A very special occasion for the Dual PhD Centre. Vasileios P. Karakasis is the 25th PhD candidate in the history of the Dual PhD Centre, combining work with PhD research at Leiden University. Karakasis will defend his dissertation: ‘Adding Fuel to the Conflict’ on 15 October. In this interview, he discusses…

Eveline Crone, Professor of Neurocognitive Developmental Psychology, has been awarded the NWO Spinoza Prize for her high-profile research on adolescent development. NWO announced the award on 16 June. What will Crone do with the award of 2.5 million euros?

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

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…

On 1 March 2020, Jos Schaeken will become the new Dean of the Honours Academy. He is taking over from Ton van Haaften, who is retiring after four years in the post. Here, both Deans give their views on their ambitions, continuity, and the role the students play.

The world is becoming increasingly digitised, and the information one has easy access to is often rather overwhelming. In particular, the accumulative nature of the archaeological practice has resulted in huge quantities of data being produced. But how to prevent these from becoming dust-collectors…

What is the influence of non-hereditary factors on our health, such as lifestyle, diet and exposure to harmful substances? The Exposome-Scan project, led by Leiden professor Thomas Hankemeier, has been awarded 3.2 million euros from the NWO Investment Grant Large programme to answer this question. With…

With the new academic year just around the corner, many more students and lecturers will soon be coming to the University. What are we doing to keep our campus safe? We spoke to Martijn Ridderbos, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board, about the new Campus Protocol, which enters into force on 31 August.…

Alternative demonstrations were held in Leiden and The Hague on Thursday 14 November after the national protest in Utrecht was cancelled. Leiden University supports these protests, which were organised by WOinActie. Read our live blog of the demonstrations.

No fewer than seven Leiden FWN students received a Young Talent Award from the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences on Monday, 29 November. Mark van den Bosch and Karlijn Kruiswijk won a graduation prize, a group of young astronomers won the ET Outreach Award and the other five students each received an…

Pita Limjaroenrat (45) was set to become Thailand’s next prime minister, but in 2024 the Thai Constitutional Court dissolved his progressive Move Forward Party and banned him from politics. He now reflects publicly on the policy values that brought the party to prominence.

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…

On 11 March, pharmaceutical company Janssen received approval to launch its corona vaccine on the European market. This made Janssen the fourth company to be given the green light by the European Medicines Agency. As Lead of the Janssen Campus in the Netherlands, Biology alumnus Bart van Zijll Langhout…

Leiden University has come 20th in the annual SustainaBul ranking. The SustainaBul is a prize awarded to the most sustainable higher education institution in the Netherlands. This position, a drop compared to last year, highlights which will require particular attention in the University’s new sustainability…

Europe's latest quantum computer is set to arrive in the Netherlands. The Dutch IT cooperative, SURF, which supports education and research institutions, has secured funding from the European EuroHPC programme to make this possible. Researchers from Leiden University will play a key role in the project,…

As part of our quality control system, we will host the Mid Term Review (2016-2018) on 28 June 2019. In this exercise, our faculty research programmes will be evaluated by an external committee and assessed against the criteria of: scholarly quality, societal relevance and viability.

Leiden University has become a partner of the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

Universitair docent immigratierecht, Mark Klaassen, zegt in een uitzending van RTL-nieuws dat de voorlopige verkiezingsuitslag weinig directe invloed zal hebben op de asielinistroom. ‘Ongeacht welke partij de grootste wordt, kan Nederland weinig veranderen in hoeverre mensen hier nationale bescherming…

In the opinion article ‘Maak praten over de dood niet tot een morele plicht’ (Don’t turn talking about death into a moral obligation) Annemarie Samuels and Liesbeth van Vliet, argue together with Marike de Meij and Sander de Hosson that it is important to have conversations about death and dying but…

For almost ten years now Lamin Sow, a cleaner working at the Kamerlingh Onnes Building, has been collecting discarded pens he comes across throughout the day. When he returns to his home country he takes the pens with him as gifts for children.

Leiden physicist Alexey Boyarsky, together with his colleagues from Lausanne and Copenhagen, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant to research an extension of the standard model of particle physics. The leading house of the project is the Technical University of Lausanne. 580.000 euro goes directly…

SRON, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research, is holding an open day on Sunday 25 September. It has had a branch at the Leiden Bio Science Park since 2021 and works closely with Leiden University.

The launch of the 'Toolkit for the Design and Effective Implementation of Domestic and International General Anti-avoidance Rules' generates strong interest among tax administrations.

Research from Dutch news organisation NOS shows that gambling companies, including Holland Casino and the Dutch Lottery, have more influence on the creation of new rules on gambling adverts than addiction experts.

