This year professor emeritus Old Chinese Literature Wilt Idema receives the Special Book Award of China. The Chinese government awards this prize to translators, writers and editors with great services to China.

On reputation Management and Social Accountability in Universities

Professor Bob Wessels has published a bibliography of International Insolvency Law as per January 2015. This document is an update of the 2011 bibliography and comprises sources of some 15 countries.

On June, Wednesday 27th nine of our ALGANT master students received their diploma. Herewith a very successful ALGANT year has come to an end.

In October and December 2021, Al-Babtain Visiting Professor Hugh Kennedy will teach six masterclasses at Leiden University on the idea of a “Greater Mesopotamia” and its fundamental importance in understanding the economy and geopolitics of the early Islamic world, from 650 to 1050 CE.

Last week Professor of Animal Behaviour Carel ten Cate was interviewed about intelligent birds, in response to the recent publication of his book 'Avian Cognition' by NPO1.

Leiden University has an opening for a PhD position (4 years) under the supervision of Professor Miguel John Versluys. It is part of the Anchoring Innovation Project. Deadline: 7 November 2021.

On 19 July Erik-Jan Zürcher, professor of Turkish languages and cultures, made a TV appearance in Nieuwsuur to talk about the actions Erdogan took after the failed coup.

Christa Tobler, Professor of European Law at the Universities of Basel (Switzerland) and Leiden, participated in a Swiss television debate on the free movement of persons.

Hugo de Groot, one of history’s most famous legal scholars, was already studying arts and law in Leiden at the age of 11. How did his career take off from that point and who inspired him?

In the Netherlands, euthanasia has no longer been a criminal offence since 2002. The practice is governed by very strict conditions. Nonetheless, the legal issues surrounding it are still the focus of heated discussion, according to Leiden professors. They are discussing the issue on 18 March during…

Kerstin Perez has reached the position of Assistant Professor of Particle Physics at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). For people from minority groups this is by no means a common experience. Perez will explain how improvements can be made at the annual Diversity and Inclusion…

Not many scientists can claim to have received funding from NWO to blow bubbles and play with sand, but Martin van Hecke definitely can. Van Hecke, Professor of the Organisation of Disordered Matter, delivered his inaugural lecture on Friday 4 September, under the enigmatic title of: ‘Bellen, bollen,…

Museum Boerhaave commemorated the hundredth anniversary of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity with the exhibition ‘Einstein & Friends’. The exhibition shined light on the famous physicist’s Dutch friends and his love for Leiden. A review featuring seven images can be found below.

The Edinburgh Medal 2016 had been awarded to both Kevin Govender of the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The award is a recognition for furthering education and technological capacity worldwide through the inspirational science of astronomy. The…

In Poland the commemoration of acts of resistance is being misused to distort the history of the Holocaust. That is what Cleveringa Professor Jan Grabowski said in his inaugural lecture on 26 November. In her lecture, the second Cleveringa Professor, Barbara Engelking, pointed to the often indifferent…

Everyone has been watching the attack on Ukraine, a war on the European continent, with a sense of foreboding. It will bring devastation, loss, suffering and worry and it raises questions. With these words, Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl opened the meeting on the war in Ukraine at Wijnhaven on Thursday…

Lifelike gods, provisional professors and the city militia with weapons a clanking. Leiden put on a colourful procession and drummed up hundreds of citizens to celebrate the foundation of the first university of the Republic of the Netherlands on 8 February 1575. 'It wasn't a party just for the sake…

The Hortus botanicus Leiden has one of Europe’s largest collections of living plants from the Asian region. This rich resource is no longer the sole domain of botanists. Multidisciplinary research, teaching and the general public are equally at home in the Hortus. This is the view of Paul Kessler, professor…

By delivering his inaugural lecture titled ‘Where Science Meets Business,’ Simcha Jong accepted his appointment as Leiden’s first Professor of Science Based Business. In his lecture in the Large Auditorium of the Academy Building, Simcha argued that broad universities with a focus on fundamental research,…

Almost everywhere in the world where the post exists, the beadle is a ‘master of ceremonies’ who only makes his appearance on special occasions. In Leiden the beadle does much more. He is indispensable at dissertation defences and orations. He directs ceremonies and is a master at calming nerves.

What can we learn from Cleveringa’s courageous protest speech? ‘Without imagination and a strong community, people do not stand up for one another,' says Cleveringa Professor Michael Ignatieff in his lecture on 26 November.

