Education, Organisation

In a few weeks’ time Carel Stolker will be retiring as Rector Magnificus. In a double episode of the Science Shots podcast, we take stock: what were the key lessons, how has the coronavirus crisis been and of course, what will he do to avoid the post-retirement void? Stolker shares his experiences in…

Tuesday 7 September sees the release of the book ‘Plots stond het Leidse leven stil’ by Charlotte Boin, a freelance writer from Leiden. This book of interviews gives an impression of the turbulent effect of coronavirus on the lives of students, researchers and partners of Leiden University.

All acute care staff at Leiden University Medical Center have received their first and sometimes even their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. But how long will you be protected after vaccination and what does the genetic material of the virus do in the vaccine? Our virologists Ann Vossen and Leo…

With the aid of artificial intelligence (AI), care professionals at the LUMC (Leiden University Medical Center) are able to calculate quickly and accurately whether a coronavirus patient has suffered serious lung damage. They do this by putting a CT scan through the AI software of the CAD4COVID-CT p…

The COVID Radar app is citizen science at its best. More than 200,000 users in the Netherlands are answering questions about their health and behaviour to help predict the development of the pandemic. Niels Chavannes, Professor of General Practice at Leiden University Medical Center, explains how the…

Leiden students are fairly satisfied with their degree programme. This is clear from the first results of the National Student Survey 2021, which was held this spring. The scores are somewhat lower than the national average. Students are most positive about their lecturers, their contact with them and…

LUMC research has shown that women who previously had a miscarriage due to COVID-19 are not at increased risk of having another miscarriage or a stillbirth. Nor are preventive drugs needed during the pregnancy.

As a student of Leiden University you may be eligible for financial support via a number of scholarships, funds and other rulings. Many companies and organisations also offer discounts to students.

If you'll soon be getting a COVID-19 vaccine, you might just get the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) one. This vaccine was developed for the most part in Leiden – and this is no coincidence. Watch the animation below about the development of one of the vaccines in the fight against COVID-19.

Leiden University and four other parties have signed a declaration in which they agree to improve the well-being of students in Leiden. They signed this Declaration on Student Well-Being on 5 April at the Leidsch Besturendiner, a dinner for student associations, universities, local government and bu…

Over the past weeks, thousands of students from Leiden University have filled in the National Student Survey (NSE). To thank them, the university is donating €3,637.75 to #wakeuptocorona.

Education

Leiden’s ‘Learning with the City | On Location’ knowledge store opened its digital doors in Leiden-Noord on 8 February. This is where students, residents and professionals can work together on social issues.

Research into depression in children, Leiden alumni in the Dutch House of Representatives and an exceptional achievement by one of our students: what do this topics have in common? They are among our most read stories of 2021.

Hospital pharmacist and lecturer on the master’s programme in pharmacy Arianna Pranger has made it to the final of the Lecturer of the Year 2021 competition. Outgoing minister Van Engelshoven (Education, Culture and Science) will award the prize to the winning lecturer.

The European PANVIPREP research project started at the Leiden University Medical Center on 11 March. The participants are virologists, biochemists and pharmacists from 14 European countries. Their mission is to develop antiviral drugs to protect Europe during pandemics. At least two such antivirals…

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has started vaccinating staff from its intensive care, emergency and COVID departments. Junior doctor Christianne van Lieshout received the first jab on 6 January.

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…

Racism and discrimination come in many different shapes and forms – in the Netherlands too. Verbal attacks, stereotypes and violence: some people are confronted with these on a daily basis. A group that is often not included in research and the debate on racism is people of Asian descent. The Diversity…

Students from ‘StudentinzetopSchool’ help schoolchildren and gain valuable teaching experience at the same time. In an online visit on 13 April, Queen Máxima spoke to pupils, students and teaching staff. She also spoke to participants from Leiden. ‘Teaching is wonderful, but it’s complex too.’

On Friday 11 March (16.00 hrs.) Minister Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) will give a speech at Leiden University entitled ‘When knowledge becomes critical’. In the speech, he will address several critical challenges in science and society. The livestream will be open to all.

