some small, subtle changes since he was appointed professor on 1 May. Still, he has to get used to the idea, even though he had been working towards the professorship for a few years. ‘I don't quite see myself as a professor yet.'

Dear colleagues and students,

Working during Corona brings along various challenges but also unexpected opportunities. Thijs Porck, university lecturer medieval English at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), was asked to give a digital guest lecture for the University of Costa Rica and shares his experi…

Even if you have a healthy lifestyle, there's a lot to experience and learn during the Healthy University Week, from 26 to 30 October. Health psychologist Andrea Evers is enthusiastic about the week ahead. She tells us about the programme and gives us a taste of her own talk on what the placebo effect…

Leiden alumn Colm O'Flynn joined the second MA programme at SAIS Bologna in 2015, and with good result: his final thesis was named the best of the year! Here, Colm shares his journey from Leiden to Bologna and beyond

Two years ago, university lecturer Kirsty Rolfe was nominated for the Faculty Teaching Prize. Now she is in the running for the university equivalent. ‘It’s lovely to see students blossom.’

Arts and culture, Studium Generale

A huge shiny aluminium object stands in the middle of the Polderlab in Oud Ade. Are the researchers trying to make contact with extraterrestrial life? Certainly not; they are using the ’Moon landers’ to measure whether innovative forms of agriculture reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Fleur van Duin works…

On 5 May we celebrate freedom, a basic human right that should not be taken for granted. We asked international students and staff what it means to them.

Tijdens Leiden Revisited kregen alumni van de Rechtenfaculteit de mogelijkheid om zich weer even echt student te voelen. Dit jaar vond het evenement namelijk plaats in de (oude) vertrouwde collegebanken van het Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw.

We are pleased to announce that on the 30th of September Dr. Andrea Waters-Rist from the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University (The Netherlands) will be launching a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) all about human osteoarchaeology!

Lecture, Annual Leiden Terra Incognita Lecture

Whilst 2020 has been an unusual and taxing year for colleagues at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), the Institute nevertheless can look back on an impressive range of successful grant applications during the previous year. This impressive result was achieved on top of excellent results…

The new academic year has started and with it education as well. Associate professor Dennis Claessen and Director of Education Han de Winde from the Institute of Biology Leiden devised an environmentally friendly introduction to the Leiden Bio Science Park for their students, with the help of Plastic…

On Thursday 14 March, the third ILS Lunch Seminar of this year took place. In this well visited seminar, Nienke van Heek and Esther van Ginneken gave two very insightful presentations on their respective research topics.

If you know a crime is about to occur, should you be able to prevent it before it has even happened? This was one of the questions that was posed in light of predictive policing as a form of mass surveillance during the debate in the elective Governance of Crime and Social Disorder class of the Crisis…

To truly understand Dutch literature, we have to look beyond borders. At least, that is the view of Sander Bax. From 1 August, he will be Professor of Contemporary Dutch Literature and Culture in a Transnational Dynamic.

For fifteen years, Recep Uysal carried out research on positive psychology in Turkey; it is even the subject of his PhD. That was until he had to flee Turkey and start again from scratch in the Netherlands. Re-entering the academic world was a challenge, but he rediscovered his love for the field in…

They confounded expectations and went to university anyway – as a woman of colour, a working-class student or refugee... Throughout the centuries the university has always welcomed pioneers. Students for whom going to university was not the obvious choice and who did not grow up in an academic environment.…

Everyone agrees that university students need to learn academic skills. But what exactly are we talking about? The Leiden Teachers’ Academy organised a conference on 7 November on this topic.

Thijs Porck has successfully applied for a subsidy for a research project that will study the early correspondence of G. J. P. J. Bolland, an autodidact student of Germanic languages who would later become one of the country’s leading philosophers. The project is sponsored by Leiden University Fund…

Alumni who live and work in Brussels met on 18 February at the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event. As well as celebrating Leiden University’s 450th anniversary, they also looked at the challenges Europe faces.

When delegations from Leiden University visit foreign countries, they often arrange a meeting specially for alumni of the country. Mexico was no exception. On Monday 23 October, some thirty alumni got together in Mexico City.