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…

Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative law, travelled to São Paolo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro from 14 to 18 March with a delegation from Leiden University with the aim of strengthening ties with Brazil. During the visit agreements were made on future academic collaboration and…

The Gouy-Chapman theory describes what happens near an electrode when it is in contact with a salt solution, but this description does not match reality. Researcher Kasinath Ojha, assistant professor Katharina Doblhoff-Dier and professor Marc Koper present a new version. ‘The next generation of textbooks…

Physicist Marileen Dogterom is one of the winners of the Spinoza Prize 2018. She is a professor at TU Delft, where she has her lab, and is also affiliated to Leiden University as a Medical Delta Professor. She receives the prize for her research on the skeleton of the cell.

The final conference of the Eurasian Empires programme took place from 15 to 17 June 2016 in Leiden. The conference concluded a five-year research programme in which nine researchers worked on their own specific projects within the programme’s Eurasian scope, transcending borders by bringing together…

Annetje Ottow is the first female president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, which means a return to her Alma mater.

The brand-new American President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural speech on 20 January. There was little sign of conciliation and he was liberal with the truth, in the opinion of a number of Leiden academics. One professor is more positive: 'He wants to take on radical Islam.'

On 17 October, Armin Cuyvers, associate professor of EU law at Leiden Law School, was a studio guest on the Radio 1 show ‘Een Vandaag’.

Moritz Jesse, Associate Professor of European Law at the Europa Institute, presented at the annual conference of the Global Legal Network, which took place in November in Tallin (Estonia).

On 30 March 2018, a workshop on the subject of

Under the direction of Professor Thomas Jaeger, the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Austrian Society for European Law organises regular 'European Law Workshop Talks'. On 19 May 2022, a lecture given by Christa Tobler on the topic '

Two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Medieval Studies are available at the Department of Conservation, Archaeology, and History, University of Oslo. The positions are associated with the project “Minuscule Texts: Marginalized Voices in Early Medieval Latin Culture (c. 700–c.1000)”, funded by the…

On the occasion of Bart Besamusca's retirement as professor of Middle Dutch text culture in international perspective at Utrecht University on 25 January 2023, the digital exhibition 'The surprising Middle Ages' was created by medievalists from the Utrecht University Centre for Medieval Studies Over…

Live from the ASMS Conference 2015 in Saint Louis: Baljit Ubhi, our Metabolomics Specialist, has a coffee with Rawi Ramautar, Assistant Professor at the Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research.

In 2025, it will be 600 years since a university was founded in Leuven, the forerunner of today's KU Leuven. In anticipation to these festivities, KU Leuven Libraries, in collaboration with UCLouvain, is putting its academic collection in the spotlight. Thanks to the efforts of the past months and years,…

A temporary position of Senior Researcher (SKO 1109) in Medieval Studies is available at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. The position will be linked to the ERC Advanced Grant project 101018645 MINiTEXTS “Minuscule Texts: Marginalized Voices in Early Medieval…

There are certainly ten airlines who do not carry out an identity check in the Schengen area upon check-in.

On 11 January 2019, Maastricht University and the University of Groningen hosted a workshop on the regulation of social media influencers.

Eelco de Koning takes us on a journey through time. He explains what type 1 diabetes is, how it is currently treated and what the future for patients might look like.

On 11 February 2022, the Urban Governance Research Network (Ugovern) organised a webinar ‘Understanding Recent Changes in Belgium and the Netherlands Planning Law’. Rogier Kegge was one of the panel members during the webinar.

Frank Takes has won the Young eScientist Award 2017 for his research about tax havens.

Nira Wickramasinghe, professor of modern South Asian studies at Leiden University, spoke to Al Jazeera about Sri Lanka's turbulent past:

‘Collaboration is increasingly important,’ Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker said at the 445th Dies Natalis of Leiden University on 7 February. But, as he heard from a number of Leiden researchers, this is contingent upon a firm disciplinary basis. A novelty of this year’s celebration was a joint dies…

Together with colleagues and students, Professor of conservation biology Geert de Snoo studies the decline of the lion population in a national park close to Kenia's capital city, Nairobi. He discusses how they try to protect the lions on radio Sleutelstad FM.

On 31 January 2014 Professor Willem Heiser (Psychology, Statistics and Data Theory) was awarded the distinction of Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion. After his farewell lecture he received the royal honour for his exceptional academic, social and administrative achievements.

After Wallonia’s veto on CETA, a group of 60 academics has come out to defend the European decision-making process in trade policy.

On Friday, January 12, 2024, at 4:15 PM, Mariken Teeuwen, endowed professor at Leiden University, will assume the professorship with an inaugural lecture, titled "Perkamenten personen. De stratigrafie van het middeleeuwse boek." Interested individuals can register via the link below.

Professor of Cybersecurity Governance Bibi van den Berg was interviewed recently by I/O Magazine, the magazine of the ICT-research platform The Netherlands.