He did an English-taught degree, completed a master’s abroad and now teaches on an English-taught programme at Leiden University College The Hague. Jan Meijer is the definition of an international researcher and he’s proud of it.

How can KLM remain the most sustainable airline? Master’s students from the Leiden Leadership Programme immerse themselves in practice and advise companies on major issues.

Lucia Langerak was awarded a Master’s degree in Egyptology with cum laude honours in 2018. Her bachelor’s degree was also with cum laude honours. ‘I’m an exceptional Egyptologist, if only because I’ve never been to Egypt.’ She is now the coordinator of the Access & Support Platform at the University…

We want to be an engaged community where we feel heard and enjoy working together. But how do we have an open conversation about difficult topics?

Worldwide, countries are barely prepared for major borderless crises such as extreme natural disasters or other unexpected calamities that destabilise society, Professor of Political Science, Arjen Boin, warns. In his inaugural address on 23 October he makes some recommendations.

In the course of 2020 the Faculty of Archaeology was bolstered by some new staff members. Due to the coronavirus situation, sadly, this went for a large part unnoticed. In a series of interviews we are catching up, giving the floor to our new colleagues. We kick off with Dr Tuna Kalayci, who joined…

The percentage of female professors at Leiden University has risen to 31.2 per cent. These are the results of the Women Professors Monitor 2021 published by the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH). This puts Leiden University above the national average of 26.7 per cent.

On 5 September, spaceEU was launched at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, one of the world’s largest science, technology and media art festivals. This 1 million euro European-funded project is coordinated by Leiden Observatory. SpaceEU fosters a young, creative and inclusive European space community…

Research by The Young Academy on the length and intensity of the Dutch academic year has given us food for thought. Do our staff have enough time and space to conduct research? And do we ask too much of our students? The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science asked us universities to think about…

The students from the Leiden University Green Office have big ambitions and have outlined their recommendations in a new Green Paper. Like being the most sustainable university in the world by 2030. Students Janey Franssen and Job Kemperman are two of the paper’s authors. How do they want to achieve…

Leiden University has had a diversity policy since 2014. The aim is to create a diverse and inclusive learning and working environment for all students and staff. Diversity Officer Aya Ezawa updates us on the process and the results. It’s now 2022, what has already changed?

The Honours Academy celebrates its tenth anniversary. How did the institute develop over time, and what are aspirations for the future? We speak with the current Dean and a predecessor who was there at the Academy's founding. A conversation about identity, inspiration, and impact ensues. ‘It is about…

During the ‘Hour of Remembrance’ on 4 May, the University community remembers its students and staff who were killed in the Second World War. It also looks at freedom and oppression today. Three questions for Sara Polak, chair of the Hour of Remembrance committee.

The interdisciplinary, English-taught minor ‘Violence Studies’ looks at violence from very diverse scientific perspectives. What are the benefits from this approach? Students and lecturers evaluate: ‘This minor’s a goldmine’.

PhD candidates Vincent Walstra and Leen Felix in dialogue

From global warming to the decolonisation of knowledge. At the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) in Leiden over 500 speakers from 60 countries have come together to discuss the big themes of our times. Why have the delegates come?

Many of us love music, but we don’t understand why exactly that is – or how our individual experiences of music can differ. Rebecca Schaefer will research this in the run-up to the SNAAR Festival in Utrecht. And in a unique way: students in vocational education (mbo) will be the researchers.

Over 2,700 cars on the Fremantle Highway that caught fire on 26 July have been so badly damaged that they cannot be sold. Can we recycle these cars?

Every day, Veilig Thuis employees receive hundreds of reports of domestic violence and child abuse. Despite their efforts, they are heavily criticised due to the long waiting times. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, appeared on talk show ‘Eva’ to discuss the Dutch care and welfare…

A clean street, public transportation, or taxes: these are all public goods that keep society running. But how do people decide which public good to invest in, if at all? These are the kind of questions PhD student Laura Hoenig explores.

Anthropogenic change is reshaping ecological systems, raising concerns about increasing transmission of infectious diseases. Among these, mosquito-borne diseases may be particularly sensitive to environmental change, as their transmission depends on vector populations.

NATO not only safeguards our security and stability, but also defends Enlightenment principles, promoting prosperity, health and freedom. This is what eminent psychologist and thinker Steven Pinker argued to a packed Great Auditorium.

The Dutch horticultural sector faces the challenge of becoming fully circular by 2030. Professor of Environmental Biology Peter van Bodegom is going to commit himself for four years to guiding this transition and nudging it into the right direction. Together with Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability…

After the summer, the SPSS statistics programme will be replaced by the new ‘R’ software for first year students. Hemmo Smit and Sjoerd Huisman, both lecturers in Methodology and Statistics, initiated this major change in the curriculum. That did not happen overnight.

