The renovation of Cluster Zuid (Van Eyckhof-Van Wijkplaats) is the third project in the development of the Humanities Campus. The circular dismantling of Cluster Zuid has started.

Why does it turn out to be so complicated to solve sustainability issues if everyone ‘knows’ about these problems? This was the central question in a masterclass on Sustainability for alumni provided by Leiden scientists active in public administration and environmental sciences.

Two black holes, in close orbit around each other. Have they slowly drifted together, or did they emerge from two orbiting stars? Together with to colleagues form Amsterdam, Leiden astronomer Simon Portegies Zwart calculated that the second scenario is rather likely.

After an intensive tender procedure, Leiden University and the Municipality of Oegstgeest have chosen Dura Vermeer for a new housing development with plenty of affordable homes in Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid. Dura Vermeer seeks to create a green and playful neighbourhood with welcoming public spaces as its…

They are often little more than a square metre of plants, yet pavement gardens are a source of life. PhD candidate Joeri Morpurgo conducted research in the centre of Amsterdam and The Hague and discovered how important small green spaces are, especially for cities.

The Herta Mohr Building is leading the way in sustainable innovations, for both Leiden University buildings and beyond. It is the university’s first fully gas-free building and the new Thermal Energy Storage system alone will cut carbon emissions by 150,000 kg per year. The building has an ‘Excellent’…

What happens to the different waste streams?

This page features an overview of relevant lectures, publications and conference papers.

Join us at the second edition of the Making Matters symposium, which will take place on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November 2020 at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam and online.

Jorrit Rijpma, Professor of European Law, together with Greek independent researcher Apostolis Fotiadis, investigated the European Commission’s enforcement powers in relation to fundamental rights compliance at Europe’s external borders. The study was commissioned and funded by the Greens Group of the…

Friday 5 February is Warm Sweater Day, a national initiative that encourages us to be aware of the simple measures we can take to save energy. The quickest win – certainly now we are all studying and working at home – is to turn the thermostat down a couple of degree. Take a selfie and share it on Instagram…

Last year we organized a sustainability conference with much success together with the co-participation bodies of Leiden University.

On Wednesday 23 September 2020, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte gave an online lecture together with Professor Afshin Ellian as part of the course Introduction to Law. The lecture had the title ‘The European Union in times of coronavirus’, and the Prime Minister answered questions from students. Hundreds…

State Secretary Sander Dekker of Education, Culture and Science received the national research agenda Nature4Life on 31 January. This research agenda, in which Leiden University is involved, focuses on research on biodiversity, ecology and evolution.

According to GreenMetric, in 2020, Leiden University will be in 8th place in the global sustainability ranking UI GreenMetric. In this memo, participation in this ranking is evaluated, points for improvement are given and an ambition suggestion is made for 2021.

On Thursday 29 April 2021, Melanie Fink appeared before the European Parliament’s Working Group on Frontex Scrutiny.

Project LAWKI (Life As We Know It) by PhDArts candidate Roosje Klap (ARK) won a Gouden Kalf Award 2022 for the Best Digital Cultural Production.

Are you passionate about sustainability? Do you see opportunities to make Leiden University more sustainable? Are you able to inspire, engage and empower students and staff to cooperate? This is your chance to contribute and work on organising events, creating podcast and expanding our brand!

Aileen Ye graduated from the BA International Studies in 2019 and is a board member of the Leiden University Green Office (LUGO). She also works on Blue Nile, a documentary in which looks at the effects of climate change from the perspective of an Ethiopian coffee farm. In the LUGO newsletter she tells…

A team of surgeons at Leiden University Medical Center and the Centre for Human Drug Research have removed a lung tumour that they pinpointed using fluorescence. This is the first time that this technique has been used in Europe in a patient with a lung tumour.

LUGO has some news: If you are using a public computer from Leiden University, you can now set your default search engine to Ecosia.

On Friday the 6th of December, the annual symposium of the IBL was organized at the Buruma theatre (LUMC), Leiden. This year’s theme was “Biological Networks from Molecules to Society”.

The US travel restrictions are deeply regrettable. Support will be offered to students and staff who are affected.

On Friday 23 April, Jorrit Rijpma appeared before the European Parliament’s Working Group on Frontex Scrutiny. This working group was set up by the Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in response to allegations of serious fundamental rights violations taking place…

Koos Biesmeijer, Professor of Natural Capital, and Claire van Megen, an Educational and Child Studies student, are in with a chance of winning Leiden’s Person of the Year title.

