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.…

The Executive Board has appointed Ineke Sluiter and Arnold Tukker as distinguished professors at Leiden University.

Conference

The Institute for History of Leiden University seeks to expand its academic staff by appointment of a university lecturer with teaching and research expertise in the field of Medieval History. Deadline: 20 January.

Applications to the PhD and MPhil are now open at the Australian Catholic University (Melbourne). Applicants must submit their completed application by 11:59pm Sunday 18th October 2020 (AEDT).

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem invites outstanding postdoctoral candidates to apply to its postdoctoral scholarship programs. Various deadlines in the Fall of 2021.

Leiden University will move into the former Ministries in the Wijnhavenkwartier. In this way the Faculty Campus The Hague will eventually grow into a university location for 3500 students.

A delegation from Leiden University will be visiting several Japanese universities and research institutions from 18 to 26 November to discuss research and teaching collaborations.

Leiden University is entering into a strategic partnership with the Leiden student associations and the Local Chamber of Associations (PKvV). The parties are committed to maintaining and strengthening the existing good relations between them.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Professor Corinne Hofman of the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University and Professor Albert Feilzer from the Academic Centre for Dentistry (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University, Amsterdam.

For the third time in a row, Leiden University has received a positive assessment in the Institutional Audit for the way it provides good teaching and a vibrant quality culture. Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl was presented with the official certificate.

Over recent years Leiden University has taken some significant steps forward in innovation in teaching and learning and in diversity. But there is still a lot to be done. These were the comments by governors, lecturers and scholars during the farewell seminar for Vice-Rector Simone Buitendijk on 27…

This week, Leiden University bade farewell to Henri Lenferink, who is retiring after 20 years as mayor of Leiden.

The League of European Research Universities (LERU) was launched in Leiden 20 years ago. This anniversary will be celebrated with a major conference (19 – 21 May) on an urgent theme: How does science contribute to sustainable and resilient societies? We put this question to Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General…

Recently, some changes have been made to the catalog of Leiden University Library, making more than 1000 digitized codices more accessible than before. The 'Inventory of Western Medieval Manuscripts Held by Leiden University Libraries,' created by manuscript curator André Bouwman, is also now available:…

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should have ended poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. In a special campaign, the Dutch universities are showing how they are helping to achieve these goals.

Always wanted to give your input on sustainability for the university's new Strategic Plan? Join LUGO's discussion session!

On June 3rd at 10:15, Kay Boers (Utrecht University) will defend his PhD thesis, titled "CIVIS: Rhetoricity, Citizens, and Citizenship in Seventh-Century Hispania." The defense will take place in the Senaatszaal of the Academy Building of Utrecht University (Domplein 29).

A number of the Leiden University Libraries websites are currently difficult to access.

10 October is the Day of Sustainability. What is the current status of sustainability at Leiden University? Things are moving ahead. Professor of Environmental Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Geert de Snoo, outlines a new prospect: biodiversity.

The Leiden African Studies Centre (ASCL) will become part of the University from 1 January 2016.

The Dutch universities will give Open Access an extra boost from 2019 by starting a pilot titled ‘You share, we take care’ to make publications available after six months in collaboration with researchers.

Cosmologists have many possible models for the Universe, of which only one can be true. A new flowchart will eliminate some of them when two specific Universe features are accurately measured. Publication in Physical Review D on 7 November.

Leiden University has partnerships in the local region, in the Netherlands, in Europe and with countries on almost all the world's continents. Students and researchers benefit from these partnerships, but society is also a beneficiary, says Rector Carel Stolker.

As a cooperation between the St. Maarten Archaeological Center (SIMARC) and Leiden University in the Netherlands, graduate student Khristy Werleman of Aruba, who is finishing her Master's Degree in Archaeology at Leiden University, is helping to implement a professional catalogue-registration system…

Computer skills are essential if you want to become part of Dutch society. Leiden University and Stichting Bestaanskracht, an organisation that helps the vulnerable, are therefore providing computer lessons for refugees who can use some extra digital help.

How did nineteenth-century non-Anglophone translators and authors creatively engage with the poem Beowulf?

