The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) is an interdisciplinary research institute at Leiden University. We study the research system and its connections to society. Our research, along with our evaluation expertise and our longstanding experience with scientometric databases and tools,…

The research aims at achieving a European consensus on a harmonized LCA approach/framework to be applied in E-mobility sector. The research will focus on needs and gaps in current LCA practices in E-mobility and try to provide solutions for them based on the rich knowledge and experience represented…

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…

Would you like to do something for the victims of the war in Ukraine? Several actions have been set up to help the people in Ukraine. Read below what you can do.

Description of 20th century changes in the Dutch flora: Description and interpretation (1999 - 2005)

The Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project is a systematic and long term archaeological surface survey project, investigating the rich archaeological heritage of the Wadi al Jizzi region (Oman) from the Paleolithic until the early Modern period.

What was the name, the appearance, development and the playing technique of the cello in the Low Countries between 1600 and 1800 and what music was composed for it?

The Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology is committed to international cooperation and exchange.

Neural networks have a wide range of applications. In Leiden, psychologists use them to build robot brains, whereas archaeologists use them to hunt for prehistoric graves.

The central research question focuses on identifying shifts in the urban social network in terms of private, semi-public and public space by means of mapping the spatial distributions of wells and cesspits in the town of Haarlem in the course of the pre-industrial period (1200-1800). Shifts may be indicative…

Fieldwork

Do you have a project that will benefit from analytical skills or knowledge of science and business? Do you want to tap into talented graduate students and test-drive potential employees? Are you looking for temporary management support? Do you want to offer motivated science students the opportunity…

Apps that can precisely identify shards, coins or heel bones: archaeology has embraced artificial intelligence. Alex Brandsen is working on a search engine that scans vast quantities of text from an archaeological viewpoint.

A computer can look at, and learn from, many more images than a human specialist. AI systems are rapidly becoming indispensable for medical and biological applications. But they still have to learn how to explain their decisions.

The majority of scientists, from archaeologists through to zoologists, collect huge volumes of data. Their massive databases contain large amounts of information which is difficult for humans to filter. With a solid grounding in statistics, we can develop algorithms for analysing and identifying patterns…

In support of the research and education, the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) has a Research and Education laboratory at its disposal. Within this environment, we can offer machines that go beyond normal office automisation and production.

The master specialisation Clinical Neuropsychology is grounded in the neurosciences relevant to clinical neuropsychology with a strong focus on evidence-based practice.

How can the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework developed in the SSbD4CheM project facilitate the creation of safer and more sustainable chemicals and materials across various industries?

As a university, we offer you the best education you can get. Professors, tutors and lecturers are ready to teach and guide you. But we do more than that. Of course, studying is your own responsibility, but we are happy to help if you need support. You decide what and when; online or on campus. These…

Polarisation in our society is on the rise. What makes people increasingly radical? How do we protect ourselves from extremist, terrorist or criminal threats, be they physical or in the cyber world? And what role do intelligence services play in this?

Data sets available for scientific/research purposes.

The Book and Digital Media Studies programme provides you with in-depth knowledge of the history of the book (manuscript and print) and theories and practices within the field of publishing and digital textual media. You will graduate with detailed knowledge of the most relevant issues and important…

We encourage applications of visiting scholars whose research interests and activities are in line with our research programme 'Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a Pluralist World' or our Key Research Themes. Our dynamic, multidisciplinary research programme aims to bring together researchers…

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.

The report aims to establish baseline information on the Sustainable Development Goals’ indicators currently being tracked and measured within the region, at both a national and regional level. Additionally, the report summarises key findings from this data. Finally, the report also presents ways to…

The annual PhD training of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR) took place on 7 and 8 June at Leiden University.

Recent publications

The LUCDH foster the development of new digital research by awarding a number of Small Grants each year. These are our past awardees.

An unprecedented space telescope, an astrolab that makes space ice and molecules that may lead to the origin of life… The Ice Age project has all the prerequisites to become a very fascinating research project – if it is not one already. Leiden astronomers Melissa McClure, Harold Linnartz and Will Rocha…

Mirjam van Reisen favours big data built up from local inputs in developing countries and suitable for local use. The new Professor of Computing for Society at Leiden's Faculty of Science connects data science with development sociology. Inaugural lecture 10 March.

You pour a scoop of ditch water in the DNA scanner, and voilà: you know exactly which plants and animals the ditch accommodates. Well, it is not that simple yet, but according to PhD candidate Kevin Beentjes, we can already use DNA techniques to monitor the quality of freshwater. For his PhD research,…

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, a world-wide effort by the botanist and plant protection community, is making considerable progress in protecting plant diversity around the world, a new report says. The Hortus botanicus Leiden is one of the partners of the project.

Americans more often donate funds to a presidential candidate if the campaign is backed by financiers from different, recognised social groups. This is the conclusion of Leiden researcher Vincent Traag in an article in Plos One published on 14 April.

Merijn Tinga, the Plastic Soup Surfer, launched the Pick Up 10 campaign. This campaign, supported by Google and National Geographic, uses photo recognition to identify and monitor litter through an app.

On 30 November the website Pas d'Armes was launched. The website, aimed at students and a more general audience, offers a gateway into the world of the pas d’armes (English: passage of arms). This was a highly ritualised form of tournament, that was very popular in Anjou, the Burgundian lands, France,…

As of September 2023, Leiden University is a new host of the Research Network on Academic Freedom.

Yvonne Erkens, Associate Professor of Labour Law, has been appointed as a Global Law professor at the Catholic University of Leuven.

A lunch presentation was given on 21 September in Wijnhaven by Professor Frank Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The EU fundamental right to ‘freedom of the arts and sciences’: exploring the limits on the commercialisation of academia (AFITE) AFITE is an interdisciplinary five-year research project. It is funded by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO), as part of its Vidi scheme. Its principal…

The transition to new and renewable energy sources should be completed by 2050. Researchers in various disciplines at Leiden University are conducting unique research that will help us make this transition and reduce CO2 emissions.

The unemployment replacement rate data set, assembled by Olaf Van Vliet & Koen Caminada (version 1, January 2012), provides data on unemployment benefit schemes in 34 welfare states from the 1970s until 2009. The current data set includes all 27 member states of the European Union and 7 non-EU OECD…

Social resilience and security has never been more important. Over the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a considerable disturbance to our personal and social lives. As a result, the general population reports more stress, loneliness and decreased quality of life. At the same time, there…

A punishment that fits the crime is the cornerstone of the rechtsstaat or constitutional state. But opinions differ greatly on what constitutes a just and effective punishment. Research by Leiden University provides politicians, legislators, law enforcers and the public with new information and insights…

Despite the field’s general agreement that pyrotechnology had a significant impact on the cultural evolution of humankind, our understanding of the origins and development of fire use and its role in humankind’s cultural evolution is very limited, blurred by strong disagreements over its chronology…

How has landscape and land use changed in these two case studies since independence? What has caused these changes, whether anthropogenic or natural? How do local communities in the areas of study perceive these changes? How can community knowledge be integrated with mapping tools (GIS) to contribute…

Research conducted in this group aims at furthering our understanding of how communities and individuals deal with social change, conflict and trauma through remembrance and commemoration as well as forgetting in the arts.