Information Fair

Everything is different this year because of the corona measures; introduction weeks, student life and education. In order to give new students a proper and warm welcome, a lot of work has been done to create the frameworks for a mentor programme. The working group 'Tutoring and Cohorting' has prepared…

In this Educatips collumns, Child and Education Studies lecturers share their key insights about teaching. This month: Rachel Plak and Karlijn Pieterse wanted to better prepare students in the course Autism and Diagnostics for clinical practice. That's why they introduced a new type of assignment.

It is the final stretch for the students of FGGA. Summer is approaching and they are working hard to complete everything before the summer holidays. We asked some of them how they look back at the academic year. ‘Being a mentor during HOP week is something I can recommend to everyone’

This message is to remember his inspiring contributions to the global development of air and space law, the formation of innovative aviation policy and his dynamic commitment to the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University.

In the ‘Educatips’ column, lecturers in Child and Education studies share their most important insights on teaching. This month: Tirza Smits, Kim Stroet and Marit Guda observed frustration among students working in groups, often due to poor communication. So they decided to build a tool to help.

Recently graduated Biology student Julia López Delgado is one of the winners of the Holland Society Young Talent Awards 2019. She received her prize during the festive award ceremony on 25 November in Haarlem.

Since April 2023 the current war in Sudan has brought larger death, destruction, and displacement than any other ongoing armed conflict on earth. And yet, international media coverage of the conflict remains limited.

What will it be like to study at Leiden University in 2075? Ten surprising, artistic uni-visions could be brought to life. It’s up to you to vote for your favourite.

Back in 2020, Dr Maikel Kuijpers started to write for The Correspondent. His articles offered readers a unique long-term insight into the materials that shape our world, from concrete to glass and plastics. His innovative approach piqued the interest of a literary agent, and he was invited to write…

Last July, after the end of my Advanced LLM in Public International Law, I wanted to find new tasks to prove myself on topics related to what I studied during my stimulating master in the Netherlands. In the impossibility to work “on the field” as I was busy for my bar exam in my own country and I was…

From a catastrophic fire to a flood that engulfs the earth. Mineke Schipper, Professor Emeritus of Literary Studies, has collected myths from the four corners of the earth about the end of humanity. These have inspired 30 striking paintings by Japanese artist Yuriko Yamaguchi. The Dutch premiere of…

From exercises for working more healthily to practical tips about getting a good night's sleep. Students and staff who take part in the Healthy University Workshops on 18 or 19 October will be given tips to suit their personal situation.

The Amsterdam media played a major role in the rise and fall of Dutch Brazil, the colony held briefly by the Dutch West India Company in the 17th century. This is the conclusion reached by Professor of Maritime History Michiel van Groesen in his book ‘Amsterdam’s Atlantic’.

An international team of astronomers, including Leiden PhD student Elia Pizzati, has observed several ancient quasars that, surprisingly, appear to be floating alone in the early universe (less than a billion years after the Big Bang). Until now, astronomers, based on models, assumed that quasars are…

How big is the universe? How do stars form and evolve? And does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? These main questions in astronomy are the themes of the new exhibition Above & Beyond, which was created in honour of the hundredth anniversary of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The exhibition…

From chilling on the beach to a speech by the mayor. HOPweek is a speedy way for hundreds of ‘Leiden’ students who are going to be studying in The Hague to get to know each other. Many of them come from abroad. ‘I actually dare to cycle here.’

Motivated, innovative lecturers are the driving force behind our teaching. Thijs Porck is a lecturer in Medieval English at the Leiden Centre for the Arts in Society. He passed the Senior Teaching Qualification at the end of last year. ‘As a lecturer, it’s good to keep thinking about what motivates…

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…

Whilst the world is opening up, the teaching will continue in a hybrid form next academic year. During the past year, when all of us were bound to our home offices and computer screens, new forms of education had to be developed – some of which proved to be efficient in preparing the students for their…

Compare human social behaviour at a country level and you will find differences. Japan has the highest score whereas the Netherlands is just above average. This is what psychologist Niels van Doesem discovered in research with an international team of 64 colleagues in 31 industrialised countries. Their…

After a lobby lasting many years, the Dutch government has decided to finance an independent study of the war of decolonisation (1945-1950) in the former Dutch East Indies. This is partly due to the work of Professor of Colonial and Post-Colonial History, Gert Oostindie, Director of the KITLV. ‘The…

The department of Financial and Economic Affairs at FGGA is always busy with…..finances. It is an important department that impacts, directly or indirectly, everyone working at FGGA. Yet, for many of us, it is not always clear what it is that Gert and his team actually do. What is the financial status…

Come to the Night of Discoveries art and science festival on 16 September. Various researchers from the university are speaking at the festival.

Media all around the world reported about it: the most detailed images yet seen of galaxies, shot by radio telescope LOFAR. The international team behind these amazing results were led by Leah Morabito at Durham University and included three talented Leiden astronomers.

