Seed Funding Launch Webinar

In the Pioneers of Leiden University series we talk to past and present students who were the first in their families to go to university. In this third instalment we talk to Jos Schaeken (1962) dean of the Honours Academy and Professor of Slavic and Baltic languages and Cultural History: 'I had to…

Whereas the Netherlands Court of Audit used to conduct an investigation once a year, the average civil service organisation now has a few per year to contend with. Is so much going wrong nowadays? Not at all, says Professor by Special Appointment Sjoerd Keulen. ‘It’s one of the methods that makes democracy…

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on teaching at universities over the past two years. Through force of circumstances, lecturers have adapted much faster to a digital future. On 7 June Leiden Teachers Academy’s annual Education Festival (working language is English) will present insights on this ‘new n…

Education never stops because society is always changing. It is up to students and lecturers to align learning and teaching with current demands. During the Leiden Teachers’ Academy Education Festival, participants united in their search for ways to achieve that.

In recent months, the Work Balance in Action core group has taken several steps to improve the work balance at the Faculty of Humanities. The programme is now ready to be shared more widely across the faculty. Core group members Annemiek Hogendorp, Jaap Kamphuis and Ylva Klaassen tell us what to exp…

Starting February 6, the Leiden interdisciplinary research programme Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) will host a lunch seminar series on pressing global governance issues. The series will feature researchers from various disciplines. It promises to be a trove of inspiration and…

Marieke Adriaanse is Professor of Behavioural Interventions in Population Health and researches behavioural science issues in health. She advocates for better interdisciplinary collaboration and a new form of recognition and rewards within academia. ‘We have to stop being so blinkered,’ she says in…

Jeroen van Gessel’s lecturers didn’t always have time for extensive feedback on his written assignments. So, together with tech-savvy friend Menno Hahury, he founded Eduface, a startup to develop an AI teaching assistant. ‘The first users now work three times faster.'

Alumnus Rennie Roos lives and works in Indonesia. What took him there, what does he do there and what inspires him?

The housing crisis is affecting a substantial group of Dutch citizens and is one of the main election themes this year. How did things get this far and what should the new cabinet do in the coming four years to address the problems? Three Leiden researchers give their answer.

Nanoplastics can accumulate in developing hearts, according to a study by biologist Meiru Wang from Leiden University. Her research on chicken embryos sheds new light on how these tiny plastic particles pose a threat to our health.

Now that the Herta Mohr building is fully operational, construction work is moving to the other side of the University Library. Over the coming years, the former Matthias de Vrieshof will be transformed into the Aleida Nijland building. Architect Bart van Kampen tells us more about the plans.

While tens of thousands of visitors dance to deafening music, a team of Leiden psychologists are trying to collect data for their research at Lowlands. How do festivalgoers experience a virtual trip? And what role do factors such as too little sleep and whether they have experience with psychedelics…

With the red flag flying proudly on the Academy Building (Leiden University was on strike for the first time in its history!), the farewell event for former dean Mark Rutgers was held in the Telders Auditorium. After eight years, he has passed the baton to the interim dean, Henk te Velde.

From research on stellar winds to sign language: an impressive seven researchers from Leiden University will receive a prestigious Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Seger Kersbergen studied the Cabo Verdean nightlife in Rotterdam. He explains how their music describes their nightlife and daily lives.

In a new series we talk to past and present students who were the first in their family to go to university. In this first instalment: novelist and columnist Christiaan Weijts (1976). ‘I always felt as though someone would tap me on my shoulder once they’d discovered my clandestine presence.’

Whether finding signals of dark matter or discovering hydrogen in the vicinity of exoplanets, Leiden astronomers are world players in their field, and they are part of a long tradition: Leiden was the first university in the world to have its own observatory.

For many a first-year, student life has well and truly begun. This also applies to students in The Hague, who were thrown in at the deep end during the HOP introduction week. We paid them a visit on a sunny afternoon at Landgoed Clingendael.

