Which teacher did an outstanding job in not only transferring knowledge in novel ways but also in getting students enthusiastic and connecting a course to current research themes? Meet the nominees for the Teacher of the Year Award 2023!

Our Talents and Discoveries is a yearly publication by the Faculty of Science of Leiden University, published since 2003. You can read all the editions online. Note that the original publication was in Dutch; the original title translates as 'What we are proud of'.

Isotopes on exoplanets, a more efficient memory for data centres or new molecules that work against the Zika virus and HIV. Which PhD candidate has written the most impressive dissertation of 2023? The jury of the C.J. Kok Jury Award faces the challenging task of deciding that. Meet the nominees of…

This engagingly written textbook provides a unique 'hands-on' introduction to sociolinguistics, which equips readers with the tools to start their own sociolinguistic research project.

Improving healthcare with our scientific discoveries: that is the goal of pharmaceutical research at Leiden University. And there’s a lot involved in that. Our research starts with the discovery of the effect achieved by a particular substance, and sometimes continues all the way through to the development…

Looking for a master's degree to follow up your bachelor's degree? With a choice of over 80 master's programmes and 200 specialisations, you will always find a master's degree that suits your area of ​​interest at Leiden University. During your master's porgramme, you will be educated to become a committed…

Looking for a master's degree to follow up your bachelor's degree? With a choice of over 80 master's programmes and 200 specialisations, you will always find a master's degree that suits your area of ​​interest at Leiden University. During your master's porgramme, you will be educated to become a committed…

Looking for a fun, interesting or challenging study programme? With a choice of over 50 bachelor's programmes, you will always find a programme at Leiden University that suits your area of ​​interest. During your studies, you will be educated to become a committed professional who contributes to the…

Looking for a fun, interesting or challenging study programme? With a choice of over 50 bachelor's programmes, you will always find a programme at Leiden University that suits your area of ​​interest. During your studies, you will be educated to become a committed professional who contributes to the…

Michiel Veldhuis received the most public votes for the C.J. Kok Public Award and may therefore call himself Discoverer of the Year. Veldhuis researches how climate change affects savannah ecosystems in Africa and how we can protect them.

At the New Year’s reception of the Faculty of Science on 6 January, it was announced that Annelien Zweemer, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, has been awarded the ‘Discoverer of the Year 2014’ prize. Matteo Brogi, Leiden Observatory, wrote the best dissertation in 2014 and Dennis Claessen, Institute…

During the Faculty of Science New Year's reception, Daniël Rozen was named Discoverer of the year 2015. Nienke van der Marel and Koen van der Maaden both won the prize for the best dissertation and Jeroen van Smeden was named Best Teacher of 2015.

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Which brilliant scientist will be our Discoverer of the Year 2019? Will it be a physicist, biologist, drug discoverer or an astronomer? Or an environmental scientist, a mathematician, chemist or computer scientist? As of now, you can cast your vote.

Who will be our Discoverer of the year 2017? Which one of these brilliant researchers deserves this prize for their efforts according to you? As of now, you can cast your vote.

Scott Waitukaitus has been nominated by LION to be Discoverer of the Year 2017. Cast your vote now!

Students of the Faculty of Science have chosen Dennis Claessen (IBL) as the best teacher of last year.

Former PhD student Annelien Zweemer was granted the C.J. Kok Award 2014, also known as “Discoverer of the Year”. A festive ceremony took place at the Faculty’s New Year’s reception on January 6, 2015.

Suzan Verberne is nominated by the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) to be granted the C.J. Kok Public Award, also known as the award for the ‘Discoverer of the Year’.

Today, 189 out of 193 officially recognised nation-states have a written constitution, and 75% of these have been ratified since 1975. How did this worldwide diffusion of constitutions come about?

Which brilliant scientist will be our Discoverer of the year 2018? Will it be a physicist, biologist, drug discoverer or an astronomer? Or an environmental scientist, a mathematician, chemist or computer scientist? As of now, you can cast your vote.

What went on in 2016 at our University? What are we proud of? You can view the answers in our new photo brochure. Our new brochure 'About us' is available as well, with the most recent facts and figures. Both brochures are available in English.

