In this Yearbook you will find some fascinating examples of what was done in 2021, not only by ourselves, but also by our international colleagues.

On the occasion of the 440th DIES NATALIS, celebrated on Monday 9 February, Leiden University proudly awarded an Honorary Doctorate to William Christie, renowned harpsichordist, conductor, musicologist and teacher, and the foremost pioneer in the renewed appreciation of Baroque music in France, notably…

Can we bring novel treatment options to the clinic for UM patients with liver metastases?

This accessible textbook uses key documents embedded in a clear narrative to chart the post-Cold War rise and decline of transatlantic relations. It provides a novel interpretive framework by proposing that the three decades between 1989 and 2020 represent a distinct ‘transatlantic era’.

Historian Frank Dikötter will receive an honorary doctorate from Leiden University for his work on the history of the Chinese Republican period and the People's Republic of China under Mao. He will be awarded the honorary degree during the university's Dies Natalis celebrations on 8 February 2017.

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…

Every year around 8 February, Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands, is celebrating its birthday. Why does the King still receive a telegram on the day of the Dies Natalis? 4 questions on the origins of Leiden University and its traditions for celebrating its foundation day.

This open access volume surveys the state of the field to examine whether a fifth wave of deterrence theory is emerging. Bringing together insights from world-leading experts from three continents, the volume identifies the most pressing strategic challenges, frames theoretical concepts, and describes…

What, and especially who has formed the city The Hague? Wim Willems, professor Social History and director of the Modern Urban Studies (MUS) Institute, writes about it in his series of historical and autobiographic books about The Hague.

University ceremony

2020 was an eventful year. You can see that in our photos: one and a half metres distance, an empty university, attending ceremonies online and working from home. The image editors have selected the twelve most eye-catching photos of the past year..

From ransomware to Citrix traffic jams: over the past few months Dutch organisations were regularly brought to a standstill by serious cyber attacks. We can only face these threats by standing as one, and universities and government should take the lead. These are the words of Leiden professors Bibi…

On Thursday 20 May 2021, Tania Li delivered the annual Van Vollenhoven Lecture.

On 8 February 2016, Dr Jennifer Tour Chayes, Director of Microsoft Research in Boston and New York, will be presented with a Leiden honorary doctorate by Frank den Hollander, Professor of Probability Theory and Statistical Physics.

Wim Willems and Hanneke Verbeek were awarded with the Die Haghe Prize of 2016 for their book ‘Hier woonden wij. Hoe een stad zijn Joodse verleden herontdekt’ (English: ‘This is where we lived. How a city re-discovers its Jewish past.’) It is an exciting book about the rise and fall of the Jewish community…

Researchers Esther Captain, Gert Oostindie and Valika Smeulders have won the Die Haghe Prize 2024. They were awarded the prize for their book The colonial and slavery past of Hofstad The Hague.

At the end of the year we always compile a list of our most interesting, most popular articles from that year. In the crazy year that was 2020 one topic was at the forefront of everyone’s minds: coronavirus. Fortunately, there was also room for other stories.

Chemical tools to monitor drug-target engagement of endogenously expressed protein kinases are highly desirable for preclinical target validation in drug discovery. Here, we describe a chemical genetics strategy to selectively study target engagement of endogenous kinases.

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), which include the endocannabinoid anandamide, represent an important family of signaling lipids in the brain. The lack of chemical probes that modulate NAE biosynthesis in living systems hamper the understanding of the biological role of these lipids.

A school lesson by a professor, for instance about the history of Africa, the climate or research and healthcare. A hundred Leiden professors told primary school children about their work in the Meet the Professor project.

Each year a staggering 18 billion chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, and cows either die or are killed without making it onto someone's plate. Environmental scientists Juliane Klaura, Laura Scherer, and Gerard Breeman were the first to calculate this number on a global scale. 'Reducing these numbers…

This book is the first systematic analysis of the changes in the use of goods and services by households of Black South Africans since the early nineteenth century.

30 October 2021 – 4 December 2021 SPACE, Liège (BE)

De Stichting Zenobia kent een beurs van 1.000 euro toe ter ondersteuning van de bestudering van oost-west relaties in het Middellands Zeegebied. De deadline voor aanvragen is 25 oktober 2020.

In 2020, many of our staff and students have again won prestigious prizes and been awarded important research subsidies.

February 29 and 1 march 2020

University ceremony

Corona be damned, it's high time for the yearly LION Image award! Deadline in a week.

Portraits of six Leiden professors for whom 8 February 2016 was the first time that they took part in the procession of Leiden professors at the Dies Natalis.

Botanisch filosoof Norbert Peeters vertelt over hoe mensen omgaan met planten in het algemeen, en met onkruid in het bijzonder.

The Psychology Teaching Award goes to the entire team of teaching staff. PhD candidates Wouter van Loon and Hilmar Zech wrote the best scientific articles. The master's thesis awards go to Robert-Jan de Rooij and Florian Thomas-Odenthal. Marion Duijsman gets an award for administrative staff and Gert-Jan…

Friday 10 July 2020 was the online graduation of the two-year Advanced MSc International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) programme. The ceremony was opened by Prof. Madeleine Hosli.

Alumni event

How did Leiden University score in terms of sustainability this year?

The moment is there: LUGO can finally announce the winner of the Sustainability Award 2020!

At the Dies Natalis Willem Otterspeer, Professor Emeritus of University History, presented the fourth and final volume of Groepsportret met Dame, his series on the history of Leiden University. De 'Strategie van de Aanpassing' covers the period 1876-1975. Otterspeer talked about his book in a podcast…

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies is offering two internships on a full-time basis in spring 2020.

We are pleased to announce that prof. Renée van Riessen is named on the shortlist for the Hypatia-price with her book 'Van zichzelf bevrijd'.

Last Monday August 14th, Leiden University College The Hague welcomed 206 students to its new Class of 2020! Coming from all the different corners of the world, the students will live and study at the LUC campus. After being welcomed by the LUC staff on Tuesday morning, the new LUC students spent the…

‘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…

A warm welcome to the students of the Master’s Programme in European Law 2019-2020. This year, we expect around 60 students who will start this LL.M. programme, organised by the Europa Institute. Our faculty staff is excited to meet you and to teach you all aspects of European Law.

The aim of this research is to understand the linking of crises for the combination of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sustainability Prize of the Leiden University Green Office and the Local Chamber of Associations has been won this year by student association Catena. In the shadow of the corona pandemic, Catena worked exceptionally hard to improve sustainability.

Hackers and Designers Summer Academy 2020 will take place remotely from July 20-25

Important update: the Dutch courses have been cancelled for the upcoming round of September-December 2020, in line with Leiden University regulations. There will not be an online replacement course. We will reassess the situation again for the next round, in January 2021.

Lieke Kools has won a Netspar PhD Thesis Award 2020 with her dissertation ‘Essays on wealth, health, and data collection’.

Ook voor de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid was 2020 een bijzonder jaar. Het was een jaar waarin alles anders werd.