Archaeology is also digging with computers. This digital quest to find out how we humans lived in the past is what Karsten Lambers likes doing most. He is the first Professor of Digital and Computational Archaeology in the country. ‘A dream come true.’

Many of the language rules we use today were formulated in the 17th and 18th centuries. In a dual track at the universities of Leiden and Brussels, PhD candidate Eline Lismont investigated why some rules became successful while other rules were quickly forgotten.

In January, Dr Karsten Lambers was appointed as Professor of Digital and Computational Archaeology at Leiden University's Faculty of Archaeology. With his extensive background in both archaeological research and computational sciences, the installation of Professor Lambers further strengthens this discipline…

Leiden PhD candidate Jo-Anne Verschoor discovered that nearly twenty percent of the bacterial strains she studied could degrade plastic, though they needed some encouragement to do so. ‘Bacteria are just like people,’ says Verschoor. Her research was published in the journal Communications Biology,…

An international team of astronomers has discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the cluster-in-formation around the Spiderweb Galaxy. Based partly on that hot gas, the astronomers predict that the cluster-in-formation will grow into one of the largest objects in the universe. A step closer to discovering…

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, Hadassah Drukarch and Bart Custers from eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, explore together with Pranav Khanna, eLaw alumnus, the influence of automation on human–robot interaction and responsibility in surgery innovation.

Sinds vorig jaar staan er gekleurde pilaren op de universiteitscampus. Met deze ‘Act of Kindness Pillars’ wordt eenzaamheid bij studenten tegengegaan.

Astronomer Joseph Callingham and his team have observed for the first time a clear signal from a giant burst from a star outside our solar system. This would have a devastating impact on any unfortunate planet orbiting the star.

Call for Participation for the online workshop Interrogating Speculative Futures: A workshop on the politics of imagining a future with(out) chronic illness on 19 and 20 July 2021.

An international team of researchers led by astronomers from Leiden University (the Netherlands) has produced the first sharp radio maps of the universe at low frequencies. Thanks to a new calibration technique, they bypassed the disturbances of the Earth's ionosphere. They used the new method to study…

A team of European astronomers has found a silicate-based weather system on a cloudy gas planet around the star WASP-107. It is the first time astronomers have found silicate clouds and rain. They also conclude that temperatures deeper in the atmosphere are rising rapidly. 'The presence of clouds has…

Leiden astronomy Master's student Arend Moerman has received an A+ for his thesis research on the simulation of chaotic interactions of three black holes. The simulations, which he carried out together with his Leiden and Oxford colleagues, show that lighter black holes tend to slingshot each other…

What role does the frontal lobe play in understanding sentences? Assistant professor Jurriaan Witteman has received a grant to replicate a leading study on this question. ‘As there is some doubt about the reliability of existing neuroimaging results, it’s important to replicate influential studies.’

The new academic year is on its way and for most students it takes some getting used to being present at the KOG every day. What about international students? We spoke with three internationals who have been studying at Leiden Law School since this academic year.

Conference

Lecture, Ancient History Research Seminar

Leiden University is well known for its student associations, which provide a great way for you to get to know your fellow students. As well as parties and social events, student associations also offer excellent sporting and cultural opportunities.

Study abroad: where and when?

Lecture, Language and the Human Past

This February Metje Postma will stop teaching and retire. But she is not done with the discipline yet: she will finish her PhD and there are still five films on the shelf that she plans to complete.

Scrap the radical cuts to research and teaching. This was researchers and students’ message to government at the opening of the new academic year. Various speakers in Leiden’s Pieterskerk highlighted the importance of science for society.

Timothy Metz studied Law and Tax Law in Leiden. Now he’s part of Andri AI, working on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal sector.

What do the cloth trade and slavery have to do with each other? Quite a lot, as it turns out, as by history student Sjoerd Ramackers demonstrated in his bachelor’s thesis. He reveals that cloth merchant Daniel van Eijs was closely associated with four plantations in Berbice, a former Dutch colony on…

'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.'