From receiving our salary to doing our shopping: we are completely dependent on commercial banks for all our payment transactions. But what happens if they collapse? In his inaugural lecture, Professor Bart Joosen calls for a rigorous change: ‘Put payment transactions for private clients under one…

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…

‘A Muslim and a Jew in the house of God.’ This is how historian Nadia Bouras introduced her recent conversation with colleague Sara Polak in Leiden’s Hooglandse Kerk. They discussed the rising tensions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. ‘Dare to ask each other questions.’

Alumni who live and work in Brussels met on 18 February at the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event. As well as celebrating Leiden University’s 450th anniversary, they also looked at the challenges Europe faces.

Tyron Offerman wants to get the most out of life. This 28-year-old computer scientist and business economics graduate has an impressive three jobs: IT strategy consultant, and lecturer and PhD candidate at Leiden University. All his own choice. ‘I do a lot of sports. I have to to be able to keep all…

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.

The University buildings are partially reopening to students. And first-years will be able to discover real-life Leiden or The Hague during the introduction weeks this summer. Vice-Rector Hester Bijl describes what will be possible once more at the ‘one-and-a-half-metre university’. ‘We want to provide…

Are international courts effective? Dr Fatou Bensouda, a former Lead Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), will discuss this issue during her lecture at the Owada Symposium 2025. The ICC’s efficacy depends on the actions of its member states, she says.

Like many others, Ruurd Halbertsma has had a rollercoaster of a year. His museum, the National Museum of Antiquities (RMO), was closed for a long while because of the lockdown. Visitor numbers picked up again from September, but it the next few weeks will be tense now the hospitals are full again. Halbertsma:…

People are more likely to cooperate with their compatriots than with people from other countries. This tendency can frustrate collaborative projects, such as cross-border cooperation for the provision of public goods. This is the conclusion of Leiden social psychologist Angelo Romano.

Space for open dialogue on historical slavery was created at the Keti Koti Table at Museum De Lakenhal, organised by Leiden University and the Municipality of Leiden. There, just metres away from 17th-century paintings, Leideners shared a ritual meal and spoke about the effects of slavery and our colonial…

Not all gay and lesbian students feel equally safe at their sports clubs. ‘Homo’ is used almost unthinkingly as a term of abuse and players often face homophobic comments. What can sports clubs and teams do to make sure everyone feels safe when playing sports?

To what extent does human intervention influence the world’s biodiversity? And can we predict how biodiversity and ecosystems will change in the coming years? Inaugural lecture by Peter van Bodegom, Professor of Conservation Biology, on 8 May.

Inspiration from outside and best practices from inside the University. These were the most important ingredients of the symposium on inclusivity organised by the Diversity Office at Leiden University on 22 November.

Platinum is a widely used catalyst, but its precise mechanism largely remains a mystery to scientists. Ludo Juurlink has now demonstrated for the first time how oxygen reacts on the platinum surface. Together with PhD students Kun Cao and Richard van Lent and international colleagues he publishes his…

Sixteen master’s students from a variety of disciplines are helping The Hague Police to find new clues in a cold case.

The university was a gift from William of Orange to the people of Leiden for their courageous resistance to the Spanish. We’ve all heard the story of the university’s foundation. But its foundation was also a success story for two friends.

Leiden chemists Marc Koper and Ian McCrum have discovered that the degree to which a metal binds to the oxygen atom of water is decisive for how well the chemical conversion of water to molecular hydrogen takes place. This insight helps to develop better catalysts for the production of sustainable hydrogen,…

Many people don't know exactly what Open Science is or why it is important. In a short interview, Anna van 't Veer explains her take on it.

Why are we unable to address health-care inequality? This was the topic of the inaugural speech of Professor Jet Bussemaker on Friday 15 February 2019. She analysed why current policy does not suffice when it comes to protecting vulnerable groups and fighting inequality. She proposed an agenda that…

The price of products and services plays an enormous role in society, and therefore also in the legal domain, according to Professor of Business Studies. Inaugural lecture 2 June.

As of 1 August, Anika Bexkens has been appointed Professor of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Her research focuses on the optimal application of scientific knowledge in practice. ‘Scientists and practitioners often speak past each other.’

The speed at which science is changing our lives gives rise to tensions and concerns. In his talk at Leiden University, Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) said we should talk more about science’s relationship with society and political decision-making.

This article explores how to think about solidarity, considering the diverse stories, spaces, practices, bodies, and temporalities that shape a city.

On 23 April 2021, Professor Alfred Vertegaal from the Department of Cell and Chemical Biology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) delivered his inaugural lecture ‘Unraveling and exploiting cellular communication codes’. Vertegaal used the opportunity to describe how research in the field…