A team of researchers based at Leiden has taken over the editorship of the journal Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations. For the first time, the journal will now be based outside the United States. The new Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor Alanna O'Malley…

The KOG has more to offer than just the transfer of knowledge. The Arts Committee of Leiden Law School organises activities in and around the faculty to stimulate our senses in other ways. They kicked off the new academic year with an open-air cinema evening and an exhibition of photos and haikus.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) are core values that are a focus for us as a university. But what developments are there in D&I and how can we apply these to our university? To delve deeper into this subject, four Leiden University staff members travelled to Bologna for a week of discussions on D&I with…

Leiden artist Jos Agasi gets to create the artwork for the atrium of the new Gorlaeus Building. His work was chosen from several entries and will be a real eye-catcher in the building. The artist has a fascination for light and uses it to create works of art with all kinds of materials, objects and…

The quality of academic education depends on good teaching. A taskforce of lecturers, education specialists and HRM experts is therefore calling for Leiden lecturers to be given more opportunities and scope to develop their talents. The group hopes that, with a new lecturer development model and concrete…

Speaking with your manager more often, focusing explicitly on well-being and giving more recognition and rewards for teamwork and team performance: the annual Performance & Development (P&D) interview will have a new format and also a new name. With the acronym GROW (Gesprekken over Resultaat, Ontwikkeling…

In medical and psychological sciences, little research has been specifically conducted on women. Hormonal fluctuations were considered too intricate. Yes, research into sex and gender differences is complex, acknowledge neuroscientists Ellen de Bruijn and Lara Wierenga, but that’s precisely why it's…

Is aviation on a one-way journey or a round trip? That is the question Steven Truxal will answer in his inaugural lecture From Disruption to Innovation in Air and Space: Legal Solutions for a Sustainable Future on Monday 15 November. This professor of air and space law is positive. That’s one thing…

A tenacious postdoc researcher persuaded Professor Marc Koper to research the oxygen reduction reaction. In Koper's eyes, there was little of interest there. But they promptly discovered a whole new way to improve fuel cells on hydrogen and oxygen. Their article appeared in Nature Catalysis on 07 Ju…

Did he dare take a gamble with his PhD research? Jeroen Methorst didn’t have to think long about it. It could fail or turn out very well. The latter is the case. Methorst developed a computer system that helps researchers find the protein they need. ‘Our whole group is now using this program.’ Methorst…

When you think of migration, you probably won’t immediately think of dating apps. Yet such apps are important to many migrants, such as those who identify as lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer or questioning (LGBT+). Researcher Andrew DJ Shield studied the role that dating apps play in the migration process,…

During the summer break, three lecture halls at Wijnhaven were equipped with advanced equipment and an education system in order to provide the best hybrid teaching possible during the upcoming academic year. The Learn Anywhere pilot will take place within the FGGA, which Koen Caminada is very happy…

Friday 4 November marked the 65th anniversary of the founding of Leiden’s P.C. Hooft Historical Debating Society. Although new members have not been accepted for several decades, the society is still alive and kicking. A retrospective with former presidents Jos Hooghuis and Saskia Leupen.

Nathaniel Martin, Professor of Biological chemistry, wondered what would happen if you take an antibiotic that has been known for 70 years and try to improve it with the latest tools of modern chemistry. Turns out it can become up to a hundred times more potent and prevent the growth of some drug-resistant…

A COVID-19 vaccine that specifically instructs the immune system to produce T-cells rather than antibodies is shown to provide good protection in a mouse model, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) researchers report in Nature Communications. According to them, the alternative vaccine may offer a…

Last month, research by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) revealed that more than half of students in higher professional education and at universities experience psychological complaints and emotional exhaustion, and that a quarter of them suffer from anhedonia (loss…

Pesticides can form a toxic cocktail when they occur in combination in surface water. This is the finding of research that Leiden University and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) presented on Monday 14 October. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management…

Every year the National Centre for Study Choice asks students to evaluate their degree programme via the NSE. Data from the survey helps improve programmes and prospective students can make a well-considered choice of which programme to follow. 2,892 students (38.4%) from the Faculty of Humanities took…

Tic tac toe, but with quantum effects. That makes learning the principles of quantum technology a piece of cake. This is the aim of a new start-up founded by researcher Evert van Nieuwenburg: QuantumPlayed. ‘Quantum is all around us and everyone should be able to learn about it.’

Organisation, Social

Elise Dusseldorp has been appointed Professor in the Methodology and Statistics of Psychological Research. In the same way that she spends her spare time rambling through the forest, as a professor she sifts through colleagues’ research data. ‘I often come across information that doesn’t appear in the…

On 11 November Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Monique van Leerdam will deliver her inaugural lecture entitled, ‘Aiming for Prevention’. Van Leerdam, who specialises in hereditary tumours, was appointed professor in July 2020. In her inaugural lecture she will discuss the importance of…

In our collective journey to bridge social, economic, and cultural inequality in society, we must al play a part, says Wilco van Dijk. Unfortunately, notes Carolien Rieffe, minority groups are often not included in this 'we.' This became a focal point of discussion during the fifth Psychology Connected…

After the May elections a new University Council has now taken seat. The university democracy is the result of the long-lived national student protests in 1969. Students from Leiden joined the protests for greater representation, although their actions were less revolutionary than at other universities.…

Diversity and inclusion are core values for Leiden University, and our aim is to offer all staff and students equal opportunities. As the University lacks adequate information about the cultural diversity of our staff, this spring we are taking part for the first time in the Cultural Diversity Barometer.…

‘Countering violent extremism – the international deradicalization agenda’ is the name of the book Tahir Abbas published last month. In this interview the associate professor in Terrorism and Political Violence at ISGA tells about the backgrounds and goals of the book.

Although it can be a challenge at times, parents should keep communicating with their teens. Also about how they parent. Research by developmental psychologist Loes Janssen shows that parenting can be perceived quite differently by family members and mood plays an important role. Parents often parent…

Since 2009-2010, the West viewed China as more assertive. Especially after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the country abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s ‘low profile’ foreign policy. Friso Stevens explains in his dissertation where this change has come from. The dissertation defence is on 28 March.

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.’

Lecture

How can we help our students build resilience and prevent unnecessary stress? And how do we break the taboo on failure? These and other questions are what study advisers, lecturers, deans and student support staff discussed at the staff symposium on student well-being at PLNT.

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,…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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.…

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…

Lecture

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…

Conference

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.

De Universiteit Leiden zet in op de versterking van de ondersteuning voor onderzoekers en onderzoeksgroepen bij extern gefinancierde onderzoeksprojecten.

Welcome to the Expertise Centre for Teaching and Learning (ECOLe). Here you will find information on didactics, teacher development, teaching innovation, assessment and the use of teaching tools at humanities.