An X-ray scanner, some small metal balls, and a newly developed algorithm. That is all you need to make a 3D model that enables you to look inside art objects without dismantling them. Thanks to the research of Francien Bossema (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer…

What practical steps can we take to resolve cross-border claims to looted art and prevent illicit trafficking in cultural goods? That's what the European Parliament asked Leiden legal scholar Evelien Campfens. Her advice: develop a registration system, issue art with a ‘passport’ and set up a European…

There are as good as no clear rules for the return of stolen art. This means that rather than in court, many cases are decided in the political arena instead. In her PhD research Evelien Campfens suggests how this could change. PhD defence on 11 November.

Zār jewellery from Egypt can be found in many museums and private collections in the West, but for a long time very little was known about it, except that it was used in rituals to protect against spirit possession. PhD candidate Sigrid van Roode has explored its history and discovered that the jewellery…

On 1 July – Keti Koti, in the year ahead, our university community will be able to reflect extensively on the history of slavery by engaging in research, education and many other activities.

Minerva, which calls itself the oldest student association of the Netherlands, has the reputation of being an impenetrable bastion. A lustrum exhibition shows the turbulent history and points to a diversity of contacts: from close bonds with Leiden ‘coffee ladies’ to the visit of Sir Winston Churchi…

At one time, the railway from Kimberley to Kambove in Southern Africa symbolised prosperity and progress. Today, the exhausted mining towns along its route are marked by decay and pollution. Professor Jan-Bart Gewald has been awarded an NWO L grant to investigate the long-term global consequences.

In January 2024, Bachelor’s student in Law Beaudine Slijper left for Vancouver to spend a semester studying at a Canadian university. We asked her what it’s like to study at a foreign university and how you can arrange an exchange.

On 25 September, Leiden University Campus The Hague organised a partner day ahead of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) 2023 Conference in Rotterdam. The EAIE partner day took place both in Leiden and The Hague, to make international partners of Leiden University understand…

‘Raising awareness of the disorder is crucial since borderline personality disorder (BPD) still faces considerable stigma ’, says Anne Krause-Utz (Clinical Psychology) . Together with an international team of excellent scientists, Krause-Utz provides an update of current knowledge about this disorder,…

In the eighteenth century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) housed its enslaved people on ‘Slave Island’ in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Today ‘Slave Island’ is under serious threat from property developers. Senior lecturer Alicia Schrikker, together with her Sri Lankan colleagues Iromi Perera…

Meet Thomas King, alumnus BA International Studies: ‘I’m currently living in London which is a really amazing experience! I’m a British citizen and I moved to the Netherlands to study BA International Studies back in 2017. I had the best three years ever living in The Hague and studying at Leiden.’

At the start of his PhD, intelligence analyst William Lippert didn’t yet know what to expect. Little had been written on the subject. Three years later, he is sure: conventional arms control agreements promote peace.

Jeroen van Gessel’s lecturers didn’t always have time for extensive feedback on his written assignments. So, together with tech-savvy friend Menno Hahury, he founded Eduface, a startup to develop an AI teaching assistant. ‘The first users now work three times faster.'

When you think of political philosophy, you think of Immanuel Kant, Georg Hegel and Johann Fichte. Both philosophers are considered great representatives of German idealism. University lecturer in Continental Philosophy Marie Louise Krogh has received a Veni subsidy to delve deeper into the German idealists…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Is aviation on a one-way journey or a round trip? That is the question Steven Truxal will answer in his inaugural lecture From Disruption to Innovation in Air and Space: Legal Solutions for a Sustainable Future on Monday 15 November. This professor of air and space law is positive. That’s one thing…

Psychologist Bernou Melisse was shocked at the long waiting lists in the Netherlands for people with binge-eating disorders. The problem was not yet on the map in Saudi Arabia. She therefore decided to study how people suffering from binge eating can be helped better in their own region of the world.…

What do you get when you bring a percussionist and a trumpet player together in a project orchestra? A story full of passion, unique experiences and a healthy dose of enthusiasm. We spoke with Tommy and Jeroen, both staff members at ISGA, about their participation in the Leiden Canal Concert on Sunday…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

A pandemic of lianas is sweeping through tropical forests, reducing their ability to store carbon and limiting their role in mitigating climate change. Two recent studies from Leiden University highlight the issue. ‘We now understand why lianas are visible in satellite imagery.’

Five researchers from Leiden University have been awarded an Open Competition Domain Science ENW XS grant by the Dutch Research Council for their research projects.