Universiteit Leiden

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Ahead of the times

University ceremony

Dies Natalis

Date
Friday 7 February 2025
Time
Address
Pieterskerk
Pieterskerkhof 1A
Leiden

Time to celebrate! On 7 February we are celebrating the university’s 450th birthday. Please join us at this special anniversary.

The theme of this Dies Naturalis, as well as of this year’s celebrations, is Ahead of the times. We have, after all, been directing our gaze to the future for centuries now. 

The programme includes: the Dies Natalis lecture on academic freedom, three honorary doctorates and a spectacular performance science rapper Jon Chase and singer Celesta da Vinci. And university historian Pieter Slaman will test how much you know about the university in the 450 quiz.

The official programme will be followed by a reception at around 17:00 hrs. where we will raise a glass to this special birthday.

The full programme is below.

Simultaneous translation and live stream

A simultaneous translation of the ceremony will be available in English. The entire ceremony will be streamed live on this webpage on 7 February 2025 from 14:45 hrs. You do not need to register for this live stream.

Entrance of the processions of students and professors

 
Dies Natalis lecture

The renounced oath. On freedom of conscience and academia, by Egbert Koops, Professor of Legal History.

Can you expect scholars to convey – or not to convey – certain views? In its early days, Leiden University asked staff and students to take an oath. That did not prove popular and the oath was renounced. The noble principles of freedom of conscience and academia were immediately put to the test. In his Dies Natalis lecture, Egbert Koops explores the limits of academic freedom, then and now.

Honorary doctorates

Honorary doctorates will be conferred on Eliot Higgins, truth finder and founder of Bellingcat; Bonnie Honig, an expert in feminist theory and legal theory; and Kelly Chibale, an organic chemistry professor working on a cure for endemic diseases such as malaria.

See also: Honorary doctorates for Eliot Higgins, Kelly Chibale and Bonnie Honig

450 quiz

Led by university historian Pieter Slaman.

Presentation of the Gratama Science Award

 
Music

By science rapper Jon Chase, featuring Celesta da Vinci.

Jon Chase is a science communication practitioner, author and science rapper, based in the United Kingdom. He is affiliated with Leiden University where he developed science communication training materials for the GlobalSCAPE project. 

Celesta da Vinci is a Dutch classical crossover singer and composer with a vocal range of three octaves. She sings a wide variety of genres, from classical to symphonic rock.

  • Hester Bijl Rector Magnificus

    Hester Bijl studied applied mathematics at Delft University of Technology, where she also received a PhD in numerical mathematics in 1999. She also obtained a master’s degree in English language and literature from Leiden University. For her research on applications of numerical fluid dynamics in aerospace and wind energy technology, she received person-oriented grants from the Dutch Research Council. She was a member of the first cohort of the KNAW Young Academy and also served on its board. From 1999 to 2003, she spent several periods as a visiting researcher at NASA Langley Research Center. 

    Before coming to Leiden in 2016, where she was appointed Vice-Rector Magnificus, Bijl spent 17 years at Delft University of Technology’s Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, where she eventually held the position of dean.

    In 2021 she succeeded Carel Stolker as Rector Magnificus of the Executive Board of Leiden University.

  • Annetje Ottow President of the Executive Board

    Annetje Ottow studied law at Leiden University, receiving a Master of Laws (cum laude) in business law, and went on to receive a Master of Laws from Queen Mary College in London in 1990. She then worked in the legal profession for 16 years, first at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and later as a partner at Houthoff Buruma. From 2006 to 2013, she served on the Board of the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority (OPTA). 

    In 2007, Ottow was appointed Professor of Public Economic Law at Utrecht University. From 2014 to 2018, she was Dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics, Governance and Organisation there, and Vice President of the Executive Board from 2018 to 2021.

    In 2021 she succeeded Carel Stolker as President of the Executive Board of Leiden University.

  • Pieter Slaman Assistant Professor

    Pieter Slaman is the university historian at Leiden University, supported by the A.E. Cohen Fund. He is an assistant professor at the Dual PhD Centre and the Institute of History and an adviser to the Department of Strategic and Academic Affairs at the Department of Administration and Central Services. His previous publications include De glazen toren. De Leidse universiteit 1970-2020 and In de regel vrij. 100 jaar politiek rond onderwijs, cultuur en wetenschap. Slaman received his PhD in 2015 on the history of student grants and loans in the Netherlands.

More information on the speakers will follow.

Honorary doctor

  • Eliot Higgins Citizen journalist Bellingcat

    Eliot Higgins is a British citizen journalist, blogger and founder of the investigative journalism collective Bellingcat, which identifies abuses in conflicts and human rights violations on the basis of open data. Higgins will receive an honorary doctorate in the society field, for his contributions to the use of open source intelligence – gathering and analysing information from publicly available sources – to guarantee historical accuracy and fair judicial process.

Honorary doctor

  • Kelly Chibale Professor of Organic Chemistry University of Cape Town

    Kelly Chibale is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). His research focuses on development of new drugs, in particular for malaria and tuberculosis. Chibale’s team is the first to have brought an antimalaria drug of African origin to the clinical development stage. He will receive an honorary doctorate in the science field, for his groundbreaking work on developing new drugs to combat endemic diseases in Africa.

Honorary doctor

  • Bonnie Honig Nancy Duke Lewis professor of Modern Culture and Media and Political Science Brown University

    Bonnie Honig is a renowned Canadian-American political philosopher, who combines political, legal and humanities perspectives in her research on democracy. She will receive an honorary doctorate from Leiden University in the science field, for her exceptional contributions to democratic theory over the past thirty years. She has given further interdisciplinary impetus to research on law and politics by combining disciplines such as philosophy, law, political science and cultural studies.

Attendance

Please let us know whether you will be able to attend by 5 February 2025. Tickets will be sent by email.

Registration form
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