Leiden University’s President of the Executive Board, Professor Annetje Ottow, has been reappointed for a second term by the Board of Governors.

It is with great sadness that Leiden University has learned of the death of Professor Cees Fasseur (11 December 1938–13 March 2016)

Vijf jaar na de overhandiging van ‘A History of Russian Law’, overhandigde emiritus hoogleraar Ferdinand Feldbrugge op 16 januari het tweede deel van zijn unieke overzichtswerk aan decaan van de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid Joanne van der Leun.

In just over a decade, Uber has revolutionised how we move around our cities. The ride-hailing app was a game-changer: you just tapped your phone and a cab would find you. You even paid through the app. However, some of the Uber’s more controversial practices have triggered the interest of law enforcement,…

According to a recent court ruling, the reception of asylum applicants in the Netherlands is not in line with European requirements. The Dutch Government must take measures to amend the situation. What are the problems concerning the reception of asylum applicants and how realistic are the court’s d…

Assignments, work groups, deadlines and the first exams in sight! The Get Started campaign of Leiden University Libraries aims to help new students to find their way in the library. We can use the help of teachers for this campaign.

Gert Oostindie, Professor of Colonial and Postcolonial History, has been made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He was awarded the royal honour by Leiden mayor Henri Lenferink after giving his valedictory lecture, ‘The future of the colonial past’, in the Academy Building of Leiden University…

Neuroscientists Ineke van der Ham (Leiden University) and Anouk Keizer (Utrecht University) regularly use VR in their research. Their experiences with the medium raise many questions about the ways VR is experienced by different people. Therefore they conducted an VR experiment at the cinedans festival…

Education, Finance, Research

In the Dutch tv-programme 'NOS Amalia and the Dutch Caribbean' Stacey shows the impact of climate change on the coast, coral and culture.

Marieke Liem, professor at ISGA, discusses how the number of drug-related murders has not decreased in the last years

The Security Studies bachelor's programme has received a bronze medal in EW Best Studies 2023. Every year, EW Best Studies selects the top programmes in Dutch higher education.

How can universities engage students in blended learning environments? Linyuan Wang’s (PhD at ICLON) dissertation offers vital insights. Blended learning combines traditional classroom instruction with digital tools and online activities.

Today’s protest at the University’s Academy Building and the Hortus botanicus ended at around 16.30. The dozens of demonstrators left the grounds voluntarily after the university summoned them to leave.

Javier Aleuanlli, an Advanced Masters graduate from the Law and Digital Technologies programme at Leiden University, has been awarded Google's Diverse Copyright Thesis Award 2021 for his LL.M. thesis "Augmented Reality and Copyright: perspective under the EU framework". In this work, Javier mapped and…

Physicists from Leiden University wrote the script and ensured that every experiment in the performance was scientifically accurate. The kickoff of the major educational project of the Amsterdam Light Festival was a huge success — and there’s much more to come.

On Thursday 29 February, the European Data Protection Supervisor, Wojciech Wiewiórowski, visited the eLaw Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden Law School to give a lecture entitled 'Fundamental rights and/or market surveillance: The current and future role of Data Protection Authorities…

Maurijn van der Zee searches for insecticides that protect crops without harming wildlife or leaving residues in our food. His GREENSHIELD project received funding from the NWO Open Technology Programme.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) announced on 25 April that it has appointed 18 new members. These include Leiden professors Andrew Webb and Jos Raaijmakers.

Modern Arabic titles in the catalogue of Leiden University Libraries (UBL) can now also be consulted in original Arabic script. Taking away the need to transliterate titles, has made searching for Arabic source materials in the catalogue much easier and more efficient for users.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

Did your colleagues develop an inspiring educational innovation? Or, did you collaborate with teachers and/or support staff to do so?

On 8 July 2021, The Francophone Association of Ombudspersons (L’Association des Ombudsmans et des Médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF)) launched their online course platform (CLOM) and training course 'Faire vivre les droits de l’enfant: des clés pour l’action'.

Within the scope of Leiden European City of Science, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) presented the quadrennial Lorentz Medal to Daan Frenkel in the Academy Building yesterday. The ceremony was in collaboration with the Lorentz Center and was attended by Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister…

On Wednesday 16 June 2021, Karim Khan was sworn in at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Experts say this is no easy time to join the ICC.

