Glorious sunshine, dozens of enthusiastic academics and huge numbers of Leiden residents ensured that this year’s special jubilee version of 3 October University was a great success.

On Friday 11 March (16.00 hrs.) Minister Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) will give a speech at Leiden University entitled ‘When knowledge becomes critical’. In the speech, he will address several critical challenges in science and society. The livestream will be open to all.

The Leiden Ranking – Open Edition is completely transparent. The ranking compiled by the CWTS uses open data and publishes the algorithms that are used.

Bringing the community together, doing up the community centre or researching how to make gardens greener. Students now have a base in Leiden-Noord where they can work with local residents and partner organisations to make the city a better place to live. It was the official opening of ‘Learning with…

Inspiration session

SRON, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research, is holding an open day on Sunday 25 September. It has had a branch at the Leiden Bio Science Park since 2021 and works closely with Leiden University.

Using enslaved people as servants, becoming an administrator in the Dutch West India Company or making uniforms for the colonial army. Many people from Leiden played a role in colonialism and slavery. Historians are conducting preliminary research and finding striking examples.

Young Academy Leiden (YAL) will change its board this month and welcome seven new members. Outgoing chair Julia Cramer and incoming chair Rachel Plak look back at the highlights of the past year and discuss YAL’s plans for the coming period.

Natalia Sobrino-Saeb has attended the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo. She was awarded this honour after winning the essay competition of the Nobel Ignitor Fellowship, a programme that seeks to inspire young changemakers around the world – for change can be made by all of us: “You never know…

Professor of Fungal Genetics and Biotechnology Arthur Ram explains how fungi can help us be more sustainable.

The Research Institute for Mathematics & Computer Science in Amsterdam hosts a unique X-ray machine that creates 3D scans of the most diverse objects. This allows them to reveal details that remain hidden in regular scans. In a series of articles they showcase examples of what happens in the lab. Leiden…

Leiden University College The Hague received the 'Top rated Programme' seal from the Keuzegids Universiteiten 2023 (Dutch University Guide). It is the tenth consecutive time the Liberal Arts & Sciences programme focusing on Global Challenges is awarded the honorary seal.

The League of European Research Universities (LERU) was launched in Leiden 20 years ago. This anniversary will be celebrated with a major conference (19 – 21 May) on an urgent theme: How does science contribute to sustainable and resilient societies? We put this question to Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General…

Leiden University’s Executive Board (CvB) visited Leiden University College in The Hague on Friday 11 November during a working visit tour past the Institutes of the Faculty Governance and Global Affairs. Hester Bijl and Martijn Ridderbos were provided with an overview of the programme, the research,…

Since the beginning of September, urban criminologist Marianne Franken has been the linchpin of a special partnership between Leiden University, the municipality of Leiden and the police. As a PhD candidate she will spend four years conducting research into how safe the people of Leiden feel.

The Young Academy Leiden (YAL) acquired six new members on 1 September. We talked to the new and former chair of this platform for young academics about what they have achieved over the recent period and what is on the agenda for the coming year.

After a long night of partying, hundreds of people head to Leiden’s Van der Werfpark early on 3 October for a good singsong. Lecturer in Dutch literature Olga van Marion helped compile the new songbook for the occasion. Which songs were left out and which new hits have taken their place?

For the eleventh time in a row, Leiden University’s unique liberal arts and sciences programme has been awarded the ‘Top Rated Programme’ quality seal by Keuzegids universiteiten 2024.

Giles Scott-Smith is the new dean of LUC (Leiden University College) in The Hague. He succeeds Judi Mesman and starts on 1 July. Scott-Smith: ‘Joining LUC as Dean is a serious honour, and I follow in the footsteps of three Deans who I respect and admire.’

Professor Claartje Levelt, together with Paula Fikkert (Radboud University), has received an NWO Open Competition grant for research into the development of word production in toddlers.

Jyothi Thrivikraman set up a Virtual International Collaboration project with a university in Myanmar.

It has been just over a decade since the first students graduated with Leiden University’s unique Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor degree. We caught up with one of those pioneering graduates.

In 2021 the Leiden Osteoarchaeology Lab hosted an international workshop on methods to study past physical activity. It aimed to tackle a niche topic with the field: namely the method of studying muscle attachments to bone. Dr Sarah Schrader, one of the organisers of the workshop: ‘You can quantify…

Criminology students Simone Kruijt and Noor Hekker conducted research into cybercrime in Leiden and presented their findings to the regional police and an enthusiastic Mayor Lenferink. The conclusions call for a new approach, said Lenferink.

The Citizen Science Netherlands (CS-NL) network was officially launched this month with the aid of an Open Science NL grant. The new vision for this network was presented on 28 May.

Alumni event, Debat

Conference, ESOF Conference

City walk

City walk

As coordinator and lead promoter respectively of the Leiden Healthy Society Center, psychologists Sandra van Dijk and Anke Klein use interdisciplinary collaboration to resolve the major health problems of the present day. How are they going to do that in the coming period?

Leidse AI-Week

Conference

Festival

Debate, Lunch

Festival

With Leiden2022 drawing nearer, LeidenGlobal is busy developing extra activities to demonstrate the knowledge that is present in Leiden and to create interaction with a wider audience. With this valorisation, the partnership between several cultural and academic institutions in Leiden matches the theme…

Social

Conference

As of 1 September, Martina Vijver is the new Scientific Director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences. She succeeds Arnold Tukker, who led the institute since 2013 and served the maximum term of two times four years. Vijver has been appointed for a period of four years.

What should we do about litter in the countryside? Can you tell from camera images if someone is guilty? And what does your heart rate really look like? Get answers to these questions and more at the free ‘Wijsneus Festival’ on Friday 16 September at Leidse Hout Park.

Lecture