What are trait-trait relationships in wetlands? To what extent the so-called leaf economics traits deviate from terrestrial ecosystems? How traits specific to wetland plant relate to plant strategies? What’s the relationship between wetland plant traits to the ecosystem functioning (e.g. productivity,…

Promotor: Promotor: W.Th.F. den Hollander, Co-promotor: V. Sidoravicius.

Promotores: Prof.dr. H Lenstra, Prof.dr. A Facchini (Padova University)

The experiments described in this thesis employ local lentiviral knockdowns in brain areas of female zebra finches followed by behavioural assays consisting of preference and Go/Nogo tasks.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Co-promotor: E.C.M. de Lange

This project investigates how the first generation of Dutch printed books (the incunabula, 1473-1501) affected late medieval spirituality, religious practice and visual culture in the Low Countries.

Promotors: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Prof.dr. G.A. Persoon, Prof.dr.ir. H.H. de Iongh

In September 2023 Social Justice Research, a journal from Springer Nature, published a ‘Special Issue on Veteran Reflections’. Eight ‘veterans’ analysed the current status of justice research and suggested new directions and refinements. Herman Steensma, guest member of the section Social, Economic…

This thesis investigates the structural evolution and assembly of galaxies since the first few billions years after the big bang.

A practical checklist with legal, technical and ethical points of view will from now on guide the data scientists when working in Artificial Intelligence: the AI Impact Assessment (AIIA). It has been developed by ECP (Platform of the Information Society) and nine other partners, among them the Leiden…

This project aims to explore, in general, what explains civil servants’ attitudes and behavior, and, in particular, why some civil servants are more committed to professional norms and public service values – such as impartiality, equity, efficiency, and innovation – than others.

While offshore wind farms generate clean and green energy, scientists are becoming increasingly aware of the harmful impact they may have on marine life. To get a better overview of these impacts and to find the best locations for future wind farms, environmental scientist Yali Si and her colleagues…

On the 1st of October a new project funded by the Joint Industry Programme (JIP) started at the IBL on the potentially negative effects of sound on fish. Behavioural biologist and bioacoustic specialist Dr. Hans Slabbekoorn leads the international research team.

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker retired on 8 February. If there was one theme running through his career, it was the links between the University and society. Before he left, Stolker spoke one last time to people from within and without the university about the societal impact of research. On topics…

Prof. dr. Roberta D'Alessandro has written an article on the increasing difficulties that researchers encounter when they apply for a research grant in the Netherlands.

No hearing in court, but at the community centre. Does this local approach help keep people with various problems such as debts or school absenteeism away from crime?

Courses, business premises for startups or help applying for patents: there are many ways the university can help students or researchers with their businesses.

Promotor: F.H.J. Redig, Co-Promotor: W.T.F. den Hollander

Just like last academic year, students from Leiden University will get the chance to gain practical experience at KPN. In cooperation with the telecom company, two Impact Challenges are being offered, around the theme 'building bridges'.

We asked our Winter School students to evaluate the effect and significance of this learning experience on their current research trajectories and future plans. Here are some reflections.

The Covid pandemic has had a considerable impact on academics’ work and well-being. They have had much less time to spend on their research. The Young Academy and the Dutch Network of Women Professors have conducted research into how the situation has been for academics. The two organisations have recommendations…

The authors provide an approach for eliciting population’s preferences in order to calculate weights for use in the optional weighting step in Life Cycle Assessment.

Rutsel Martha, former Minister of Justice of the Dutch Antilles, former General Counsel of Interpol and alumnus of Universiteit Leiden, elaborated on the position of states and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) in international financial law.

European research infrastructures must become more sustainable in order to make the most of their scientific potential and thus increase European competitiveness, the League of European Research Universities (LERU) states in a report.

