From human rights in Sudan to a new cult of heroes in China. During the board members' visit, the Institute of Private Law and the Institute for Area Studies clarified their social relevance in no uncertain terms. What's happening here in education and research?

Leiden University is awarding an honorary doctorate to virologist Marc van Ranst. Van Ranst has been one of the main advisers of the Belgian government during the Covid pandemic. German Arabist Beatrice Gründler will also receive an honorary doctorate for her work in the field of Oriental Manuscript…

In case of short-term or long-term illness, we will together do our best to ensure you can return to work shortly. You will be guided through this process by your immediate supervisor, the P&O department and the University doctor. In some cases, however, reintegration in your own or another position…

Leiden University has a style guide to ensure consistency across all of its publications. It also has a Terminology List with the preferred translations of terms used within Leiden University and the academic world.

Leiden University has concluded an agreement with elipsLife for a collective ANW shortfall insurance. This insurance provides financial security for your partner in the event of your death.

Have you been ill for a long time? The procedure for illness and reintegration describes what to expect in case of long-term illness and work disability. The procedure also lists potential financial consequences.

Five Leiden researchers have been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of up to two million euros will enable them to continue and expand their scientific research.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Vidi grants to 14 Leiden researchers. This grant of a maximum of 850,000 euros will enable them to start a new research group and develop their own line of research over the next five years.

Leiden University offers its staff members an attractive package of benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% and a end-of-year bonus of 8.3%. Using the Individual Choices Model it is also possible to opt for personalised benefits. Here we have summarised the most important terms and conditions.

From painful joints to intense fatigue: a third of rheumatism patients suffer serious effects from this chronic condition and rely long-term on medication. Leiden psychologists are to receive a subsidy from the Netherlands Arthritis Foundation to investigate whether placebo techniques can help patients…

Eighteen researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant gives promising young researchers the opportunity to develop their ideas for a period of three years.

Ten Leiden museums and heritage institutions have curated the online exhibition ‘Carel’s Universe’. They selected objects from their collections that symbolise retiring Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker and the research in Leiden. With direct references, playful associations and the odd nod and wink.

In some cases, PhD candidates are permitted to follow a PhD track that involves conducting research and receiving supervision at two institutions: Leiden University and another university. On this page, you can read what forms of agreement there are.

Four promising young researchers from Leiden University have received a Rubicon grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant will enable them to gain valuable research experience at top universities abroad.

February 8 saw the launch of the Medical Delta ‘Sustainable Hospitals’ Interdisciplinary Thesis Lab. The research projects will touch on different aspects of healthcare. The students hope they will be able to offer practical solutions to make hospitals greener.

The book ‘Geleerde Zorgen: twee eeuwen academische geneeskunde in Leiden’ (‘Learned Care: two centuries of academic medicine in Leiden’) was presented on 16 December to Annetje Ottow (President of the Executive Board of Leiden University) and Pancras Hogendoorn, Dean and member of the Executive Board…

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) announced on 25 April that it has appointed 18 new members. These include Leiden professors Andrew Webb and Jos Raaijmakers.

It was the Night of Discoveries on Saturday 16 September: a summer encounter between art and science. Leiden researchers from various disciplines inspired the public with their quest to understand our world.

We have all been deeply affected by the events that took place in Rotterdam on Thursday evening. Our colleagues at Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University have lost a valued colleague and have been involved in a very serious incident, which will undoubtedly leave deep scars. The witnesses to this…

The Russian military assault on Ukraine has profoundly shocked knowledge institutions in the Netherlands, as represented by Universities of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Dutch Research Council,…

Human resources

SAILS and CAIRELab, the LUMC’s AI expertise centre, recently held an event that gave healthcare professionals and computer scientists the chance to meet. The meeting proved fertile ground for new collaborations.

From social inequalities in prehistory to placebo effects in medical treatments. Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million to develop their research.

It is with deep sorrow that we share the news that our dear colleague Andrea Evers passed away on Monday, 4 August 2025. Since 2013, Andrea had been affiliated with the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University as Professor of Health Psychology. She was an undeniable driving force…

From once controversial scientific works and historical bibles, to personal shopping lists and clothing bills. The 17th-century Bibliotheca Thysiana and the archive of the collector Johannes Thysius exhibit both the intellectual and everyday life as it was three hundred years ago. Now a brand-new digital…

Few people would associate the name Anton de Kom with Leiden. Yet the Surinamese freedom fighter is the subject of an exhibition at Museum De Lakenhal.

Communication, Working effectively, Transferable skills

Are you a PhD candidate, and is there something you’d prefer to discuss with someone other than your thesis director or supervisor? The confidential counsellor for PhD candidates is here to help. You can speak to him/her in confidence and receive advice. If you experience symptoms of physical or mental…

Marjan van Dasselaar is the Staff Ombuds Officer. The Staff Ombuds Officer gives independent advice to the University on how the staff’s work environment can be made safer.

If you have a guest or visitor who needs access to the network drives or a ULCN account, you can have him or her registered in the guest management system (GMS) via your GMS contact person.

The results of the 2025 university elections are in. Who will represent us in the participation organs?

Library, Research

Now the number of people with COVID-19 is increasing and we are faced with stricter measures once again, the question arises whether compulsory vaccination could be allowed.

Are you a Leiden researcher looking for opportunities for interdisciplinary research and collaboration in the fields of local communities, health and disease prevention? If so, Health Campus The Hague is the right place for you. Take a look at these four examples of current research.

Connecting scientific fields, enhancing research and teaching, and providing innovative solutions to complex social issues: that is the idea behind interdisciplinary research. What did the university achieve in 2024? A small sample.

‘Everyone’s talking about it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, but the reality is disappointing,’ says biochemist Gerard van Westen in his 3 October University lecture in the Van der Werfpark. In the full marquee, he gets a laugh with this suggestion that artificial intelligence is comparable…

The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), the Danstem Institute from the University of Copenhagen and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne have received 300m euros from the Novo Nordisk foundation. The aim of this new international consortium is to bring stem-cell based therapies…

Six researchers from Leiden University have received an ERC starting grant. This grant of on average 1.5m euros will enable the researchers to launch their own project, form their own research team and develop their best ideas.