The new University Sports and Exam Centre is another step closer. Bigger sports and exam halls, plenty of room for meeting people, an open feel that integrates with the Campus Square and the sports fields, optimal acoustics and an uncompromisingly sustainable building with a green facade and solar panels.…

The universities of Delft, Leiden and Rotterdam are working together to show their students what artificial intelligence (AI) means for their own field. Three AI minors will start in the 2022 – 2023 academic year and will answer questions such as: ‘How best can you use AI in your research discipline?’…

In the coming years, Asghar Seyed Gohrab receives an advanced European Research Council grant of two and a half million euros to spend on his research into non-conformism in Islam. ‘Hopefully I can use this to contribute something to society, to pass something on to future generations.’

Ornately decorated head pieces and jewellery, images of imposing mosques and photos of local people. The 'Splendours of the Silk Roads' exhibition depicts life and different cultures along this important trade route.

A group of over a hundred pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in the Wijnhaven building on Campus The Hague at around 13.00 hrs on Tuesday 6 May. They chanted slogans and hung up banners. The majority of the demonstrators left the building after a short while, but a small number refused to leave.

Organisation

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Many people have fled to the Netherlands since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, including students. But even before this war, students with refugee backgrounds were eager to study at Leiden University. How does the University help young people from various backgrounds find their way around the Dutch…

What is written in law and what equality, inclusion and diversity mean in practice is not always the same. This was the focus of this year’s D&I symposium on 13 January. The plenary sessions were watched by hundreds of participants and there was a wide range of workshops covering different aspects of…

Chaos in the Lipsius building! Master's students zigzag through the classroom, write on whiteboards and discuss tensely. In a simulation of the Leiden Leadership Programme, they experience what it is like to deal with a crisis as an office holder.

An extra-long procession with musical accompaniment will mark the beginning of the university’s 450th birthday celebrations on 7 February.

Annetje Ottow is stepping down as President of Leiden University’s Executive Board on 1 September 2025 after almost five years in the role. She looks back at the highs and lows – and ahead to what’s next.

Op welke manieren kan inclusieve communicatie ervoor zorgen dat mensen zich welkom voelen? Hierover ging het D&I-symposium van Universiteit Leiden.

Leiden University has an active open science community. Open science means transparency in all phases of research by precisely documenting every step of the way and making this publicly available. ‘It’s time to be open,’ say psychologists Anna van ’t Veer and Zsuzsika Sjoerds. There is increasing awareness…

On a sunny Lammermarkt, thousands of new students gathered to kick off their student life in Leiden at the 56th edition of EL CID.

As of 1 April 2025, Lodewijk Govaerts will be standing down from the Board of Governors due to other commitments that will demand a significant part of his time and attention within the foreseeable future. Govaerts does not want this to affect his ability to fulfil his role on the Board of Governors…

Mozambican politician and child rights activist Graça Machel speaks October 27 at Leiden University about her work.

Education

In a world beset with war, climate problems and skyrocketing energy prices, it is good to have some 'slack time' now and then. That was Dean Mark Rutgers' message at the Faculty of Humanities' New Year reception.

An interdisciplinary photo exhibition about crafts and craftsmanship in different cultures will open at Oude UB on 6 October. At the opening Fridus Steijlen will give an introduction to the Tau Tau puppets that are made in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

‘Islam and Muslims are not something that happened to Europe; they are part of Europe. In fact, Islam is one the biggest constants in European history,’ argues Professor Maurits Berger in the new eight-part History of Islam in Europe podcast series of the Leiden University Faculty of Humanities.

Leiden’s Rapenburg canal was transformed into a magical open-air stage for the jubilee edition of the Leiden Canal Concert, as hundreds gathered to celebrate 450 years of Leiden University. The concert featured an orchestra made up of students and staff performing alongside local artists.

A mediation meeting was held today between the University Council and the Executive Board about the appointment procedure for the Vice-Rector of Organisational Development, Erwin Muller. We have managed to resolve the dispute.

