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The more opportunities a child has to learn and develop, the stronger his or her future position in society. Leiden University investigates how the brain picks up information, and how learning processes can be influenced positively.

Our immune system protects us against disease, but every now and then, something goes wrong: an enemy invades our bodies or our immune system attacks our own cells and we become ill. Doctors and researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) want to be able to manipulate the immune system…

Despite the field’s general agreement that pyrotechnology had a significant impact on the cultural evolution of humankind, our understanding of the origins and development of fire use and its role in humankind’s cultural evolution is very limited, blurred by strong disagreements over its chronology…

Issues such as climate change, the depletion of natural resources or social inequality are too complex to be addressed from a single scientific discipline or by a single country. Leiden University has the expertise to bring the resolution of these enormous problems a small step closer.

As part of your application procedure for the bachelor’s programme Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives, you are asked to complete an Online Matching module. By watching a number of video lectures and answering questions about them, you will discover whether the programme fits your expectations.…

The Urban Studies bachelor’s programme is based on two learning trajectories. One is dedicated to knowledge related to urban issues, while the other focuses on a wide range of practical and academic skills.

In the specialisation Economic and Consumer Psychology, part of the Master in Psychology, you will study the psychological mechanisms that underlie our decisions and choices concerning consumption and other economic behaviours.

Science, Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC)

University ceremony

The first full-colour images of the cosmos from ESA's space telescope Euclid were presented today. Never before has a telescope been able to take such crystal-clear astronomical images of such a large part of the sky and so far into the deep universe. The five images illustrate Euclid's full potential;…

The new Executive Board of the Institute of Psychology became effective on 1 February 2022. Scientific director Andrea Evers tells us where she gets her energy from.

Van studenten verwachten we dat ze kritisch lezen. ‘Maar hoe dan’, zeggen ze. ‘Je leest een artikel en het klinkt allemaal logisch en overtuigend, waarom zou het niet waar zijn.’ Psycholoog Anouk van der Weiden wil studenten leren om artikelen kritisch te lezen. En meer, daarvoor ontvangt ze een Co…

Russia’s premeditated attack on Ukraine in February 2022 changed not only the security landscape of Europe. It also altered – at least for now – the structures of leadership and influence within the West.

Niels Laurens (37) has been appointed Executive Director at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs since 1 October. Because of covid 19, he only saw most of his colleagues within the faculty through a screen. Although the online introductions go well for him, Niels Laurens lacks personal contact…

The world’s prosperity and well-being are seriously being threatened by the degradation of land and nature. Although there are opportunities to turn things around, fears of further deterioration in the coming decades must not be taken lightly. That is concluded at the Intergovernmental Science-Policy…

A team of researchers from Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) recently hosted a big international conference (EMO 2023). At the conference, computer scientists discussed algorithms that are important in areas such as drug discovery, industrial production planning, and sustainable…

Ida Haisma has been appointed Director of the Leiden Bio Science Park. She will lead the transformation of the Leiden Bio Science Park from science park to innovation district. To this end, she will set up a new park organisation and act as the spokesperson for the park.

A recent collaborative paper between researchers from the Theoretical Chemistry & Catalysis and Surface Chemistry groups has been chosen by the renowned Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics journal as a

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On the second day of the EL CID week, hundreds of new students set foot in ‘their’ law faculty for the first time. Today, they will be introduced to the history and ways of the University. Exciting and fun at the same time. ‘Things are getting real!’

On 16 May the first International Day of Light was celebrated all around the globe. Initiated by UNESCO, organisations in 87 different countries set up a total of more than 600 events to embrace the vital role of light and related technologies in science. In the Old Observatory in Leiden visitors could…

How do we create a healthy, inclusive, digital and sustainable society? And how do we keep it that way? If science is to provide answers to these questions, the universities of Leiden, Delft and Erasmus will need to work together. This is what Wim van den Doel, the new figurehead of the LDE Alliance,…

Sarah is the latest addition to our team...

