Eduard Fosch-Villaronga from Leiden University has been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of 1.5m euros enables talented early-career scholars to start their own pioneer project, lead a research team, and implement their best ideas at the frontiers of their…

Sarah Wolff has been professor of International Studies and Global Politics since 8 January. Time for a brief introduction about her field and academic interests.

The mission in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan was a formative experience for Dutch soldiers in which many lessons were learned. But most of those lessons have already been forgotten.

On Friday 3 February, all new incoming exchange students for the Spring semester were invited to attend their own Faculty’s introduction session.

For the past 2 years, Dr Letty ten Harkel has been jointly running an excavation project of a suspected Roman villa site on the Balearic island of Mallorca with colleagues Dr Antoni Puig Palerm and Ritchie Kolvers, MA. The project was recently awarded a LUF Chastelain-Nobach fund to explore the extend…

Since graduating from Leiden Law School with master’s degrees in Jurisprudence & Philosophy of Law and Criminal Law, alumnus Allard Altena now works as a Public Prosecutor at the Dutch Public Prosecution Service. He says, ‘I leave work at the end of each day knowing I’ve done something useful.’

Not everything that comes close to a black hole is swallowed by it. Black holes can also hurl material away, and that chance turns out to be considerably bigger than previously thought. Martijn Oei's accidental discovery and his subsequent research on it earned him a cum laude promotion on 12 Decemb…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

You might take photos and selfies with your phone's camera, or scan a QR code. But there is much more you can do with it. Astronomer Olivier Burggraaff developed a phone attachment that allows you to take measurements of surface water with your smartphone. He will receive his PhD on 13 December.

Thomas Vorisek is a video coordinator. He picked up a new hobby in his student days, entirely by coincidence, and now he makes a living out of it. Thomas likes to spend his free time on the beach.

How do politics and play relate to each other? Six Leiden academics hope to find an answer to that question over the coming years. They have received an NWO grant of 750,000 euros. Professor Sybille Lammes and University Lecturer Bram tell us how they plan to spend the money.

Meet & chat

What do you do with a museum collection full of individual white Nobel laureates at a time when diversity, inclusion and teamwork reign supreme? Ad Maas, professor by special appointment, and researcher Hilbrand Wouters have been awarded an NWO Museum grant to answer that question.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Research

Last Saturday, the Turfmarkt in The Hague, where during the week thousands of commuters make their way to the many ministries in the city centre, was seething with future young students. It was the Bachelor's Open Day at Leiden University, which took place physically both in Leiden and The Hague. A…

How does our brain interpret traces of evidence? Can someone who is suffering from brain damage be held accountable for criminal offences? And should it be possible to adjust a criminal’s behaviour with deep brain stimulation? These questions were addressed during the Public Scientific Day Brein & Recht…

The Master of Medicine at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has won the national biennial award for best educational innovation in medical teaching. It was awarded the prize by the Netherlands Association for Medical Education (NVMO) for its MasterMinds Challenge (MMC).

Several years ago, two amateur archaeologists from Brabant discovered over a hundred Roman coins near to Berlicum in the north of the province. After years of research, it now appears that the location, close to a ford in the river, was a site for offerings. Another interesting fact is that the coins…

Organisations like the UN and the EU should be given more powers to combat transboundary problems. This is the message of a report published by the Swedish SNS Democracy Council, whose authors include Prof. Jan Aart Scholte of Leiden University. The researchers also wrote the following article.

On Monday, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf attended the start of Orientation Week Leiden (OWL), the introduction week for international students at Leiden University. He welcomed the students and spoke with them about their ambitions and the problems they face.

Digitalisation can make a huge contribution to a greener future, but it must also be as sustainable as possible. To make significant progress, more collaboration and national leadership will be needed. Leiden University has therefore signed the Digital Sustainability Manifesto, which was presented on…

The new minor in 'Creative strategies for a society in change' will start in September. The Leiden Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) has entered into a partnership with the The Hague Film House and will be letting students experience what it is like to work as an artist. ‘We want to teach…

Manuscripts that look like a comic book, that's how you could describe the manuscripts of the Dongba people from China. The manuscripts are one of the last examples of a so-called pictographic script that can only be interpreted by Dongba priests, shamans, who have knowledge of the ancient Dongba cu…

Our university recently joined the European university alliance Una Europa. Staff from the 11 affiliated universities met in Leiden last week to discuss our collaboration.