Social

Leiden University has seven top-rated bachelor's programmes according to Keuzigids universiteiten 2026, a consumer guide to university programmes. This is based on the National Student Survey.

Vice-chairman of the Executive Board Martijn Ridderbos will leave Leiden University at the end of this year.

Staff from Leiden University are starting the Dutch universities’ staggered strike against the government cuts on 10 March. Follow the strike in this liveblog.

As a mathematician, Fred Rohde (1948) explored the world of numbers. As a photographer, he captured demonstrations. And now he’s reconstructing his mother’s wartime story – an extraordinary tale of her stay with an Austrian family, the inventors of asbestos cement.

How do the residents of the Kooi neighbourhood in Leiden find living there? What can we do about loneliness? In this extraordinary academic year, students have been conducting all sorts of research, in Leiden. They presented their initial findings and recommendations at a Learning with the City meeting…

‘Be yourself. Be as gay, queer, trans as you can and show the world you exist.’ These rousing words from Looi van Kessel marked the start of the third Pride Leiden for the university boat, with the theme: ‘450 years of being yourself’.

With the new academic year, the Honours Academy welcomes a new assessor: Maarten Kolpa. What does an assessor do? And what can he do for honours students? Maarten talks about it in an interview. "I find it important that the student perspective comes first."

How do you deal with bullying? How can you motivate young people? At the NeurolabNL symposium a multidisciplinary research team launched an interactive book for teachers and youth workers. This digital book offers the latest insights and plenty of useful tips and advice. Children’s Ombudsman Margrite…

Leiden University’s digital study environment is being expanded to include the Leiden student portal: a single place where as a student you can find all the information you need to organise your studies.

From 22 January on, the video conferencing app Zoom will be available for students and teachers at Leiden University. The University is responding to calls by staff and students, and has now acquired the programme.

Leiden University has set up two committees to consider issues that are the focus of much attention within our community and society at large. They are the Knowledge Security Committee and the Fossil Fuel Industry Collaboration Committee. Former dean Joanne van der Leun will chair both.

The interdisciplinary AI & Society minor of Leiden University brings together students and lecturers from a wide range of disciplines. Together they look at the impact of AI on society. Students are enthusiastic about this merging of worlds.

There’s been a lot of commotion about the ‘Apartheid in Israel’ panel discussion being cancelled. The organisers, Students for Palestine, wanted to hold this at Leiden University’s Wijnhaven building in The Hague on 21 March. The Executive Board would only allow the event to go ahead if guarantees…

Last year around 2,000 international students started a master’s degree at Leiden University. To make this possible, there are various grants that these students can apply for. One such grant is the LExS: the Leiden University Excellence Scholarship Programme. Three LExS students tell us about their…

‘If you want to implement open science, you at least need someone at each faculty who can help researchers to solve practical problems.’ Dorien Huijser spent two years managing the transition to a new working method at the Institute of Psychology’s Brain and Development Research Center.

It often takes longer for women with heart problems to get the right diagnosis. In her Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture, Professor Hester den Ruijter will talk about how hormones influence the heart and the importance of medical research that focuses specifically on women.

How can you persuade researchers who are used to conducting research within clearly defined disciplines to adopt an interdisciplinary approach? Newly appointed distinguished professor Arnold Tukker explained.

With its FestivOWL theme, Orientation Week Leiden (OWL) promises to be one big festival for new international students in Leiden.

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?

Spui Campus, Leiden University’s fourth location in The Hague, will soon open its doors. The former V&D department store’s transformation into a university campus is becoming more visible by the week. Removal vans will soon be driving back and forth to move all the furniture there in time. The first…

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.

Aya Ezawa bade farewell as Diversity Officer of Leiden University at a celebration in the Academy Building on 11 June. Since her appointment in 2019, she has been a tireless advocate for culture change and a champion for diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities for all.

How do you know if your idea has succeeded? The Queen coming to call a year and a half later might just be a clue. This happened to the Leiden student foundation ‘Door Het Geluid’, which promotes student well-being.