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga and Hadassah Drukarch from eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, recently published the book ‘AI for Healthcare Robotics’, published by CRC Press from Taylor and Francis Group in their AI for Everything Series.

The bicycle parking area in front of the Lipsius building will definitely no longer be used for bicycle parking. Instead, this space will be transformed into an inviting meeting place in a green setting.

Organisation, Security

Despite the promising effects of technology in assessment and treatment, the actual use of novel technologies in juvenile justice context remains limited. We want to inspire researchers to develop and investigate technological applications for assessment and treatment for justice involved youth.

The Institute of Public Administration is launching the Leiden Governance Programme: an exclusive educational programme for experienced practitioners with an eye out for the public interest. The programme will start in April with two unique modules (in Dutch) that focus on collaborating successfully…

In 2007, a spy from the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) planted a destructive computer virus at an Iranian nuclear site, halting the Iranian nuclear weapons programme. Dutch newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’ has revealed that the AIVD kept the crucial role of the Dutch spy a secret from…

More than 130 countries, including the Netherlands, have decided to introduce a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent. The plan would lead to 125 billion euro in extra tax revenue globally.

The legal protection of parents and children in cases involving placement in care must improve. That is the opinion of Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law.

PhD student Camil Staps is continuing his academic career in Berlin. He receives a Rubicon grant to do research there on demonstrative pronouns.

Education

Facility, Organisation

The Rectors of the eight European EUniWell universities met in July in Leiden. During the meeting they discussed the future of this alliance that focuses on joint research and education in the area of health.

The fact-checking initiative Nieuwscheckers has won the Dutch round of the European Citizens Award. This prize is awarded annually to projects and initiatives that deliver an exceptional performance within the EU.

Soil that is too wet, or too dry. Or with a lot or few nutrients. Due to climate change, the differences are becoming bigger, and plants must increasingly be able to adapt to survive. How do you make plants more stress-resistant? For this purpose, researchers from Leiden, along with other universities,…

By the time you read this message, it will already be February. But since this is our first newsletter of the year, I still feel compelled to wish all of you a very happy New Year!

The first professional training organised by the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Global Heritage and Development has finished. The participants work for municipalities, provinces, universities or are independent researchers or consultants in the Heritage Sector. During three intensive days in September…

From deepfakes and disinformation to killer robots, surgical robots and AI lawmaking: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing our world. That raises the question whether this requires some form of regulation. At eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, prof. Bart Custers…

On Monday we welcomed our students to the faculty with hearts, chocolate, and asking them to take the National Student Survey (NSE). A combination of Valentine’s Day and the start of the NSE campaign week – encouraging students to take the online survey.

On Thursday 23 May, Carlotta Rigotti, postdoctoral researcher at eLaw, gave a guest lecture on the regulation of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) in the European Union at Kyoto University.

Tijdens de campagnes voor de Europese Verkiezingen werd beweerd dat 70 of zelfs 80 procent van onze wetten door de EU worden bepaald. Maar klopt dit wel? Hoogleraren Armin Cuyvers en Kutsal Yesilkagit spraken erover met Pointer.

Two Leiden researchers have been awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants. These grants, each worth EUR 150,000, will help the grantees in their efforts to bridge the gap from basic science to real-life applications

Since the publication of the article in the interdisciplinary journal Nature, over 200 news outlets have showcased the pioneering research.

As of 1 April 2025, Lodewijk Govaerts will be standing down from the Board of Governors due to other commitments that will demand a significant part of his time and attention within the foreseeable future. Govaerts does not want this to affect his ability to fulfil his role on the Board of Governors…

Master's student Vicente Fischer de Miranda Rodrigues is the winner of the KHMW Brewer Thesis Prize for History. He was awarded the prize for his research on donatism.

The Air and Space Law (Advanced LL.M.) master’s programme at Leiden University is among ten ‘excellent master’s programmes’ at Dutch universities. This is according to ‘Keuzegids masters 2024’, a guide to master’s programmes in the Netherlands.