Now the introduction weeks can go ahead as usual, the new students’ enthusiasm is overwhelming. It’s back to normal for the student associations too, having had a hard time of it during the pandemic.

More and more people worldwide have infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to many types of antibiotic. Why is this and how big of a problem is it?

Lecture

On 30 April, Prime Minister Mark Rutte was presented with the manifesto of the NWO Youth Challenge, which contains advice for policymakers, scientists and administrators on the empowerment of youth in the time of coronavirus. The manifesto is based on research questions submitted to the science community…

113 Suicide Prevention gave a guest lecture about suicide prevention at the Spanish Steps in Wijnhaven

Discovering while still studying whether work in science might be for you. That is what students get during the faculty Research Traineeship Programme. On Friday 1 September, they presented their results to each other and their supervisors.

It is often thought that immigration threatens the solidarity on which redistribution relies. But looking at the post-war period, PhD candidate Emily Anne Wolff finds that this is not the case.

The free AI and Ethics course (in Dutch) is available online to anyone who wants to find out more about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. One of the eight experts featured in the course is Professor Reijer Passchier. ‘Artificial Intelligence is spreading so fast and has such an impact…

The placebo effect was completely new to her when Lingling Weng began the PhD project in Leiden. She is now a postdoc in China. 'It would be great to investigate the underlying mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects with my current knowledge of EEG and fMRI.' PhD defence on 17 October.

The Faculty of Archaeology used to be involved in several excavations in Syria, before the outbreak of civil war made travel to the region impossible. One of these excavations is the one of tell Hammam al-Turkman, which started in 1981. Student Ruben Hartman, together with archaeologist Dr Diederik…

The world is currently beset by many problems. The armed conflict and continuing violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories is resulting in numerous casualties. This is giving rise to many emotions and reactions worldwide, and also greatly affecting our own university community. We have seen…

At the Faculty of Science, forty per cent of the employees are of a non-Dutch nationality. Amongst PhDs that is even sixty per cent. How are they doing in a time of working at home in a different culture, when travelling is not possible? Clinical pharmacologist Lu Chen is the third in this series to…

In the spring of 2024 the Faculty of Archaeology welcomed a new postdoc. Dr Adam Benfer, originally from the United States, occupies a double position as a researcher in the project of Alex Geurds and as the Faculty’s Data Steward. ‘It is pretty much what the title says: I steward data. Essentially,…

Exhibition

‘Am I setting a good example myself?’ Hanneke Hulst wonders. As Recognition and Rewards project leader, she maintains that we should stop expecting researchers to be experts at everything, even though she herself keeps a lot of balls in the air.

Siemens recently took over the Leiden software company Culgi, founded by professor and inventor J.G.E.M. (Hans) Fraaije. We spoke to him about the algorithm that made him successful, the role of a university in our society and his ambitions at Siemens. ‘I was looking for Siemens, and they were looking…

A complete transformation of the steel cycle in the Netherlands with the ultimate goal of a CO2 neutral steel sector by 2050. For this purpose, the Growing with Green Steel program receives €100 million from the National Growth Fund. From Leiden, Professor of Industrial Ecology René Kleijn is involv…

How should the Quran be read? The manuscript of this holy book makes different interpretations possible. Researcher Marijn van Putten has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of two million euros to explore centuries-old recitations.

First-year Public Administration students write consultancy report for municipality The Hague

Teacher training should do more to prepare teachers for the pedagogical aspects of teaching, Professor of Educational Sciences Tim Mainhard will argue in his inaugural lecture. ‘Children who find learning difficult particularly benefit from a close relationship with their teacher.’

People in leadership roles are unlikely to discuss leadership skills with their colleagues. But that is precisely what we as a university would like them to do. Because trust in one another’s abilities will make us an agile university that innovates and makes room for talent.

Author and political scientist Mounir Samuel has spent recent years delving into the many ways that language can exclude people and bring them together.

The World Food Programme, Philips, the European Space Agency. An overwhelming list of organisations that Sarita Koendjbiharie, as founder of the PRINS consultancy programme of International Studies, has managed to recruit. ‘We keep reaching new highs and insights together with our students and organ…

The Institute for History has a new academic director. Professor of Early Modern History Jeroen Duindam will take on this role from 1 September. ‘You can only do this job properly if you make time for it.’