‘Leiden is small, friendly and welcoming,’ says new first-year student Ayla Russel. Strong wind and heavy showers were forecast for the first in-person day of the EL CID on 16 August, which could easily have spoiled this impression. But fortunately the showers – apart from one – fell somewhere else,…

Towards the end of February, three Leiden University buildings will be assessed for their accessibility to people with a disability. The assessment will be carried out by Ongehinderd, a social enterprise committed to making the Netherlands more accessible. Its founder and director, Gerard de Nooij,…

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.

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…

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University will start a new two-year English-taught master’s programme in Population Health Management (PHM) on 1 September 2021. The programme, which has been given the green light by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO),…

The coronavirus pandemic has had us working and studying at home, and this has had a positive effect on Leiden University’s sustainability results. This is apparent from the university’s new Sustainability Report 2020. The report also shows that nearly all the targets from the Environmental Policy Plan…

The more than 370 sensors that have been hung up in Leiden University buildings to count the people present will not be switched on again. The equipment will eventually be removed from the buildings.

Leiden University’s Annual Report 2021 has been published. In this report, which consists of a general section and a financial section (the financial statements), the University provides a record of its research, teaching, knowledge transfer, operational management and policies in that year.

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

No procession of professors, just a handful of people in the church and snowdrifts outside Leiden’s Pieterskerk: 8 February 2021 was no ordinary Dies Natalis. Carel Stolker transferred the rectorate to Hester Bijl, and Annetje Ottow became the new President of the Executive Board. With an honorary doctorate…

‘We’re going to see each other again on campus. We’re so pleased, but we do have to say safe.’ Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl is looking ahead to the new academic year, which begins on 6 September. No more 1.5m distancing, but we do have to take responsibility for other people’s safety.

It’s an important theme at the University and beyond: student well-being. Even before coronavirus, research showed that loneliness and the pressure to succeed were causing particular problems for students, and these problems have only increased since the pandemic. Work is underway to improve the sit…

Last month, research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) revealed that more than half of students in higher professional education and at universities experience psychological complaints and emotional exhaustion, and that a quarter of them suffer from anhedonia (loss…

Carel Stolker, former Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board of Leiden University, has been made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his services to the city and University. Mayor Henri Lenferink awarded the royal honour to Stolker at the University’s Dies Natalis on 8 February…

Healthy and active Leideners and a smoke-free generation. These are the main ambitions of the Leiden Health and Wellbeing Agreement that was signed online by 40 partners on 19 April. Leiden University will also be drawing on its broad expertise to help realise the ambitions.

Professor André Baranski is a champion for improving organ procurement. He believes there should be standardised training and certification for procurement surgeons. This is what he said in his inaugural lecture on 16 April.

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.

Technology, medical knowledge, social measures and the design of the living environment: all these needed to achieve a healthier society. In a series of interviews, 14 researchers from Zuid-Holland, including from Leiden University, argue for an integrated care approach.

Three lecturers from Leiden University have been awarded a 100,000-euro Comenius Teaching Fellowship within the scope of the Senior Fellows programme. The grant will enable them and their project teams to carry out their own teaching innovation project.

‘Culture change takes time,’ said Vice-Rector Hester Bijl at the closing panel of the University’s Diversity Symposium on 26 January. She talked about the road to a diverse and inclusive university. The symposium provided plenty of concrete examples of small steps that can already be taken.

Career and apply for jobs

Particularly during this time of social distancing and remote learning, it is important to carry on meeting new people – even if you don’t always feel like it after another day staring at your screen, says Wessel van Dam. In his role as assessor at the Honours Academy, Wessel represents the interests…

In a fiery Annie Romein-Verschoor lecture, Sylvana Simons opened up about her experiences as a woman in politics. The leader of the BIJ1 party is regularly the subject of belittling comments and threats. Writer Aafke Romeijn, who reflected on the Simons’ lecture, has also been threatened frequently…