‘One lecturer stood out in particular,’ said Dirk van Vugt, Chair of the Leiden University Student Platform (LUS), at the opening of the academic year. ‘Despite the hurdles of remote teaching, she managed to inspire her students with the aid of knowledge clips, challenges and topical lectures about…

With a large majority of votes, drug researcher Alireza Mashaghi Tabari was chosen Discoverer of the Year 2017 of the Faculty of Science. This was announced by Rector Carel Stolker during the faculty’s New Year's reception on 9 January. Computer scientist Kristian Rietveld became Teacher of the Year…

Former PhD student Gerard van Westen was granted the C.J. Kok Award also known as “Discoverer of the Year”. A festive ceremony took place at the Faculty’s New Year’s reception on January 7, 2014.

Environmental scientist Alexander van Oudenhoven has been chosen as Discoverer of the year of the Faculty of Science. Vice Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl announced this during the faculty’s New Year’s Reception on 10 January. Biologist Changsheng Wu won the prize for best dissertation of 2016. Computer…

The editors of Biophysical Journal have selected a publication from Daniela Kraft’s group as the Paper of the Year 2017. The award recognizes an outstanding contribution by a young investigator.

Leiden academics Remco Breuker and Auke-Florian Hiemstra stand to win the title of Person of the Year.

Students of the Science Faculty of Leiden University have chosen Frank Takes, researcher and teacher at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, to be the Teacher of the Year. Impressively enough, Takes also became the runner up Discoverer of the Year.

Paul Adriaanse, together with eight other candidates, has been nominated in the administration law category for the title ‘Magna Charta Lawyer of the year’. The public will vote to decide the winner

Auke-Florian Hiemstra is the Leidsch Dagblad Person of the Year 2022.

Fascinated by science since high school, Alireza Mashaghi Tabari is driven to explore new ways of thinking in medicine. With a strong academic network, he educates students and gives public lectures. For his research at LACDR, he won the C.J. Kok Public Award 2018, making him the Faculty of Science's…

In this thesis it is posed that the central object of preference discovery is a co-creative process in which the Other can be represented by a machine. It explores efficient methods to enhance introverted intuition using extraverted intuition's communication lines.

A previously unknown document about Rembrandt’s student years in Leiden has been found in the archive of Leiden University. The document, which is being kept at the University Library, proves that Rembrandt studied at Leiden University for longer than has always been assumed.

Maarten Schrama (CML) has won the Teacher of the Year Award 2021. During a lunch with fellow nominees, Schrama received a cheque worth 5,000 euros from student assessor Joost Barendse to spend on educational activities.

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…

Leiden was ‘European City of Science’ in 2022. Leiden University looks back on a fantastic year with activities, lectures and workshops full of science and curiosity.

2023 was another year full of highlights and special moments for the faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. Find out what the year was like in this year overview: we take you through the most important moments and news items month of each month.

The Faculty of Science grants two C.J. Kok awards each year: the C.J. Kok Public Award, also known as the award for the ‘Discoverer of the Year’, and the C.J. Kok Jury Award, the award for the best PhD thesis from the past year.

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 molecule calix[4]pyrrole, synthesised in the group of associate professor Sander Wezenberg at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry, has been voted ‘Molecule of the Year’ by the readers of C2W Mens & Molecule. Wezenberg received the award from editor Daniël Linzel.

Koos Biesmeijer, Professor of Natural Capital, and Claire van Megen, an Educational and Child Studies student, are in with a chance of winning Leiden’s Person of the Year title.

We started this year as we ended it in 2021: in a lockdown. But the world continues to open up. We are occasionally allowed to go into the office and students are able to return to Campus. Continue reading to find out what the rest of the year has been like.

In dribs and drabs, first-year students in The Hague are discovering their new student town and the University buildings. We followed a group of Security Studies students during the HOP introduction week.

Every person on earth can read another person’s mind. Not in the way psychics or witches do, but by putting themselves in the shoes of others and considering how they perceive the world. This kind of empathy greatly facilitates communication and interaction. Max van Duijn studies this phenomenon to…

Ayo Adedokun, Assistant Professor at Leiden University College (LUC) in The Hague, is one of the four finalists in the running for the title ‘Teacher of the Year 2022’. The yearly election is organized by the Interstedelijk Student Overleg, the largest national student organization in the Netherlands,…

Irene Battisti is the discoverer of the year 2019. The physicist won the C.J. Kok Public Award for her research into microscopy and superconductors.