Biophysicist Alireza Mashaghi and his collaborators are taking up the fight against muscular dystrophy: genetic disorders that cause muscle weakness. They want to inhibit the clumping of proteins that results in toxic aggregates. For this, the team receives 550,000 euros from Health Holland. The team…

In the summer of 2019, South African student Tarryn Abrahams was awarded a scholarship from the Mandela Scholarship Fund. She is now spending a semester in Leiden, and following four courses at Leiden Law School. ‘I’m learning to engage more in lectures.’

A plant-based diet could improve the resilience of our food system. Moving to such a diet in the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) alone could replace almost all the production losses from Russia and Ukraine. That’s what an international team of researchers conclude in Nature Food. Leiden…

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?

For the first time more than half century, one of oldest telescopes at Leiden Observatory is getting a major improvement.

In the ‘Educatips’ column, Psychology lecturers share their most important insights about teaching. This month: Ambra Brizi uses AI to encourage students to reflect and think more critically. ‘What are the limitations, and what is the potential of this technology?’

The energy transition ranks high on the European policy agenda, but what does it take to get there? René Kleijn researches how we can extract, use and reuse raw materials in a responsible way. Since 1 March, he has been appointed professor of Resilient resource supply.

On 30 August 2024, 330 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden. A large audience of about 1000 people consisting of friends, family, and staff members gathered to celebrate the graduates’ achievements…

As Professor of Translational Neuro-oncology, Marike Broekman researches how brain tumour treatment can be improved. She will discuss this in her inaugural lecture along with her work as a neurosurgeon and the importance of a positive workplace culture.

On Monday 26 August, students were warmly welcomed at the Wijnhaven location with a blue carpet and live music. Accompanied by their friends and family, they gathered to receive their BSc Security Studies diploma.

The Rutte IV cabinet is more or less complete. It includes more women than ever. For the first time ever, the Netherlands will have two ethnic minority ministers, and ministers without political experience but with plenty of professional expertise will also be making their debut. However, political…

325 students received their Bachelor’s Diploma of International Studies on 30 August 2019. The students received their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With more than 1100 people present, including 325 graduates, this was the largest…

On Friday 29 August 2025, 370 students received their Bachelor's degree in International Studies. The diplomas were awarded in the historic setting of the Pieterskerk in Leiden. Family members, friends, and staff gathered to celebrate this joyous occasion with the graduates in a packed Pieterskerk.

Two years ago, Danae Barboudi (26) moved from Greece to the Netherlands to study at Leiden University. Next to her studies, she is also one of the people behind the Orientation Week Leiden (OWL) – the introduction week for international students.

Two Second Prizes, two First Prizes and even a Grand Grand First Prize. Five Leiden mathematics students and their team leader have performed exceptionally well during the International Mathematics Competition for University Students 2024 in Bulgaria in early August. This even made for a Dutch recor…

What are the origins of the Islamic Empire? And what was daily life like there? Two new Ted Ed animations answer these questions in simple language. Arabists Petra Sijpesteijn and Birte Kristiansen explain what the process of developing the videos was like.

More than 3,500 enthusiastic Leiden first-years, 80% of them coming to Leiden University, gathered on Monday morning 13 August at the Lammermarkt for the start of the EL CID. Music booming, the groups gathered around their mentors in two shifts, at 9.30 and 11.30.

After almost 18 months of following lectures alone in their rooms, many students are going back to face-to-face classes for the first time. And the same is true for the lecturers. How do people feel about it? We went to Leiden Law School to find out. ‘For a whole year, I’ve been watching lectures in…

‘What a relief,’ was psychologist Mariska Kret’s reaction to the news of her Vidi grant from the national science financier NWO. The grant makes it possible for her to carry out new research into emotions and trust in patients with a social anxiety disorder and patients with autism.

If you could convert CO2 into building blocks for other molecules with the help of electricity, you could make the chemical industry considerably more sustainable. Leiden chemists have unravelled a fundamental part of this process and applied this knowledge in a real device, as they write in Nature…

How can we reduce CO2 emissions from industry? Leiden psychologists Emma Mors and Christine Boomsma are examining the public perception and acceptance around the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. This is part of the ALIGN CCUS European research programme.

Earlier this year, the public voted environmental scientist Paul Behrens Discoverer of the Year 2018. Behrens is an interdisciplinary scientist who wants to understand our impact on the planet. ‘Unfortunately, we are not doing enough. Huge changes are underway and we’re running out of time to avoid…

Leiden art historian Juliette Roding spent her sabbatical in Denmark, researching a 17th century court artist. She not only learned more about the artist, she also got to know present-day Denmark.

Back in 2008, Jason Laffoon moved from Chicago to Leiden. He came to join the Faculty of Archaeology’s Caribbean research group as a PhD candidate. Now he is an assistant professor, bridging departments through his innovative research methods. ‘I focus both on the archaeology of the Americas, as well…

Menzo Havenga, CEO of Batavia Biosciences on the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP), has a favourite hobbyhorse: the Clinical Development Board. The aim of this board is to make sure that high-impact research results in high-value products that will benefit patients.