In 2023, it will be fifty years since Vietnam and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations. This will be commemorated in both countries. At the beginning of November, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. On that occasion Leiden University Libraries will launch…

On 22 November, Leiden scientist Jan Vonk received an ERC starting grant for his research on the building blocks of mathematics. This grant is not his first this year: in fact, this July Vonk also received a Vidi from NWO. Four questions to the scientist who got two grants this year.

With the approval of the preliminary design (PD), an important milestone has been reached in the design process for the Aleida Nijland building. This means that the key functional and spatial decisions have now been finalised. The future users of the building – LUCL, part of LUCAS, lab users, LAK, ATC,…

Astronomers led by Simon Portegies Zwart used simulations to reconstruct how three stars were ejected from the star cluster R136, 60,000 years ago. The analysis reveals that five stars were involved in the event in the Tarantula Nebula.

Is it possible to measure subtle oscillations caused by dark matter moving through the earth? A Dutch-American physicist team have discovered a new route toward what could be the first-ever measurement of ultralight dark matter. They suspended a microscopic magnet inside a superconducting enclosure,…

Complex research with a generous sprinkling of jargon: PhD defences can be difficult for non-experts to follow. In the compulsory new lay talk, PhD candidates begin by explaining their dissertation in words of one syllable. And it’s not just the PhD’s family and friends who appreciate this.

Nurturing Student Creativity: Innovative Approaches to Sharing Scientific Results. Bridging Generations and Empowering Ethical Exploration in Anthropology Education

Digitalisation can make a huge contribution to a greener future, but it must also be as sustainable as possible. To make significant progress, more collaboration and national leadership will be needed. Leiden University has therefore signed the Digital Sustainability Manifesto, which was presented on…

A new graphene-based method could make for faster, cheaper and more accurate DNA sequencing, say a group of Leiden physicists and chemists.

Anisa Nuranisa recently joined the Institute as PhD candidate in the startersbeurs project "Cultural diplomacy and the Javanese Courts (19th and early 20th century)", led by Bart Verheijden and Fenneke Sysling. Below she introduces themselves.

Ilze Bot wants to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Her research focuses on mast cells, which protect us from infections but can also make us ill.

Russian literature is awash with disputes, riots and intense political debates. In the new Dutch podcast Schandaal en Controverse in de Russische literatuur, senior lecturer Otto Boele and film maker and journalist Kay Mastenbroek discuss the most talked-about Russian books published in the past two…

Understanding the behaviour of tiny droplets in our cells could aid the search for new treatments. A team of Leiden researchers has developed a groundbreaking method to study how these droplets transition from liquid to solid. This change plays a role in various diseases, including neurodegenerative…

Leiden biologists have found a mutation in flour beetles that allows them to speed up their development. The study has been published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

In September, university lecturers Olga van Marion and Astrid Van Weyenberg started working as education coaches. How did their first semester of activities go and what is next on the horizon?

Education, Research

Library, Research

Leiden alumnus Emma Govaart (24) wanted to make an impact on society, so she took a job in the non-profit sector after graduating.

Every week, Uwe Hensch walks past the Old Observatory in Leiden. In corona times, he decided to make a LEGO design of the historic building. His design is now finished and might go into production. You can help to make it happen.

A diverse team of Leiden archaeologists applied for, and was awarded, the KNAW ‘Appreciated!’ grant, meant to further their science communication endeavours. We speak with Dr Maikel Kuijpers, who is the main contact person of the application.

Who knows more about environmental governance: a professor of natural resource governance or a local shaman in the remote uplands of Myanmar?

Here we highlight the achievements of our latest PhD graduates, each of whom has made significant contributions to the advancement of the field of (bio)pharmaceutical sciences.

PhD defence

If you study law, you won’t necessarily end up striding round a law firm in tailor-made suits. Alumnus Harrie Schoffelen certainly hasn’t: he made the conscious decision to follow another path in life. Together with his fiancée he runs a successful food truck on the tropical island of Bonaire. ‘Return…

Why do people commit violence? A question that may not occupy many minds, but one that Don Weenink has been researching for many years. Since 1 March, the sociologist has held the title of professor of Violence and Policing.

