We need to be quicker and better at discovering side effects. In her inaugural lecture, Agnes Kant, Professor by Special Appointment of Innovation of Pharmacovigilance, calls for more research on these adverse effects.

Social

Education

This year, eleven exchange projects from Leiden University received an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility education grant. The total award of almost €510.000 enables 98 students and staff members to go on exchange.

More CO2 in the atmosphere is making food crops more calorific, less nutritious and potentially more toxic.

Minister of Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen will give a guest lecture on the government’s ambitions in the field of digitalisation on Monday 12 September. Bram Klievink, professor Digitalisation and Public Policy and founder of The Hague Centre for Digital Governance will act as mediator. ‘Digitalisation…

Students at Leiden University believe that their degree programmes should focus more on sustainability. These are the findings of a survey of more than 550 students by Leiden University Green Office.

Scientists' computers are now full of complicated 3D models, but no standard has yet been developed for exchanging the data. A new database should change this. External PhD student Liselore Tissen is receiving a grant to contribute to this on behalf of Leiden University (and TU Delft). ‘It will be great…

What do people wonder about on social media? University lecturer Matthijs Westera is the recipient of an NWO grant to investigate what people are curious about online.

Lecture

Following the news that TomTom is cutting 300 jobs due to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), FGGA researchers Friso Selten and Alex Ingrams responded with opinion pieces. They place the news in a broader context and call for a more nuanced debate on AI and job losses.

There should be more social meeting places on our campus. That's one of the outcomes of to the second brainstorming session on the strategic plan. On Tuesday, education and the campus took centre stage during the meeting in Corpus. Professor and programme director Miranda van Eck and student assessor…

Forget Python, Java and Scratch: there is now an accessible programming language for children. This is Hedy, invented by Dr. Felienne Hermans of LIACS. Thanks to a collaboration between Jetlearn, an online programming school based in Amsterdam, and Leiden University, Hedy now has translations in Hindi…

The film MعLMIN made by Visual Ethnography alumna Loes Moree will be screened during the fourth Fieldrecordings event. Field Recordings is an annual event for visual anthropology, sound art and landscape film.

Pablo Pandocchi succeeds Thirza van ‘t Rood as the student member of the Institute Board for the next academic year. The Institute Board is responsible for all matters concerning the Institute, from education to research in the field of anthropology and sociology. Pablo and Thirza interviewed each other…

Humans and bonobos show striking similarities as well as differences when they see pictures of conspecifics. Both are more interested in photos of conspecifics that show emotion. But while our human attention is more easily drawn to photos of family members and friends that express certain emotions,…

Alumna Tiziana Lippiello became the first female rector magnificus of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice last year. In this way, she hopes to contribute to emancipation in the academic world: 'We need more women here.'

Public Administration student Iris did an internship at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. During her internship, she dealt with election accessibility.

Protests against textbooks on trans persons in America and against a reading hour by drag queens in Rotterdam: it has been raining protests recently against people with a gender expression that does not match their birth sex. Why does this evoke such resistance? We asked Professor by special appointment…

Debate

Lecture, Workshop

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe argues in The Guardian that the Republican's new agenda for a second Trump term is more radical than the first. He says that they seek to take control of federal agencies by replacing civil servants with ‘American First footsoldiers’.

Many intelligence services have an outdated view of the world while the threats they should protect us from are becoming more complex. Serviceman and researcher Bram Spoor warns that NATO and member state intelligence organisations cannot always predict the dangers.

The Master's programme in History at Leiden University is set to change. From September 2026, three of the five specialisations will be replaced by new subjects that are more closely aligned with the field of research and students’ interests. One of these new specialisations will also be taught entirely…

Leiden artist Jos Agasi gets to create the artwork for the atrium of the new Gorlaeus Building. His work was chosen from several entries and will be a real eye-catcher in the building. The artist has a fascination for light and uses it to create works of art with all kinds of materials, objects and…

The past years Wouter Kool has been active as Privacy Officer at the Faculty of Archaeology. This was part of his position as Information Manager. Recently, however, he doubled his responsibilities when taking over the Information Manager position at the FGGA as well. He remains only human though, so…

Education

The rise of AI will transform the role of doctors, claims Professor of Intensive Care Medicine Sesmu Arbous. Her academic chair focuses on integrating technology into patient care.