Sixty-four high school students from Slovenia, Czech Republic and The Netherlands have visited Leiden University in the week of 7-11 November, as part of the Talent Education Project. They split in eight groups, of which some went to the science faculty to conduct research projects.

Does the university value teaching less than research? Can you advance in science without academic awards? Which scholars inspire you? Does the university pay enough attention to both your academic achievements and your personal well-being?

The past decade, against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape, has witnessed the greatest changes to the Netherlands since the aftermath of the Second World War. The labour market, the housing market, the energy market, the bank system, the pension system, the healthcare system, to name…

For his significant original contributions in the field of carbohydrate research, chemist Jeroen Codee will be awarded the biennial Carbohydrate Research Award for Creativity in Carbohydrate Chemistry.

On 16 May the first International Day of Light was celebrated all around the globe. Initiated by UNESCO, organisations in 87 different countries set up a total of more than 600 events to embrace the vital role of light and related technologies in science. In the Old Observatory in Leiden visitors could…

Climate change, depletion of natural resources, loss of natural and cultural landscapes, and many other (ecological) sustainability challenges urge us to (re)evaluate human interaction with the natural world. This renewed environmental consciousness has invigorated not only scientists working on effects…

The editors of the Journal of Sonic Studies are proud to announce that its 24th issue is online.

For many teachers, they are a lifesaver: the people at the Science Teacher Support Desk. When a teacher has technical problems, they come to the rescue immediately. Veerle Warnders is one of them and she tells us what is so great about her job.

Since February 1st, 2017 Célia Fonseca Guerra is appointed as professor at the LIC with a chair in applied theoretical chemistry. She will be a member of the Theoretical Chemistry group. Her research interests are related to bioinorganic chemistry and catalysis and her appointment at the LIC will strengthen…

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) comprises several units. Eight Divisions for Sciences develop new research programmes, assess subsidy requests and monitor projects that NWO finances. ALW- Earth and Life Sciences is one of NWO’s eight Divisions for Science. Professor Melly…

On April 12th three students majoring in Earth, Energy, and Sustainability (EES) from Leiden University College participated in the annual conference of the Netherlands Center for River Studies.

Protein chains typically fold to function. Folding is a complex process and if done correctly leads to a unique functional fold topology for a given protein chain. Other topologies are also possible but are often non-functional or toxic. These misfolded proteins are then unfolded and subsequently refolded…

The Jan Brouwer thesis award for social sciences 2015 was awarded last April 14th to Master graduate in Public Administration Raffael Hanschmann for his thesis “The impact of the economic crisis on EU environmental policy making. Insights from discourse network analysis”.

Work started today on the Kolffpad student complex, with 289 flats for students from Leiden University. Stichtnig DUWO will own the building and the University owns the site at the Bio Science Park. The building should be complete by mid-2023.

The Leiden University Green Office (LUGO) organised a symposium about sustainable consumption on 2 May. Various speakers told a packed room about sustainable alternatives for consumer products. View the photos.

Last week Audubon published an article about the lack of female birdsong recordings and the community sourced project that is tackeling this skew.

On 10 May Maarten Aalbers, PhD-fellow and research staff member at the Europa Institute, participated in the “State Aid Compliance Seminar”, hosted by Europa decentraal, the EU law center for local and regional authorities in the Netherlands. Maarten Aalbers presented on the interaction between EU competition…

Nanoparticles are widely used, but their effect on the environment is unclear because they are hard to track. Leiden physicists have developed a new method to detect conducting nanoparticles. Aquiles Carattino successfully defended his PhD thesis on the subject.

Five Leiden astronomers tell about science in the podcast Astronomy et al. This podcast was set up by Ricardo Garcia Soto in September 2016 and is focused on anyone who is interested in science.

Leiden University has taken seventh place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Almost 1,000 universities from all over the world participate in the ranking.

This year, an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant went to Mink van IJzendoorn, enabling him to investigate the disappearance of amphorae. ‘We take means of packaging and shipment for granted, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives; they are crucial.’