Nicolette Heijkant is our guest on the latest episode of Leiden Lawcast. Heijkant is an experienced lawyer who won her spurs working in the legal profession in Amsterdam’s business district, the Zuidas, and is now working for a legal-aid practice in Brabant. In this episode, we speak to her about her…

Leiden psychologist Carsten de Dreu was presented with the Spinoza Prize by Education Minister Van Engelshoven on 12 September. The award of 2.5 million euros will allow him to continue with his pioneering research on group dynamics.

If male budgerigars can successfully open a puzzle box with food, they become more attractive to females. Biologist Carel ten Cate and Chinese colleagues published experimental evidence for this in a paper in Science on 11 January. Various Dutch and international media wrote about the paper.

It was pouring with rain during the Opening of the Faculty Year, but in the Oranjerie, Dean Henk te Velde had a positive message for those present: the faculty is in better financial shape than expected, and a reorganisation is therefore off the table.

Neuropsychologist Mariska Kret is through to the next round in the 2016 Science Talent contest organised by New Scientist magazine.

With the use of big data, Leiden University is aiming to develop a system that sends automatic alerts when certain Industrial parts are starting to wear out. Researchers of the the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) are developing a predictive maintenance platform together with, among…

From 23 to 24 February 2023, the Conference ‘The Future of the European Security Architecture: The CJEU’s decision on Passenger Name Records and beyond’ took place at the KNAW in Amsterdam.

The Metabolomics Facility of Leiden University is now officially in operation to prevent disease and to improve health throughout the human lifespan.

In March, Dutch universities will take staggered strike action against the planned cuts. The strike will begin in Leiden on Monday 10 March. The university supports the strike action but is not going to close that day. Below we inform you how the strike will affect our university, students and staff…

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Professor of Science Communication Ionica Smeets will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University. She receives the award because she exemplifies how science communication can bridge the gap between experts and the general public.

How will we generate energy without further contributing to global warming? Industrial ecologist René Kleijn tells about low-carbon energy in tv and radio show Focus, and in VPRO Magazine.

On 28 January 2022, the Department of Legal Studies (Central European University), the Europa Institute (Leiden University), and the ESIL Interest Group ‘The EU as a Global Actor’ hosted an Expert Panel Discussion on the topic 'AI in the EU and Access to Justice'.

The ECPR summer school on Interest Group Politics is celebrating its 10th anniversary. To celebrate this especial edition, this year’s summer school includes many renowned researchers and professors from around the world. In addition, as a part of the celebration, we are organizing an exceptional one-day…

Academics from Leiden University have started a campaign against cuts at universities.

Geert Wilders zaait twijfel door de verkiezingsuitslag in twijfel te trekken, wat volgens critici herinnert aan de tactiek van Donald Trump. Hoogleraar staatsrecht, Wim Voermans, noemt het in het Nederlands Dagblad een ‘trumpiaans soort hetze.’

Dr Yannick van den Brink, Assistant Professor at the Department of Child Law, has been awarded a grant from the Rubicon programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to conduct research for a period of eighteen months at the University of Cambridge, Institute of Criminology,…

Omtzigt's new political party 'Nieuw Sociaal Contract' focuses on two key issues: livelihood security and good governance. A candidate list does not exist yet, a substantive programme does. What opportunities are lying in wait for the veteran politician? Dutch television programme Op1 put this question…

Have you had a busy week at work? If so, it’s better to take a walk in a natural environment than to go shopping in the city.

De overheid moet in een democratie openbaarheid nastreven, maar soms is geheimhouding noodzakelijk om belangen als veiligheid of privacy te beschermen. De Wet open overheid (WOO) bevat daarom een recht op overheidsinformatie, maar staat ook uitzonderingen daarop toe om in de wet gespecificeerde belangen…

On 23-24 October, 2023, Simona Demkova spoke at the meeting of Transnational Administrative Law Network on the transnational challenges of the EU large-scale informational cooperation, based on her recently published book, 'Automated Decision-Making and Effective Remedies'. The theme of this TALN meeting…

Igor Boog, lecturer of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, received the Casimir Award for most inspiring lecturer of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The jury praised Boog's enthusiasm and his innovative vision on education.

On 15 March 2023, the GLOBTAXGOV team at Leiden Law School met with the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) to explore opportunities for cooperation, to discuss the needs of tax administrations in the field of international taxation and evaluate ongoing projects and new initiatives where…

From 1 June onwards, Erik-Jan Zurcher, professor of Turkish Studies, will be the new academic director of the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS). We asked him about his plans.

Dutch researchers will continue to have access to scientific articles published by Elsevier.

Diplomatic relations between European countries and Russia are on edge due to ongoing satellite disruptions. Tanja Masson-Zwaan, assistant professor, spoke to Dutch public broadcaster NOS: ‘It’s difficult to prevent this happening.’