Law

Lecture, Com(parative) Syn(tax) Series

The field of leadership suffers from ‘adjectivism’, says Professor Ben Kuipers. He immediately caveats this by saying that he too is going furnish the word leadership with an adjective: ‘Public’. But the goal here is to view leadership in a different light in his new role as Professor of Public Lead…

How do you move 3,000 fragile clay tablets that date back thousands of years? This was the challenge faced by staff from the Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO). After years of preparation, the Liagre Böhl collection has been moved on trolleys to its new home.

The Phase 3 clinical trial results of the promising Covid-19 vaccine of Johnson & Johnson are expected this month. The Dutch electron microscopy facility NeCEN helped develop the company’s vaccine, and they have now published their scientific findings in Nature Communications.

Five questions about the event ‘Germany after the Elections: implications for Foreign Policy and European Security’ answered by one of the experts at the event: Joachim Koops. Come by at the Spanish Steps in Wijnhaven on Friday 15 October or join the event online (link below).

Martina Huber, Jacqueline Labra Munoz research Alzheimer's disease. They study ferritine, iron storage in the brain. An inbalance of iron could play a role in this form of dementia.

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

A sense of security plays an important role in the decision to contribute to nature conservation. Stacey Mac Donald conducted four years of research on the influence of social and political changes and the (post) colonial context on nature conservation in the Dutch Caribbean. On 17 May she will defend…

What if seriously ill patients do not want to hear their diagnosis? Does a clinician always need to provide a patient with all available information? Communication researcher Liesbeth van Vliet, medical anthropologist Annemarie Samuels and research intern Fiona Brosig will put these questions on open…

The new interdisciplinary bachelor's program in Science for Sustainable Societies starts in the 2025-2026 academic year.

As well as offering students a first-rate education, Leiden University provides a wide range of training for professionals, so they can be lifelong learners. And that is not just of value to participants. ‘As a university, you start a dialogue with society to achieve better knowledge together.’

The Aernout van Lynden Global Citizenship Award award is a recognition given by the LUC community. Each year a student who has demonstrated the qualities of active engagement, responsive and responsible participation in civic and/or community building, within and/or beyond LUC is presented with the…

Health and well-being staff spend at least 25 per cent of their working hours on admin.* Time that could be used for care. Much of this work could be automated with artificial intelligence. The LUMC is the first in the Netherlands to offer medical students AI language model programming internships.

Peter Scholten is one of the four professors that were officially appointed as Leiden-Delft-Erasmus professor last week. Apart from his appointment at the Erasmus University, he has now also been appointed at FGGA. We asked Scholten five questions about his double appointment and the collaboration between…

This column is different from all my previous ones. Normally I highlight one day from the previous two weeks, from early in the morning to late at night. Today, however, I want to look back on the past two weeks, the past few months, in fact. They have been coloured by the most difficult case I have…

One discovered that arteriosclerosis resembles an autoimmune disease, while the other developed a system to aid in the search for new medications. For these achievements, Marie Depuydt and Jurren de Groot were awarded the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award on the evening of Tuesday 4 June.

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

'Echoes of the Silent Roots' by Mark Lindenberg wins the Multimodal Incentive Grant for Alumni of the Metje Postma Awards. His film is a touching auto-ethnographic project about family estrangement and repair. Ieke van Dam won the Excellence in Visual & Multimodal Ethnography Thesis Prize for her film…

Carlotta Rigotti and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga launch a call for workshop papers on fairness and AI in the labour market at the 16th JSAI International Symposia on AI as part of the Horizon Europe BIAS project.

Pablo Pandocchi succeeds Thirza van ‘t Rood as the student member of the Institute Board for the next academic year. The Institute Board is responsible for all matters concerning the Institute, from education to research in the field of anthropology and sociology. Pablo and Thirza interviewed each other…

Five researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of on average 1.5m euros enables researchers who show potential to start their own project, lead a research team and implement their best ideas.

Turkish politics was shaken by the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with dozens of others from the main opposition party.

The challenges of building a sustainable society are unprecedented. But the Dutch municipalities cannot be faulted for their commitment. They are working hard, conclude Professor Eefje Cuppen and Lian Merkx, programme manager for energy at the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG). To exchange…