Universiteit Leiden

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Conference | D&I Event

Becoming an inclusive university

Date
Thursday 29 January 2026
Time
Address
Wijnhaven
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DP The Hague

Language

 
The language of the event will be Dutch and English. Subtitles will appear on a large screen during the plenary session, and the live stream will also be subtitled in English.

Do you have any specific requirements regarding the event venue?
 

Please read the information on accessibility and facilities at the location.

Can't find the information you're looking for? Contact Mirella Imthorn at mmh.imthorn@bb.leidenuniv.nl.

Inclusive learning environments and a diversity of perspectives

At Leiden University we support the development of inclusive learning environments that acknowledge personal and cultural frames of reference, individual learning needs, diverse knowledge and the variation in student and staff experiences. This requires mutually respectful interactions and critical self-reflections.

A diversity of perspectives promotes the development of new knowledge and skills, and encourages action aimed at achieving systemic change and sustained equity in our learning, teaching and working environments. The question we still need to answer is: How do we really become an inclusive university?

The aim of this event is to spark a conversation about how a variety of perspectives can foster a shared sense of agency to change the system. It will also offer the chance to share practical tips and tools for teaching, learning and working at our university.

Live stream

Can't make it? On 29 January there will be a live stream of the plenary session on this page.

Meeting and sharing knowledge

This edition of the annual D&I Event offers an interactive and plenary programme. Our aim is to create an open space where students, staff and alumni can share their experiences, research and work on inclusion and diversity, especially for people with disabilities. You are invited to join us. Together, we will take the next steps towards a more inclusive university community.

Registration

Do you want to attend this event and/or follow the live stream? Pease let us know!

Registration form

Programme

13:30

Doors open

Part I: plenary session

14:00

Opening

By Nadira Saab, chair of the day
 

Nadira Saab is a professor of Educational Sciences at ICLON and a fellow of the Leiden Teachers' Academy. 

14:05

Interactive talk
 

Looking back and forward: How are we becoming an inclusive teaching and learning environment?
 

With, among others:

14:20

Keynote

By Saniye Celik
 
Saniye Çelik is professor of Diversity and Inclusion of the Police and an enthusiastic advocate for safe and inclusive teams and connecting public organisations with society.

14:50

Conversation

Nadira Saab in conversation with Timo Kos, Vice-President of the Executive Board.  

15:00

Summary

Presented by Peter Rombouts

15:10

Break

Part II: A diversity of perspectives

15:30

Break-out sessions

In two rounds (from 15:20 to 16:05 and from 16:15 to 17:00) you can select your choice of sessions. Please see the descriptions below.

17:00 ‑ 17:30

Social time to meet and share

Break-out sessions

On the day of the event, you can choose on the spot which sessions you would like to attend. The following descriptions will help you decide which ones you would prefer.

Discussion spaces

In these sessions you are engaged in a structured debate moderated by experienced staff who will leads the conversation. The discussion will circle around specific statements in which 'opponents' defend their positions with arguments and counterarguments. All are asked to actively participate.

More information about the discussion spaces

Burgerschap en activisme

Arthur Pormes & Nika Hendriksen (ICLON)
Session in Dutch
Room 2.58

In deze dialoogruimte kunnen deelnemers ideeën uitwisselen en participeren in gesprekken over 'De universiteit en burgerschapsonderwijs'. De open ruimte faciliteert dialoog, waardoor deelnemers in hun eigen tempo kunnen bijdragen en nuttig waardoor deze werkvorm relevant is voor een onderwijsomgevingen. Je krijgt niet alleen de kans om deel te nemen aan gesprekken, maar ook te zien hoe een open dialoogruimte inclusieve participatie kan bevorderen en een inclusieve leeromgeving kan zijn.