A tenacious postdoc researcher persuaded Professor Marc Koper to research the oxygen reduction reaction. In Koper's eyes, there was little of interest there. But they promptly discovered a whole new way to improve fuel cells on hydrogen and oxygen. Their article appeared in Nature Catalysis on 07 Ju…

In medical and psychological sciences, little research has been specifically conducted on women. Hormonal fluctuations were considered too intricate. Yes, research into sex and gender differences is complex, acknowledge neuroscientists Ellen de Bruijn and Lara Wierenga, but that’s precisely why it's…

Is aviation on a one-way journey or a round trip? That is the question Steven Truxal will answer in his inaugural lecture From Disruption to Innovation in Air and Space: Legal Solutions for a Sustainable Future on Monday 15 November. This professor of air and space law is positive. That’s one thing…

Did he dare take a gamble with his PhD research? Jeroen Methorst didn’t have to think long about it. It could fail or turn out very well. The latter is the case. Methorst developed a computer system that helps researchers find the protein they need. ‘Our whole group is now using this program.’ Methorst…

Can we reshape school playgrounds through data and design? By using AI and wearable sensors, data scientist Maedeh Nasri discovered ways to create environments where children, including those with ADHD and autism, can connect, play, and grow.

Friday 4 November marked the 65th anniversary of the founding of Leiden’s P.C. Hooft Historical Debating Society. Although new members have not been accepted for several decades, the society is still alive and kicking. A retrospective with former presidents Jos Hooghuis and Saskia Leupen.

During the summer break, three lecture halls at Wijnhaven were equipped with advanced equipment and an education system in order to provide the best hybrid teaching possible during the upcoming academic year. The Learn Anywhere pilot will take place within the FGGA, which Koen Caminada is very happy…

When you think of migration, you probably won’t immediately think of dating apps. Yet such apps are important to many migrants, such as those who identify as lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer or questioning (LGBT+). Researcher Andrew DJ Shield studied the role that dating apps play in the migration process,…

Nathaniel Martin, Professor of Biological chemistry, wondered what would happen if you take an antibiotic that has been known for 70 years and try to improve it with the latest tools of modern chemistry. Turns out it can become up to a hundred times more potent and prevent the growth of some drug-resistant…

The description of a painting directly affects how children look at that artwork. This was discovered by psychologist Francesco Walker in the Rijksmuseum. Another finding presented in his article in Nature - Scientific Reports is that giving children information intended for adults has the same effect…

What does it feel like to become a citizen in a new country? For her PhD research, Hannah Bliersbach immersed herself in the world of immigration. She interviewed dozens of new citizens in Germany and Canada and found that citizenship is, above all, a transactional process.

Geriatrics needs to radically change. This is what Simon Mooijaart will say in his inaugural lecture.

At the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), scholars have been studying the Indian subcontinent with attention and expertise for more than 100 years. This part of South Asia is an economic giant with a population of over two billion. Nira Wickramasinghe, Professor of Modern South Asian Studies,…

Can a robot help prepare cancer medication in a hospital pharmacy? That’s what hospital pharmacist Tjerk Geersing investigated in his PhD research. He compared manual and automated preparations in terms of quality, efficiency, and safety. He graduated on 19 March.

Pesticides can form a toxic cocktail when they occur in combination in surface water. This is the finding of research that Leiden University and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) presented on Monday 14 October. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management…

On 22 November, the Honours College certificate ceremony took place in a full Scheltema. Most students had received a diploma before, but this ceremony felt different, says honours graduate Maarten van der Marel. "It's a special moment."

Every year the National Centre for Study Choice asks students to evaluate their degree programme via the NSE. Data from the survey helps improve programmes and prospective students can make a well-considered choice of which programme to follow. 2,892 students (38.4%) from the Faculty of Humanities took…

The KOG has more to offer than just the transfer of knowledge. The Arts Committee of Leiden Law School organises activities in and around the faculty to stimulate our senses in other ways. They kicked off the new academic year with an open-air cinema evening and an exhibition of photos and haikus.

During her work for the European Union, Sophie Vériter witnessed how young people in countries like Ukraine and Moldova were exposed to Russian propaganda. After mapping out the EU’s disinformation policy, the PhD candidate now advocates for a revised approach.

Elise Dusseldorp has been appointed Professor in the Methodology and Statistics of Psychological Research. In the same way that she spends her spare time rambling through the forest, as a professor she sifts through colleagues’ research data. ‘I often come across information that doesn’t appear in the…

On 11 November Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Monique van Leerdam will deliver her inaugural lecture entitled, ‘Aiming for Prevention’. Van Leerdam, who specialises in hereditary tumours, was appointed professor in July 2020. In her inaugural lecture she will discuss the importance of…