How can we supply the growing world population with sustainable energy? At Laurens College in Rotterdam, Prof. Marc Koper speaks with the students about the crucial role of chemistry in the energy transition. Guest classes like this are a good way for school students to learn about the academic world,…

Nationalism is so prevalent in our society that we hardly realise it once didn’t exist. In his new book, senior university lecturer Eric Storm reveals the global history of the phenomenon. ‘Nationalist movements have always influenced each other.’

Book presentation

Andrew de la Haije is Director of the Dutch branch of Xebia Consultancy Services, an internationally operating consultancy agency that coaches companies through digital transformation. He followed the executive master’s programme in Cyber Security and graduated with distinction.

The MOOC Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory & Practice by Prof. Edwin Bakker, co-developed by the Centre for Innovation, has now attracted over 100,000 participants. It is the first MOOC of Leiden University to reach this magic number.

Meeting in person is crucial to higher education. It would therefore be inadvisable only to allow students to use public transport between 11:00 and 15:00. This is what the rectores magnifici of the Dutch universities say in a joint letter in ScienceGuide.

‘Academics have descended from their ivory tower, but there’s still too little action or financing.’ Leiden professor of Science Communication Ionica Smeets saw all her wishes come true on 28 January, with the presentation of the Letter to Parliament sent by Minister Van Engelshoven of the Ministry…

Commercial MRI systems cost millions of euros to purchase and require highly trained technicians to operate. Prof. Andrew Webb works on accessible MRI techniques that offer new opportunities in both developed and developing countries. Webb is a professor at the Radiology Department of the LUMC and,…

With thunderous applause, Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan is received at the Lorentz Hall of the Kamerlingh Omnes Building. She gazes into the hall with a smile on her face, even though the applause makes her feel slightly uncomfortable. She gets to enrich the students of the Leiden Leadership Programme…

Americans more often donate funds to a presidential candidate if the campaign is backed by financiers from different, recognised social groups. This is the conclusion of Leiden researcher Vincent Traag in an article in Plos One published on 14 April.

X-ray and CT scanners are widely used devices in research, diagnostics and the industrial sector. And yet they are not nearly as fast and accurate as we would like. Mathé Zeegers is researching the newest technique in the field at the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science: spectral X-ray imaging.…

On 1 January Minna Valjakka was appointed Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory from a Global Perspective. Valjakka sees her appointment as 'extremely topical' because of the discussions about the decolonisation of the arts: 'Art teaches us not just about art, but also about contemporary…

The Voices of Africa platform is ten years old and has just recently won the annual popularisation prize of the Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics (LOT). High time for a chat with Jenneke van der Wal, Maarten Mous and Nina van der Vlugt about the importance of the platform and plans for the…

Astronomers have discovered seven Earth-like planets around a dwarf star in our galaxy. Three of these planets are located in the habitable zone of this star, and may contain liquid water. ‘The next step is to study the atmospheres for signs of life. In Leiden we are experts in that area,‘ says planetary…

Corona travel restrictions and increased political pressure: research into China has become considerably more difficult in recent years. University lecturer and China researcher Rogier Creemers does not let this put him off. He receives an NWO grant to screen policy documents using digital technique…

In higher education, Open Educational Resources (OER) are available for anyone to use, but they are not widely used. Marjon Baas, PhD student at ICLON, investigated how instructors deal with OER. Defence on 5 October.

Two thousand years ago, the Middle East found itself caught between the rise of the Roman Empire in the west and the Parthian Empire in the east. PhD candidate Nolke Tasma has been awarded an NWO grant to investigate how local inhabitants experienced these changes.

It is a full classroom: more than 30 pupils from 5 and 6 vwo are present to listen to political scientist Leila Demarest's lecture. She gives a brief introduction on the topic she is about to discuss: democracy in the global North and South. At first, the group seems a bit quiet, but when she asks questions…

Historians and experts in American studies from Leiden University are holding an online international conference about the arrival of the Pilgrims in America and the consequences for the indigenous societies. We asked four questions to two of its organisers, American Studies expert Joke Kardux and historian…

The ‘Dilemmas of diversity’ research project is to receive a subsidy of 1.8 million euros from the National Research Agenda (NWA). Coordinator Marlou Schrover will be examining the diversity policy of Dutch cities in the present, past and future, together with 37 societal partners.

The biographer of Leiden University, Willem Otterspeer, has a new book out. In ‘De stad, de dood en de dichters’ (The City, Death and the Poets) he combines his love for the University and poetry with autobiographical reflections. ‘With my magnifying glass I discovered yet more new details in the pr…

People in leadership roles are unlikely to discuss leadership skills with their colleagues. But that is precisely what we as a university would like them to do. Because trust in one another’s abilities will make us an agile university that innovates and makes room for talent.