The Learning Circle

Nadia Mansouri, Steven van Wijk & Rosalinde Spitters (Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences)
Session in English
Room 2.59

How do you approach the process of co-creating a diverse and inclusive environment? All members of our community, in their diverse roles and from their diverse perspectives, have their own circle of influence. Whether you are a teacher, a student, a board member, or someone who shapes our support structures, all roles add value to this co-creation. The POPcorner in collaboration with our policy office of education and HR started The Listening Circle (TLC). This initiative is aimed at maintaining and enhancing a sustainable and collaborative focus on diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing. During our workshop we showcase our connective approach, which is also applicable in an educational context, as well as facilitate a TLC conversation aimed at providing insights and generating applicable actions in your own circle of influence. From a vibe of tender, loving care, we are looking forward to welcoming you!

Round tables

During these sessions you will get the opportunity to dive deep into a topic or a project. The convener will introduce the topic with a short pitch and start the conversation. All are challenged to engage through discussion and questioning. 

More information about the round tables

Teaching disciplinary literacies

Tessa Mearns (ICLON)
Bilingual session

Room 2.17

Subject-specific thinking is intrinsically linked to subject-specific language. This idea forms the underlying principle of disciplinary literacies. Due to their different frames of reference, a biologist and a historian will each communicate knowledge in distinct ways. Communication in each field will differ again depending on purpose, audience, and context. Thus, subject-specific communication is integral to teaching and learning any subject, in any language.

Facultative or curricular implementation of skills-trainings: Do inclusion and diversity ask for different approaches?

Joram van Ketel, Arjen de Vetten & Max van Lent (Faculty of Law)
Session in English
Room 2.17

The challenges that students face during the transition to higher education (HE) contribute to dropout. Institutions therefore develop promising interventions to improve student well-being, sense of belonging, and academic engagement. An important question for implementation is to make such trainings facultative or curricular. Embedding in curricula is not always sensible or technically possible, while facultative initiatives face low uptake and/or fail to reach students who are most in need, such as first-generation-students (FGS). We evaluated the impact of short curricular training with a (quasi-)experimental design in the Faculty of Law. In this round-table discussion, we present results showing the effectiveness of the training. We will then open the table to discuss considerations to either implement such initiatives as part of the curriculum or offer these facultatively. 

Teaching inclusive design skills

Amer Jaganjac (ICLON/Fontys Hogeschool)
Session in English
Room 3.12A/B

At this round table, a study is presented on the characteristics of teaching approaches for inclusive design in science education. We discuss the benefits and challenges of teaching inclusive design, placing the spotlight on educators as key agents of inclusion.

Inclusief leiderschap in hoger onderwijs

Elly Taal (ICLON/Haagse Hogeschool)
Session in Dutch
Room 3.12A/B

Er wordt veel gesproken over diversiteit en inclusiviteit in het hoger onderwijs. En daarbij wordt Inclusief leiderschap vaak neergezet als aantoonbaar voordelen voor zowel de organisatiecultuur als het welzijn van werknemers. Maar wat bedoelen we eigenlijk met inclusief leiderschap en is dat gelijk in iedere werkomgeving? Hoe ontwikkelen we een gemeenschappelijke taal om met elkaar te praten en situaties met elkaar te vergelijken?

Designing intercultural online collaborative learning in Higher Education: a systematic review

Catur Wulandari (ICLON)
Session in English
Room 3.18

Intercultural online collaborative learning has increasingly been adopted in higher education to provide students with international and intercultural learning experiences through digital collaboration. Despite a growing body of empirical research, studies often examine collaborative learning elements without sufficiently accounting for the contextual conditions in which they operate. This systematic review addresses the question: What elements are at play in the design of intercultural online collaborative learning in higher education? The findings identify four recurring design elements and show challenges and opportunities.

Workshops

During these sessions a project or topic will be thoroughly presented by experienced staff. The workshop leaders will introduce an activity in which participants will engage in group discussion and creation. The aim of these sessions is both deep substantive information transfer and get to work with material or topic.

