Arianna Pranger has lost her heart to teaching. A senior lecturer on the master’s programme in Pharmacy, she won the LUS Teaching Prize 2020. The programme trains students to be pharmacists.

As Director of Education, Marcellus Ubbink learned to work together with many different people. For him, the social aspects are one of the key areas in his new role as Scientific Director of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry. Who is this new manager and what can we expect from him?

Major renovations, much-discussed exhibitions and current museum related questions. ‘If you want to know what is happening in the art and museum sector in a very up-to-date way, then the 'Museum Talks' lecture series is the thing for you’, says Professor of Art History and organiser Stijn Bussels.

Leiden students often prefer complicated theory and a difficult test to experiments. Yet associate professor Paul Logman believes students learn a lot from practical teaching. He challenges his students to come up with their research questions themselves. The Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) is at…

In one in four criminal cases in the Netherlands, the court receives a report on the state of the defendant’s mental health. How is that information used exactly and what are the consequences? Scientific research has been lacking in this area. The PhD research of Roosmarijn van Es is a first step in…

How to address loneliness during quarantine, keep healthcare workers healthy, and deal with social distancing in a person’s final hours? Before we can tackle such challenges, it is crucial to understand the perspective of those who suffer from them, say the teachers of a new Master Honours Class: “It…

Young Academy Leiden brings together young researchers, gives them a say in policymaking and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration. Chair Tom Louwerse is passing on the baton to Helen Pluut. ‘Sharing your knowledge and experience with colleagues from other faculties and institutes is so valuable.’…

Doctors are entering the fray, court cases are being filed and smokers are becoming more of a pariah. From lobby expert to medical biologist: four Leiden researchers give their perspective on smoking, the tobacco industry and smoking policy

During International Student Week, from 14 to 18 November, we would like to put our international students into the spotlight. Ricardo Alexandre de Jesus Vaz (21) from Portugal is in his first year at FGGA and a student in the Master International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD).

Yeast, alpacas, and antibodies. They may seem unrelated, but within the project of the Leiden iGEM students, they come together perfectly. For the international synthetic biology competition iGEM, the team is working on an innovative method to produce nanobodies—a special form of antibodies—using brewer’s…

Islam can be a difficult or sensitive subject to discuss with pupils, regardless whether they are Muslim. Fourteen secondary-school teachers and university lecturers went on a fact-finding trip to Morocco accompanied by experts from NIMAR (the Netherlands Institute in Morocco). What did they learn from…

On 14 and 15 March, students can register as candidates for a place in the University Council (UR) or one of the faculty councils. But what do these participation bodies do? UR member Femke van der Meulen takes us through the agenda for the next meeting.

Each year it is estimated that thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking in the Netherlands. Many of these victims are minors. Assistant Professor of Criminal Law Luuk Esser conducted research on the current legislation to combat human trafficking. His PhD defence is on 25 September.

The new online diversity and inclusion dossier combines all faculty initiatives on this topic. But what is the situation on diversity and inclusion at Humanities? An interview with Aurelie van ‘t Slot, policy advisor Internationalisation, Diversity and Inclusion.

Alumnus Jelte Liemburg, aged 29, aims to visit every single one of the 500 museums in the Netherlands that take part in the national museum pass scheme.

From studying molecules in the blood of corona patients to developing a new concept for vaccines. The Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) has transformed many ongoing projects into Covid research projects. Hubertus Irth, scientific director of LACDR, talks about the role of his institute…

After a long run-up, the time has finally come for Frank Takes and Matthijs van Leeuwen. Together, they will become the new directors of education (OD) at the LIACS institute. Takes as OD of the bachelors and Van Leeuwen for the masters. 'We have been working together as colleagues for years,' Van Leeuwen…

The corona crisis relates to not only the medical field but also the field of the social sciences and humanities. SSH Beraad, a consultation body that aims to improve the position of the social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands, has launched a website bringing together experts in the social…

The Grotius Centre has been running summer schools for many years now. The International Criminal Law Summer School will run for the 15th time this summer, and new schools are being added to the curriculum each year. Dr. Robert Heinsch, Associate Professor of International Law & Director Kalshoven-Gieskes…

Throughout the coming year, all attention in Leiden will be on Asia. This special year, featuring numerous Asian events, conferences, exhibitions and concerts, celebrates the new Asian Library at Leiden University. Come and read, watch, listen, taste or dance Bollywood style.

‘What if we switch off all the lights one evening? That idea crossed my mind from time to time. And when I mentioned it to a taxi driver one day, he said: “Oh, you mean: lights out, stars on!” That’s not completely true, of course, because the stars are always on, but his phrase summed up the idea n…

Professor Leo Lucassen often adds his voice to the public debate on his specialist field. If there is talk of a 'flood of migration', he feels compelled to give the issue some historical perspective. 'Concerned? Yes, I am.'

