A group of Leiden students launched the Van Leiden tot Later (From Leiden to Later) media platform on 27 March. In podcasts and videos, they talk with high-profile alumni about the big issues of today. ‘We want to build a bridge between generations.’

Michiel Hogerheijde has been appointed Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Science as of 1 January 2027. He succeeds Bart de Smit, who has held the position since 2019. Hogerheijde is looking forward to working together with students and staff. ‘Good education is something you create together.’

How can we work together to create a safe study and learning environment and offer students the support that they need? The Vision on Student Well-Being outlines the University’s plans to promote student well-being in the coming years.

What does 'leadership' mean to you? In the Leiden Leadership Programme, you will find out. The LLP gives you tools to develop yourself personally, professionally and societally.

Dialogue session

What is written in law and what equality, inclusion and diversity mean in practice is not always the same. This was the focus of this year’s D&I symposium on 13 January. The plenary sessions were watched by hundreds of participants and there was a wide range of workshops covering different aspects of…

Leiden University has had a turbulent week. There have been protests inside and outside our buildings that have evoked reactions, and students and staff have felt unsafe. We want with this message to look back at the past week and look forward to the future. What happened and how do we now want to move…

Should we cut our ties with Israel or maintain them? The event ‘A university conversation on Israel/Palestine’ on 1 July revealed the depth of feeling about the conflict, with students and staff grappling with academic values and moral dilemmas.

It is exactly one year ago that the university had to close, bang in the middle of the academic year. Suddenly, on that third Monday in March, we found ourselves at home, working and studying online – many of us from that cramped attic or student room. The momentous coronavirus year in pictures.

The experiential expertise of people with a disability needs to be integrated in diversity & inclusion policy. This message was the common thread at the annual Diversity & Inclusion symposium. Students and staff members engaged in conversation about how the university can become more accessible.

As of 12 Januari 2026, the FSW faculty building is called Agora. This name was chosen by the FSW community. In ancient Greece, the agora was the heart of the city: a place for meeting, dialogue and the exchange of ideas. This is exactly how we see our faculty building: an open space where knowledge,…

A gold carpet welcomed students, staff and curious locals into Spui Campus on Monday 2 February. The V&D department store has been transformed into a unique open knowledge centre.

Bringing your drug candidates to patients is what many academic chemists dream about, but the road to this goal is long and bumpy. Now, Leiden small molecule nizubaglustat is ready for phase 3 clinical trials. This is thanks to a €132 million funding secured by the biotech spin-out Azafaros.

Healthy and active Leideners and a smoke-free generation. These are the main ambitions of the Leiden Health and Wellbeing Agreement that was signed online by 40 partners on 19 April. Leiden University will also be drawing on its broad expertise to help realise the ambitions.

The 289 students who recently moved into the tower on Kolffpad at the Leiden Bio Science Park are sitting pretty. A self-contained unit in the middle of the campus yet surrounded by green, with a launderette, games room and study area on the ground floor, and, coming soon, a branch of Coffee Star.

The Sustainability Monitor 2024 reveals that Leiden University has again taken significant steps to become a more sustainable and future-proof university. Since 1990, its carbon emissions have decreased by 50 per cent and, compared with 2019, its natural gas consumption has dropped by 32 per cent. Its…

Lawyer and human rights activist Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You is the new Cleveringa professor.

Tuesday 7 September sees the release of the book ‘Plots stond het Leidse leven stil’ by Charlotte Boin, a freelance writer from Leiden. This book of interviews gives an impression of the turbulent effect of coronavirus on the lives of students, researchers and partners of Leiden University.

Language is omnipresent: when you talk, app or meet in Teams. Understanding how we communicate with one another and what communication does to us is essential. In her inaugural lecture, Nivja de Jong will call to redress the balance between the sciences and the humanities.

The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) has appointed two new directors. Maribel Adame Valero will become the new Director of Operations on 1 August, and Hubertus Irth will start as the new Scientific Director on 1 September. This completes the new collegial management for IBL, following the earlier appointment…

What is the mission of our Faculty? How do we view diversity and inclusion? And how do we think about the growth of our Faculty in the broadest sense of the word? These themes were the focus of the first brainstorming session for the new faculty strategy. Some 65 staff and students from all levels of…

De Universiteit Leiden is al 25 jaar stevig geworteld in Den Haag. Dat werd zichtbaar tijdens de feestelijke bijeenkomst rondom de foto-expositie Universiteit Leiden in Den Haag: Onderzoekers van de stad.

Carel Stolker, former Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board of Leiden University, has been made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his services to the city and University. Mayor Henri Lenferink awarded the royal honour to Stolker at the University’s Dies Natalis on 8 February…

Should we be growing rice and building materials instead of grass for cows? From invasive crayfish to cultural heritage and groundwater levels: ten graduating students explored the future of the Groene Hart, the rural region just outside the cities of Delft, Rotterdam and Leiden where they study.

A team including staff from Leiden University won the Open Initiative Trophy on 11 February, a prize for the best open science initiative in the Netherlands. The winners developed Reprohak, a hackathon-like event where participants repeat research to see whether the results were reproducible.

Organisation

The results of the 2026 University elections are in. Who will represent us on the participation organs?

On Monday, 13 October, Jasper will travel to Brussels with a delegation from Key Region Leiden. Why is this collaboration important? And who will he be having dinner with that same evening in Voorschoten? Jasper shares his account of a long and interesting Monday.

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

The opening of the new academic year highlighted students' and lecturers' personal motivators. Incoming students were encouraged to be bold, forge their own paths and grow by trial and error.

How has progress been made on diversity and inclusion at Leiden University over the past decade? Attendees reflected on this at the D&I Symposium 2024: Untold Stories. And in the workshops, students and staff discussed the next steps toward a more inclusive community.

University ceremony

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing? What kinds of things is he doing and what does his day look like? In each newsletter Jasper gives a peek into his life as dean.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

It’s Circular Economy Week, from 1 to 6 February. But what is it that makes an economy circular? And just how circular is our university? René Kleijn, lecturer on the honours class Circular Economy: from challenge to opportunity, explains.

Academic ceremony

Confetti, stilt walkers and the new Einstein Fountain. On Monday, 2 September, the Gorlaeus Building of the Faculty of Science was festively opened. Together with Constantijn van Oranje, our students cut the ribbon. Dean Jasper Knoester: ‘The building is ready, now it is up to our students and researchers…

Paul Wouters is not keen on people with a dual agenda. However, for the coming period, he himself will be in that very position. Besides his work as Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSW), he is temporarily coming to strengthen the Board of the Faculty of Science. Who is this Acting…

From 22 January on, the video conferencing app Zoom will be available for students and teachers at Leiden University. The University is responding to calls by staff and students, and has now acquired the programme.

Rich, white, urban: Western politicians often represent a small segment of the population. Political scientist Hélène Landemore advocates for a more inclusive democracy. She will deliver the Cleveringa Lecture on November 26.

Alumni and researchers met at two well-attended alumni dinners in Yogyakarta and Jakarta. The alumni reminisced about their time in Leiden and got to see their lecturers once again.

Lawyer, economist, politician and women’s rights activist Lizzy van Dorp is the 100th entry in our Top 450. Who or what is your favourite?

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Sometimes an idea seems so logical and elegant at first glance, that you later wonder why no one thought of it before. Two researchers from LACDR have teamed up to develop a completely synthetic alternative to antibodies—one that mimics their size, shape and function, but which is cheaper, more stable,…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.