Maria Vasile and Cristina Grasseni have presented the results of Maria’s ethnography in Turin.

Always wanted to give your input on sustainability for the university's new Strategic Plan? Join LUGO's discussion session!

The Sustainable Business Battle was launched less than a year ago, but it has already won several prizes. Last week, the organisers received the Green Trophy and now they can also add the Van Bergen Prize to their awards.

On Wednesday 24 April 2024, the European Integration cluster at the Institute of Political Science and the Centre for the Study of Political Parties and Representation hosted a panel on the topic of 'The 2024 European Parliament election: what’s at stake?'

On 21 June 2024, the student-based initiative EU Talks?! was delighted to host its second event in the form of a panel discussion entitled 'Sustainable ambition vs. agricultural consideration'.

From March 13-15, 2024, the authors participating in the book project of the Institutions for Conflict Resolution research group went away for a writing retreat in the green spaces of Soesterberg.

Situated on the west coast of modern Turkey, the site of Ephesus is one of the largest excavations in Turkey and one of the most visited tourist attractions. Only one tenth of the city has been exposed until now although the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna (ÖAI) has been excavating here…

Current research at the Skin Barrier and Vaccination group.

Astronomers want to understand the Universe, from the Big Bang to the present day, and what the future will hold. In Leiden they focus on two key questions: ‘How did stars and planets originate’ and ‘How were galaxies and black holes formed in the young Universe?’ A new generation of telescopes – just…

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.

The "Van Marum Colloquia" are a collaborative lecture series between the LION and LIC institutes, focusing on fundamental and applied surface science.

Climate change is a hot topic and constantly in the news. Thousands of Dutch high school students protested at the Malieveld in The Hague. News website Nu.nl has barred climate change deniers from their comments section to prevent ‘fake news’. How does climate change impact the research community, and…

Professor Marc Koper researches how you can use electrical energy to make or break chemical bonds. He has just been awarded a Spinoza Prize, the Netherlands’ highest personal science award, for his fundamental research into how this form of electrolysis works.

Chemotherapy that does not harm the body, but effectively fights cancer cells: that is the goal of chemist Sylvestre Bonnet and his team. During his PhD research, chemist Xuequan Zhou brought that goal a little closer. He developed molecules that, upon injection in the bloodstream, self-assemble into…

There was a lot of fuss last week about the ‘dragnet law’, in which intelligence services are now authorised to conduct large-scale tapping of cable communications. The public image here is that the privacy of innocent citizens will almost certainly be violated. Paul Abels, professor of governance of…

We hebben 6 van de 9 grenzen overschreden die bepalen of menselijk leven in de komende generaties nog mogelijk is op aarde. Kunnen we het tij nog keren?

On Thursday 21 October 2021, the Europa Institute held a hybrid roundtable on the legal feasibility of financing future EU policies – such as EU Green Deal measures – through debts and of thereby extending the novel funding mechanism introduced by Next Generation EU (NGEU). This roundtable was organised…

In accordance with the present travel advice issued by Leiden University and KU Leuven concerning student mobility abroad, it is highly unlikely that the ‘Egyptology in the Field’ programme will be able to take place as normal in Egypt during the 2020-2021 academic year

Conflicts are good! According to Eefje Cuppen, Professor Governance of Sustainability at Leiden University's Institute of Public Administration. But what is the status of the energy transition? That is happening at a very slow pace here the Netherlands.

The publication Making Matters - A Vocabulary for Collective Arts marks the end of the NWO project 'Bridging art, design and technology through Critical Making', led by Janneke Wesseling and Florian Cramer. The book contains the outcomes of this project.

Problems cannot always be solved from a desk. Students on the Master’s in Governance of Sustainability therefore went to various Leiden neighbourhoods, where they tackled topics such as litter, urban biodiversity and green spaces.

Teacher Dr. Elke Devroe introduces group role-play on actual themes of governance of crime and social disorder. Seven groups of 5 students each presented last Tuesday March 17th pro’s and con’s of the topic of their choice in a panel in a TV-show setting. Students enjoyed lifting green and red cards…

Franc Weerwind studied Public Administration at Leiden University from 1986 to 1992. Right now, mr. Weerwind is the mayor of the municipality of Almere. The editors of Leidraad, the alumni magazine of the university, had a talk with him in context of the recurring ‘workplace’ section in the magazine…