More information about the workshops

Rehearsal for change: Theatre as a method to understand and challenge inequity

Ieke van Dam (ICLON)
Bilingual session
Room 3.60

 
In this workshop, I'd like to show you, as a theatre teacher and researcher, how to better understand topics such as marginaliation, power structures, and discrimination through theatre and to rehearse how to react when you witness or experience such a situation. The theatre method we'll be using, Theatre of the Oppressed, developed by Augusto Boal, is renowned worldwide and is used by marginalised groups to share stories and bring about grassroots change. In this workshop, you can expect to participate in several theatre exercises and, using a dramatised case study from my research on diversity and inclusion in teacher education, contribute to expanding our shared understanding of the issue presented. Sharing knowledge and experiences helps us truly make the university a place where everyone feels at home. Will you join me?

Managing difficult moments in the classroom

Aayushi Shah & Looi van Kessel (Faculty of Humanities)
Session in English
Room 3.56

The classroom can pose many different challenges for an instructor who often has to respond quickly to difficult moments that might arise from disruptive behavior or political disagreement between students. Many instructors don't always feel equipped to respond adequately to classrooms that become increasingly complex. This workshop offers a practical opportunity to understand how to manage difficult classroom moments while considering the positionality of yourself and others in these critical situations. Through detailed case analyses and interactive problem-solving in a group setting, participants will reflect on and develop concrete strategies for responding thoughtfully and constructively to such situations.

Meedenken over [s]TATTOO-studio

Art Partner
Session in Dutch
Room 2.01

In maart en april komt de [s]TATTOO Studio naar elke faculteit van de universiteit: een artistieke interventie waar luisteren centraal staat. STA TOE dat er naar jou geluisterd wordt. STA TOE dat er van jouw verhaal een kunstwerk wordt gemaakt in de [s]TATTOO studio. In deze workshop maak je kennis met het idee achter de studio en gaan we samen onderzoeken: Wat vraagt sociale veiligheid en inclusie op onze universiteit? Welke verhalen moeten gehoord worden? En welke insteek is nodig om de studio voor Universiteit Leiden betekenisvol te maken? We nodigen je uit om te ervaren en mee te denken.

De [s]TATTOO studio is een artistieke interventie ontwikkeld door Art Partner met kunstenaars Maze de Boer en Peter Rombouts.

Van goede intenties naar echte verandering: D&I in de universitaire praktijk

Adriaan Norbart, Kirsten Langeveld, Nour al Kuhaili & Raju Talwar (LUMC)
Session in Dutch
Room 3.54

Diversiteit en inclusie staan hoog op de agenda van Universiteit Leiden. Maar hoe zorg je ervoor dat het meer wordt dan alleen goede bedoelingen? En wat vraagt dit concreet van jou als docent, in je dagelijkse werk? Tijdens deze verdiepende workshops ga je aan de slag met precies die vragen. In de eerste workshop werken we met herkenbare praktijkcasussen uit de universitaire context. Hoe pak je D&I beleidsmatig aan als docent? Hoe ga je om met weerstand van collega’s die D&I niet relevant vinden? En hoe organiseer je inclusieve activiteiten die verder gaan dan de standaard borrelcultuur? Je onderzoekt samen met anderen waar jouw invloed ligt en welke organisatorische keuzes nodig zijn om inclusie structureel te verankeren. In de tweede workshop verschuiven we de focus naar de praktijk van alledag. We staan stil bij ervaringen met othering in onderwijs en verkennen hoe je als omstander kunt handelen. Met behulp van het 5D-model van bystander intervention krijg je concrete handvatten om niet weg te kijken, maar te reageren op een manier die past bij jouw rol en situatie. Je verlaat deze bijeenkomst niet alleen met nieuwe inzichten, maar met concrete acties en scherpe zelfreflectie. Voor docenten die verder willen kijken dan goede intenties alleen.

Registration

Do you want to attend this event and/or follow the live stream? Pease let us know!

Registration form
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