Brussels, the heart of European diplomacy, offered MSc International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) students a two-day opportunity to explore NATO and the European External Action Service (EEAS), gaining valuable insights into their roles in shaping EU foreign policy and global security.

Leiden University mourns the victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels. These attacks are an assault on our democratic society. We will continue to defend our European values of freedom and tolerance against all attempts to undermine them.

At the beginning of March 2017 the ICCL students visited Brussels for a two-day visit.

On 3 December 2024, Career Service FGGA organised an inspiring excursion to Brussels for students of the faculty. The programme provided a unique opportunity to explore European institutions, organisations, and alumni living and working in this dynamic city. The group departed early in the morning from…

They dreamed of Brussels, worked hard and finally succeeded: working for Europe. The list of Leiden University alumni in Brussels is long. A few days before the European elections, Julia Gencheva and Vincent Miča talk about how they ended up in Brussels and what their jobs entail.

Over 100 Leiden University alumni gathered in the heart of Brussels for the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event on 29 February. The European Banking Federation (EBF) generously hosted the event for the second time at their premises on Avenue des Arts.

A small insight into the annual study trip to Brussels of the advanced master programme Law and Digital Technologies.

On 23 February 2023, Leiden University organised an alumni event in Brussels, which was attended by around a hundred people. Joris Larik, representing Leiden University College (LUC) The Hague and the Europa Institute, spoke on the expert panel on interdisciplinary perspectives on ‘Europe and the new…

On 13 and 14 October 70 first-year students of the MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy had the opportunity to visit several European Union institutions in Brussels.

On 7 October, the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics was launched on the margins of an informal EU leaders’ summit in Prague. The initiative will provide a hub for high-quality research on Europe’s geopolitics, thus enabling the European Union to develop its strategic capacities.

On 27 and 28 June 2023, an extensive conference was held on the past and future of Europe’s free travel area: the Schengen zone. The Europa Institute, represented by Jorrit Rijpma, joined forces with the Odysseus Network of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Konstanz University, and the Royal Egmont…

Ahead of the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF), the entire European academic world is calling upon Brussels to double the budget for education, research and innovation.

On 26 and 27 February the Odysseus Network organised its annual conference on the very topical subject of Solidarity in the EU’s asylum and border policies.

On Friday 10 February, the annual Odysseus conference on migration and asylum law was held at the European Commission.

Within the scope of innovating and connecting – the theme of our new Strategic Plan – I paid a visit to Brussels last week. It is important to give Leiden University a face in Brussels and to show our expertise, on Africa for instance.

On 24 October 2018, the European Competition and Regulatory Law Review (CoRe), the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel jointly organized the second “Competition Policy and Online Markets” conference in Brussels.

German-American Mia Müller (26) has been working at the European Parliament for three years now as Press Officer at The Greens/EFA Group. She is a bit nervous about her 'first' elections.

Jorrit Rijpma was invited to teach at a number of summer schools this year. He lectured at the CLEER summer school on External Relations, the ICPMD summer school on migration and asylum and the Odysseus summer school.

On 16 and 17 June, the Academy for European Law in Trier organized its annual conference on European migration in Brussels.

Alumni who live and work in Brussels met on 18 February at the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event. As well as celebrating Leiden University’s 450th anniversary, they also looked at the challenges Europe faces.

On 25 September 2018, Dr. Yannick van den Brink, gave a presentation during an expert meeting on the EU Directive on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings. Van den Brink was invited by the European Commission of the European Union.

On November 23, 2017, Professor Simone van der Hof chaired a panel on age verification in the digital world at the Safer Internet Forum 2017 in Brussels.

On 19 October 2023, Vincent Delhomme spoke at the conference on ‘European Judicial Narratives’, hosted by the University of Louvain Saint-Louis in Brussels. Vincent participated in the panel devoted to the reception of these judicial narratives in the European legal epistemic community.

On Thursday 8 June 2017 Melanie Fink, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Europa Institute, participated in the Legal Seminar ‘EU Law and Undocumented Migrants: Defending Rights in the Context of Detention & Deportation’.

On Friday 17 November, the annual meeting of the Consultative Forum of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) took place.

Stephanie Rap and Yannick van den Brink, both assistant professor at the Department of Child Law, presented their research at the 11th EU Forum on the rights of the child: Children deprived of their liberty and alternatives to detention, which took place in Brussels from 6 to 8 November 2017.

Alumni event

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.

Alumni event, Brussels

Effectiveness and Side-effects.

The Common Market Law Review has an internationally composed Editorial Board and Advisory Board.

Alumni event, Brussels

International peacebuilding organisation International Alert has moved to The Hague. Professor by special appointment Public Affairs Arco Timmermans understands very well why the organisation has chosen this city. Dutch radio show ‘De Ochtendspits’ hosted by BNR news radio asked him to elaborate.

As a Faculty of Law graduate you are part of a valuable network. Discover how you can remain in contact with other alumni and the University!

The organization of the Platform for Postcolonial Readings is a collaboration of main organizers and occasional guest organizers.

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

The Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference (CPDP) is the world’s leading multidisciplinary event on privacy and data protection. CPDP brings together experts to explore cutting-edge legal, regulatory, academic, and technological developments in the field, providing a premier platform for…

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

At the Institute of Political Science we value our alumni. We can learn from you, and would like to contribute to your further development. And, of course, we want to lend a hand in connecting ‘our’ political scientists all over the world.

Leiden University would like to stay in contact with its alumni. That is why we try to keep contact info up to date, but we would also like to stay informed about where you are working after graduation and how your career is progressing.

The Master’s in European Union Studies at Leiden University offers students an opportunity to study the EU from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

After graduation, the Institute of Public Administration, and especially the Alumni Committee, would like to stay in touch with you.

The European Union Studies minor includes four core courses that provide students with comprehensive knowledge of the European Union’s institutions, policy process, economy, history, and current challenges. In addition to this, students also choose two electives from a broad portfolio of courses that…

The Platform for Postcolonial Readings brings together researchers, especially junior researchers, in Belgium and the Netherlands interested in issues of globalization, inter/transculturality, diversity and inclusivity, intersectionality, and postcoloniality. We are an open group (do join us!) and meet…

These three repors are part of a research project that assesses how military interventions can best prepare the ground for an effective long-term counter-terrorism policy. Three different cases have been studied, and they have each provided the input for the policy relevant recommendations that are…

Leiden University is a unique international centre for the advanced study of languages, cultures, arts, and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present.

On 27 September 2017 a new book by Prof. Luuk van Middelaar appeared, entitled The new politics of Europe. The book is at the same time a front line account of Europe’s recent crisis years – from monetary turmoil to tensions around Ukraine, from refugee crisis to Brexit – and an analysis of the Union’s…

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences brings together high-quality research and outstanding teaching.