Over 30.000 pages of new material have been added to the online collection of unofficial poetry publications from China in the Leiden Digital Collections. Produced outside the system, these journals and books are hugely influential yet very hard to find. To address this paradox, Leiden University Libraries…

Leiden University was present for the second time at the second Leiden Pride on Saturday.

Last week’s sunny Lowlands festival was not just an occasion for partying and dancing. Visitors were also given a glimpse – as test volunteers – into scientific research. How do you conduct research on fear and silent communication at a festival?

Over 160 years ago, the Hague-based photography pioneer and traveler Alexine Tinne (1835-1869) captured current South Sudan and its inhabitants on film. These photographs represent some of the earliest images taken in the heart of the African continent.

The Faculty Council issued a favourable opinion regarding the Faculty Board’s proposal to withdraw the research master’s programmes in African Studies and Latin American Studies. This was not a proposal we were eager to put forward, but unfortunately it was necessary, in view of the problems we are…

Three alumni of our Master’s degree programme in Ancient History talk to us about how they found a job after graduation during the coronavirus pandemic. During the interview, Gabriël hung a huge board covered in post-it reminders behind his laptop, Molly was glad that the members of the selection committee…

It’s not healthy but we often do it anyway: sit hunched at our computer for hours on end. But exercising and relaxing at work doesn’t have to be complicated. These staff members have come up with fun and easy ways to help their colleagues stay fit and healthy. ‘You don’t need sportswear and won’t end…

What can opera tell us about societies in the past and present? Leiden honours students went looking for an answer, together with students from the Dutch National Opera Academy. A final concert was, of course, part of the repertoire.

Timo Kos has been Vice President of Leiden University’s Executive Board since 1 March. Who is he and how have his first weeks been? ‘Higher education is under threat; we’re under fire.’

To read Chekhov in the ‘original’. That was what motivated Arie van der Ent to study Slavic languages and literature with Karel van het Reve at Leiden University. ‘My love for Chekhov hasn’t faded,’ says Van der Ent from his home 60 kilometres south of Kyiv. ‘But it has for the rest of Russia.’

How has evolution shaped our curiosity? And how does that curiosity ensure that we now have the technological ability to discover whether we are alone in the universe? This was all covered during the celebration of Leiden University’s 449th Dies Natalis.

As I cycle to work in the morning, along Rapenburg to the Huizinga Building, I sometimes stop and dismount. The early morning silence and the rising sun that casts a spotlight on the Academy Building can be enchanting. On those days, I use the moment to take a photograph. I already have quite a collection.…

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Vidi grants to Leiden researchers.

Didactics

Exhibition

Pop-up art studio

Pop-up art studio

Management, Leadership

Last year, 15.8% of all employees of Leiden University experienced undesirable behaviour. This is one of the findings of the 2021 Personnel Monitor. ‘That number is far too high. We have to get rid of the taboo on raising this issue and addressing offenders,‘ says Martijn Ridderbos, in an open and…

Although there is considerable evidence that nature in the city is beneficial to both people and animals, we still do not have an overall picture of those benefits. To rectify that, a Leiden PhD candidate and a student – armed with a cargo bike – are using The Hague as a life-size laboratory.

Finally we know for sure that there is a black hole at the centre of our own galaxy. Today, astronomers unveiled the first ever photo of Sagittarius A*, a super-massive object at the centre of the Milky Way. This picture could only be taken thanks to the cooperation of telescopes worldwide.

Annetje Ottow is the first female president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, which means a return to her Alma mater.

Writers are not just storytellers: with their novels, tales and critiques they broaden the social imagination, reflect on societal developments and sometimes put new themes on the map. This can easily lead to a conflict because writers and literati often think very differently about issues such as…

Yusra Abdullahi, Maha Ali and Felipe Colla de Amorim recently joined the Institute for History as PhD candidates. Together they work an an integrated, collective project. Learn more about them below!

Workshop

Conference

447th Dies Natalis

University ceremony

Conference, D&I Event