Countries that import plastic waste recycle an average of at least 63 percent of it. This is surprising, as we previously believed that the vast majority was incinerated or ended up as litter. This was discovered by PhD candidate Kai Li and his colleagues from the Institute of Environmental Sciences in…

The Rein Dool painting depicting board members of Leiden University will be moving soon to the Reception Room in the Academy Building, where more people will be able to see it.

Nieuwscheckers, the fact-checking initiative at Leiden University, will check the claims made by politicians during the European elections. Lots of individuals and organisations supported their crowdfunding campaign. ‘During the elections, it’s hugely important that the emphasis is on facts, and that…

Procedural administrative law in a constitutional comparative law perspective

Institutions for Conflict Resolution in Leiden focuses on how the judiciary is able to prevent and solve problems.

Under Dutch law, like German or English law, the violation of a statutory provision does not establish civil liability for damage caused to another person. Such liability requires that the statutory provision concerned aims to protect against the damage or, put differently, that the harmed interest…

Study information

If the Netherlands wants to change its reputation as a tax haven, it must do more according to Professor of Tax Law Jan van de Streek on American news site Bloomberg.

Today, March 15 2016, the FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship were formally published in the Nature Publishing Group journal Scientific Data.

Research on 45 years of legal and economic data for 132 countries by international team shows the addition of one right for LGB people is associated with over $2000 in GDP per capita

Martina Huber, Jacqueline Labra Munoz research Alzheimer's disease. They study ferritine, iron storage in the brain. An inbalance of iron could play a role in this form of dementia.

Imparting students with a critical attitude and cross-curricular skills. That is what Rawi Ramautar wants to strive for as the new programme director (OD) of the bachelor of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences. 'A programme director has to create a programme of which students say: I find it challenging and…

On Tuesday 8 November, Americans will go to the polls for the so-called midterm elections. 'We tend to look at this election as if it were a poll on Biden. But it’s not a presidential election,' emphasises associate professor Sara Polak.

It's now possible to measure how many plastic particles there are in our food. Chinese scientists and Leiden professor Willie Peijnenburg applied their new method to lettuce and wheat. Their results were published January 20 in Nature Nanotechnology.

Not ten but fifty Covid vaccines from one vial. This is possible if the vaccination is delivered into the skin rather than the muscle, research by internist and infectious disease specialist Anna Roukens from the LUMC has shown. EenVandaag reported on this important discovery, which could have huge…

Capture the emissions of ships and use it to cultivate algae, which you can then use to make biofuels. This was the idea that won the team from Leiden, led by Public Administration student Hein Laterveer, the Rotterdam100 competition.

Annette Righolt, Honours Coordinator at FGGA, and Mira Basta, Public Administration student, tell you more.

The current COVID-19 vaccination campaign involves injecting the vaccine into muscle tissue, but injecting a smaller amount of vaccine in the skin might also provide good protection. The #wakeuptocorona crowdfunding campaign has enabled Anna Roukens (LUMC) to examine the safety and efficacy of vaccination…

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…

An e-coaching programme helps people with chronic kidney disease, particularly in areas that patients themselves want to work on. ‘A healthy lifestyle is important for patients with kidney disease: it can slow down the loss of kidney function and there will be fewer complications,’ Katja Cardol explains…

Labour law experts have called on the Dutch government to review the bill for the Dutch Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (Clarification) Act (‘VBAR’). Experts consider this legislative proposal, which aims to clarify the criteria for assessing employment relationships, as…

Thomas Vorisek is a video coordinator. He picked up a new hobby in his student days, entirely by coincidence, and now he makes a living out of it. Thomas likes to spend his free time on the beach.

Leiden University is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of diversity and inclusiveness, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. This is the key message from the first annual report of the Sounding Board on Diversity Policy, presented to Vice-Rector Hester Bijl on 15 February.

Marlinde Kapteijn studied Public Administration at Leiden University and decided to apply for an internship after her bachelor. While she enjoyed the internship and was able to learn a lot, she also had to get used to it: 'I had not expected the ministry to be so hierarchical.'

The Dutch horticultural sector faces the challenge of becoming fully circular by 2030. Professor of Environmental Biology Peter van Bodegom is going to commit himself for four years to guiding this transition and nudging it into the right direction. Together with Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability…

An X-ray scanner, some small metal balls, and a newly developed algorithm. That is all you need to make a 3D model that enables you to look inside art objects without dismantling them. Thanks to the research of Francien Bossema (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer…

This remarkable statement appears in Yi-Wen Cheng’s dissertation on state monopoly and forms of competition in the Chinese tobacco industry. Cheng presents her conclusions and looks back on her fieldwork. ‘I had to accept a lot of drinks in order to establish a network of contacts.’

More than 100 colleagues, students and friends attended the first annual Leiden Jewish Studies Association conference 'Jews at Home: From Creation to Corona' in December 2023. The two-day event began with a keynote panel featuring Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten, a scholar with vast expertise in Jewish and…