There's a myth that people with autism avoid eye contact in conversations. This can come across as indifferent. Unjustified, stresses Jiayin Zhao, who is doing her PhD research on the socio-emotional development of children with autism. 'That people with autism don't care is anything but true.'

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, is currently facing serious criticism. Over a short space of time, it has been significantly expanded. And the larger the Agency becomes, the more often it comes under fire.

On October 20th, at 13:00-15:00 in Grotiuszaal (A051 KOG) the advanced International Children’s Rights program and the Leiden Institute of Immigration Law will co-organize a lecture by Ms. Margaret Tuite, the European Commission Coordinator for the Rights of the Child.

How did our universe come into being? Are there any other planets that support life? Read all about it in our new research dossier ‘Exploring the universe’.

The number of students enrolled at Leiden University remained stable this year. As at other Dutch universities, the growth in recent years seems to have levelled off. Leiden University is also following the national trend in terms of intake at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. The number of international…

For almost 25 years, ‘de Handboeken Veiligheid’ have been a phenomenon. Who does not have a copy on their bookshelf? In 2024, the series will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and next Monday, the Public Prosecution Handbook will be presented: the latest volume in the series. Erwin Muller talks about…

British television channels transmitted in Europe are facing an unpleasant surprise: in the event of a hard Brexit their licences will have to be sorted out correctly, otherwise TV screens may be going black.

Labour market reintegration: what is working and what could be done better? These questions were at the centre of Dutch BNR Nieuwsradio's podcast ‘Werkverkenners’. The podcast makers interviewed Anke Ramakers, Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, for answers…

The legal protection of parents and children in cases involving placement in care must improve. That is the opinion of Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law.

Students get free advice of Leiden alumni about their career, applying for a job, social networking and more. The Mentor Network is an online platform on which more than 650 alumni offer to help students.

Dr. Erik Vijgenboom (IBL) and Dr. Peter Punt (IBL/TNO) obtained a new NWO-grant for their project FILAZYME to develop filamentous micro-organisms for enzyme production to degrade biomass.

Finland reduced its suicide rate from 30 deaths per 100,000 citizens. Marieke Liem and Leah Prencipe discuss this in The Conversation.

The UK has recently been facing racist violence outbreaks. Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies, discusses this in an article on Hyphen.

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…

Naar aanleiding van de aanhoudende oorlog tussen Rusland en Oekraïne willen verschillende Europese landen een inreisverbod invoeren tegen Russische staatsburgers. Maar mogen zij dit zomaar doen?

From 1-2 December 2022, the Frontex fundamental rights team met for a Workshop to reflect on their role and discuss current issues. Melanie Fink, Assistant Professor of European Law, was invited to contribute to the discussion with insights from her research on Frontex’s obligations and responsibili…

Marcello Bonsangue will be the new Scientific Director of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) from January 2024. Bonsangue has been appointed for four years. He succeeds Aske Plaat, who led the institute for eight years.

The chance that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will actually be brought to trial seems slim. And yet the arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu will have a significant impact and comes as a hard blow for Israel. Larissa van den Herik, Professor of Public International Law, discusses the…

New website on interdisciplinary, international research on migration and border control.

Damjan Donev is a PhD student in the ERC granted research project 'An Empire of 2000 Cities: urban networks and economic integration in the Roman empire', directed by Luuk De Ligt and John Bintliff (Archaeology).

How can governments reach their policy goals in the most effective way? Which manner of financing is the most suitable? Does the spirit of our times call for new forms of subsidy? What does the future of subsidy law look like?

In the upcoming Dutch general elections, the focus of the party campaigns is on national issues. Luuk van Middelaar, Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions, argues in a column in Dutch newspaper NRC that foreign policy should also be on the agenda.

Marjam Peters has just started her four-month internship at NVIC. She also works on developing a research on gender and sexuality in Cairo. Read more..

On Energiepodium.nl, Rob de Wijk, Professor of International Relations and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, states that the Nord Stream 2 Project, a pipeline for Russian gas into Europe, causes a conflict between geopolitics and commerce.

Legal action relating to the situation in Gaza is now being taken in various countries and courts around the world. In a podcast for ‘NPO-Radio1’, Larissa van Herik, Professor of Public International Law, outlines what is gained from these cases and the relationship between law, activism and politic…

Leiden University has the highest percentage of female professors of all the Dutch Universities. At 24 per cent, Leiden is well ahead of the other universities in the Netherlands.

The waiting lists in youth care are alarmingly long. This has been confirmed again by a study carried out by a Dutch foundation The Forgotten Child.

Political scientist Cynthia van Vonno’s (Leiden University) 2016 dissertation has been shortlisted for the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Jean Blondel PhD Prize. Her study of party group unity in parliamentary voting was chosen from an exceptionally high number of nominations.