Leiden Law School’s academic year officially open
On Tuesday 3 September 2024, the faculty’s 2024-2025 academic year was officially opened in the KOG Restaurant. The new setting helped create a lively atmosphere that encouraged active participation from the audience. The theme of this year’s opening was ‘innovation’ and three ‘faculty talks’ were given relating to education, research and organisation.
Word of welcome
The event was jointly hosted by outgoing Assessor Hannah Saberi and new Assessor Roel Kwast. First of all, they called the faculty’s dean, Suzan Stoter, onto the stage to give a word of welcome:
‘…The theme of the opening of the faculty’s academic year is “innovation”, which I can imagine has raised a few eyebrows. After all, the faculty has financial targets to meet. The Outline Agreement also suggests that further cuts are on the horizon. And then we haven’t even mentioned workload yet. How do we deal with all of this?’
‘…These are challenging, uncertain times. Fortunately, that’s also true in a positive sense. Ambitious plans have been drawn up for innovations in undergraduate education and new degree programmes we will be working on over the coming year. There will also be lots of progress in terms of research and organisational development, which are essential if we want to stay ahead of the times.’
‘…And so we shouldn’t think of innovation as something that comes “from outside” or “on top of everything else”. Innovation that involves “looking at what can be done better or differently, sharing and acting on new knowledge and ideas” has a value that aligns with a content-driven organisation such as our faculty. It’s in our DNA. There’s a well-known saying in Dutch, which means: “Standing still means going backwards”. And that’s not something this faculty will be doing on the eve of a 450-year anniversary.’
‘…I speak for the entire board when I say that I’m delighted to have the honour of doing this with you all over the coming year.’
Faculty talks
It was then time for the faculty talks. Elody Hutten, Assistant Professor of Tax Law, and Rogier Kegge, Assistant Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, took to the stage to explain the concept of ‘integration groups’ – a new form of education put forward by the Kernvisie team that has looked at introducing more in-depth, activating education. Taking the example of the liability for environmental damage of US chemical company Chemours, Rogier Kegge showed the audience how integration groups teach skills on an interdisciplinary and cross-curricular level.
Dirk Visser, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, gave a lively presentation on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education and research. Using an AI-generated self-portrait, he illustrated the many questions that can arise in the legal arena concerning these kinds of images: ‘Is the copyright protected? Is this an example of copyright infringement or portrait infringement? Who can take action, against whom and how?’
In the final faculty talk, Gertia Knorr, Head of HR, gave an interactive introduction to the GROW model – a new format for a conversation about performance, development and well-being between the employee and their manager. Using the Wooclap tool, Gertia asked the audience a few questions and encouraged them to discuss these with their manager.
Teachers and a student in the limelight
This year’s teaching prizes were also presented. Vice-Dean Jan Crijns awarded the ‘Legatum Böckelmanianum’ to first-year Law student Floor Hoevers, who achieved the highest average grade (9.25) in the 2023-2024 academic year.
The next prize to be presented was for the teacher who received the highest evaluations for a postgraduate course. The winner was Professor Jeroen ten Voorde for the postgraduate courses:
- Actualiteiten Wet Seksuele Misdrijven taught in autumn 2023 and spring 2024
- Nieuw wetboek van Strafvordering in autumn 2023
Finally, the teaching prizes awarded by Leiden Law School’s study associations (JSVO) were presented by outgoing assessor Hannah Saberi. A large number of students had submitted their votes. Hendrik Stolz won the prize for best lecturer, while the prize for best seminar teacher went to Roel Becker.
Finally, the teaching prizes awarded by Leiden Law School’s study associations (JSVO) were presented by outgoing assessor Hannah Saberi. A large number of students had submitted their votes. Hendrik Stolz won the prize for best lecturer, while the prize for best seminar teacher went to Roel Becker.
Assessors
In her final appearance as Assessor, Hannah Saberi officially opened the faculty’s academic year. She is passing on the baton to the faculty’s new Assessor for the 2024-2025 academic year: Roel Kwast. Thanks to all the inspiring speakers, enthusiastic presenters and active audience participation, Leiden Law School’s innovating and connecting academic year got off to a flying start.
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Best seminar teacher prize winner Roel Becker with Hannah Saberi -
Best lecturer prize winner Hendrik Stolz with Hannah Saberi -
Best-rated postgraduate course lecturer Jeroen ten Voorde with Vice-Dean Jan Crijns -
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Winner of the Legatum Böckelmanianum Floor Hoevers with Vice-Dean Jan Crijns