Leiden University Academy is making lifelong learning even better! The entire range of programmes on offer for professionals has been expanded and united under this name.

On Wednesday 4 December the vice-rector of the Sholokhov Moscow State University for the Humanities and the director of its Russian Institute of Advanced Studies visited Leiden University. The delegation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with dean Wim van den Doel to further collaboration in the…

European higher education may benefit from becoming even more international, but universities should protect European values such as participation and freedom of thought. This was the position taken by European Commissioner Navracsics on 10 November in a debate with Minister Bussemaker and students…

Staff from Leiden University are starting the Dutch universities’ staggered strike against the government cuts on 10 March. Follow the strike in this liveblog.

Ancient peoples might have harnessed the power of fire to modify their environment

Inclusive teaching and research, a good reflection of society and a safe and accessible learning and working environment. The new Diversity and Inclusion Work Plan has set the direction of University policy and aims to create a university where everyone feels respected and at home. Diversity Officer…

International Women's Day (8 March) saw the announcement of the first Leiden Top 50: fifty Leiden women who have made a difference over the past year through their activities. Many of the women in the list are affiliated with our University.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker was presented with a 'Diamond' on 8 June in recognition of Leiden University's role as a 'shining example' of male/female diversity. 'It's a question of determination,' says Stolker, 'and that gets results. For example, we are appointing an increasing number of female…

The University of Cologne (Graduiertenkolleg 2212 "Dynamiken der Konventionalität (400-1550)") is looking to appoint six PhD students. Candidates should apply before 15 November 2020.

The United Nations has chosen The Hague as the location for a new data centre for humanitarian aid. Leiden University is involved in developing the digital knowledge to be used by the centre.

LUGO has some news: If you are using a public computer from Leiden University, you can now set your default search engine to Ecosia.

Pre-University College The Hague is celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2024-2025. Three alumni look back on their experience. PRE broadened their academic horizons and taught them a lot about themselves. ‘PRE made me feel more comfortable at university'.

The infection rate is rising again in the Netherlands, which means it may also be rising among Leiden University’s students and staff. How is the University responding? And what dilemmas is it facing? We spoke to our Rector Magnificus, Chief Security Officer and two other administrators.

Recently a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) - Leiden University and the Mulawarman university in Samarinda, Kalimatan province, Indonesia. The MOU will be effective for a period of five years and covers the intention to collaborate in…

Recently the Institute of Philosophy and the Faculty of Humanities have signed a cooperation agreement with the College for Philosophy and Sociology of Beijing Normal University (China).

Utrecht University Library invites researchers, students and other users of their digital collections to complete a survey about this: what material are you looking for (and can you find it), what functionalities do you use, what do you like and what could be improved? The library uses the suggestions…

For the project ‘Professionals and the People’ Tilburg University is looking for a historian with a PhD with passion for archival research. The postdoc will investigate the administrative culture and the functioning of urban civil servants in the Low Countries during the late Middle Ages and Early Modern…

The team of Leiden University is participating to the World Finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) in Orlando, USA.

One of the ambitions of the Learning@LeidenUniversity vision on teaching and learning is to foster an international and inclusive educational community in which everyone feels welcome, regardless of religion, sex, sexual orientation or cultural background. One student service that promotes inclusion…

A study in the Behavioral Biology group of Carel ten Cate at the IBL showed that experience-dependent and -independent preferences influence song learning in zebra finches.

Leiden researcher Ethan Mark has a mission, he explains in the alumni magazine Leidraad. He wants us to take off our Eurocentric glasses when we study the Second World War. We have focused on ourselves for far too long; after 75 years, it’s about time we listened to stories from the rest of the worl…

Technology and privacy, trust and mistrust. A discussion about this broke out when the University installed scanners and students protested. On Wednesday 2 February experts from Leiden University will explore this topic at the eponymous symposium. We called Roy de Kleijn, as a computer scientist and…

Four Leiden researchers, who have recently obtained their PhDs, will receive a Rubicon Grant from NWO to conduct research abroad. A total of 22 scientists have received Rubicon Grants. This grant aims to provide young, promising scientists with international research experience.