These might be ‘just’ provincial council elections in the Netherlands, but the outcome on 15 March could have serious consequences for how the country is governed. Conflicts between the government in The Hague and the provinces, and tension within the Dutch cabinet, might be looming. On 1 July, every…

To contribute to the body of knowledge aiming at a better coverage of ecosystem service assessment in LCA studies, this thesis dives into the challenges of incorporating existing ecosystem service methods within the impact assessment phase of the conventional LCA framework.

Professor Simon Portegies Zwart and doctor Jeroen Bédorf had the honour to write for the IEEE Software magazine.

The environment also benefits when people follow national nutritional guidelines, Paul Behrens demonstrated in research published in PNAS. The publication attracted media attention both at home and internationally.

Luuk van Middelaar, Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions, recently wrote an op-ed in Dutch daily newspaper NRC.

It has been a long-standing mystery how complex biological structures emerge from such seemingly uncoordinated building blocks as cells and tissues, in the presence of only minimal environmental guidance.

From 14 to 15 September 2023, Simona Demkova, AI researcher at the Europa Institute, participated in the INDIGO Project Final Conference, where she provided valuable perspectives on the implications of AI for European public law.

In 2009, the European Union adopted the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), mandating Member States to obtain 10% of all transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020.

This paper investigates possible convergence of issue salience of terrorism among citizens within the European Union for ten jihadist attacks in the period 2015–2017 using Eurobarometer survey data.

Starting 2 July 2022, a new exhibition will be opened to the public at the Old Observatory: More-than-Planet. This exhibit asks the question: how do we imagine our planet?

A more efficient solar panel sounds great. But what if these new panels consume more toxic materials, or their production consumes a lot of energy? Leiden environmental scientists, together with colleagues from the Fraunhofer ISE, address this multifaceted question in a new publication in the prestigious…

On 8 December, Friday afternoon, the second year students of the Honours College track ‘Tackling Global Challenges’ presented their final assignment for the Competences Lab course. The goal was to set up an impact project and organize an event about it. The diverse groups listened and shared their ideas…

After Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the farming culture of the indigenous people quickly disappeared. This has been demonstrated by Leiden archaeologists and colleagues from other universities on the basis of soil research. Publication in…

Fishes rely heavily on sound to find their way during migration or dispersal. Many species are affected by noise pollution. Hans Slabbekoorn from the Institute of Biology Leiden received a HORIZON2020 grant of 500,000 euros to study the impact of sound conditions on movement decisions of fishes.

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy is delighted to announce it will be starting its own podcast series! The series will be aimed at bringing the themes of the journal’s research off the page, and onto the discussion table. Each episode will feature a guest who will share their insights and personal experience…

What inspiration and impact have been generated by the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights? And how can their future role in human rights protection be further enhanced? These are some of the questions that will be addressed at a conference…

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has appointed 26 new members. Three of them are Leiden professors: Luuk de Ligt, Lisa Cheng and Marc Koper. The new Academy professors will be installed on 8 June.

The European Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (E-ROAD) has held its first conference session at the 2020 virtual Annual Meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS), the largest astronomy conference in Europe. The E-ROAD is an initiative of the International Astronomical Union, the…

The development of smart cars, video games that adapt to your gaming behaviour, law enforcement assigning your neighbourhood a risk score, insurance rates determined by your behaviour, finding your perfect match via an app: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly and radically transforming our interactions…

Within the scope of innovating and connecting – the theme of our new Strategic Plan – I paid a visit to Brussels last week. It is important to give Leiden University a face in Brussels and to show our expertise, on Africa for instance.

EUROTYPES is a research project developed by political scientist Adina Akbik, for which she recently received a European Research Council Starting Grant. Her aim is to examine the impact of cultural stereotypes in European multi-level policy enforcement. One of EUROTYPES' innovations lies in its focus.…

The Europa Institute has invited Dorjana Bojanovska from Macedonia to visit Leiden Law School to conduct her master thesis research from 6 March - 31 March 2017. Dorjana is a student at the Comparative Constitutional Law program at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University. The…