Should we be deeply concerned about the America of Donald Trump? Or will he bring about positive change? This was the main topic of discussion between researchers and students at the Big Leiden Presidential Breakfast on 9 November.

The earlier you introduce children to a language, the sooner they can be captivated by it and see that there is more than just Dutch and English. That is the basis for the language lessons for primary education that Alisa van de Haar, university lecturer of French, collaborated on. ‘Deans from different…

UNESCO has recognized an international set of fifteen manuscripts about Ferdinand Magellan's first circumnavigation of the globe and the three Hikayat Aceh manuscripts as World Heritage. The manuscripts are inscribed in the global UNESCO Memory of the World Register. This list contains documentary heritage…

Karwan Fatah-Black of Leiden University, an expert in the area of Dutch colonial history, wrote the text for a slavery remembrance memorial that was unveiled on 1 July in Hoofddorp. The official abolition of slavery was proclaimed 155 years ago on 1 July 1863. On Sunday 1 July 2018 the national remembrance…

The advent of script has never managed to eliminate the use of symbols. This is the finding of research carried out by Kyra van der Moezel on Ancient Egyptian identity marks. PhD defence 7 September.

For a long time it was thought that there were few or no female spies in history. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In her book Invisible Agents, Nadine Akkerman reconstructs the stories of the many British women spies in the 17th century.

A team of researchers from Young Academy and the Huygens ING/NL Lab has brought a three-century-old fragrance to life based on a recipe by Constantijn Huygens. The fragrance makes the past more tangible and can help people experience history differently.

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Islamic Empire expanded at a tremendous pace. Within a hundred years, it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian subcontinent. How did such a rapidly conquered territory become one empire? Professor Petra Sijpesteijn has been awarded a Vici grant…

Students and PhD candidates come to Leiden and The Hague from all corners of the world. On 16 November, the municipality of Leiden presented current international students with a certificate as a token of appreciation for their presence in the city. ‘This makes me feel even more part of the local co…

Hordes of photographers, students trying to catch a glimpse and take selfies, and cheering people at the entrance to Wijnhaven. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Mark Rutte were received like true pop stars, in the late afternoon at Leiden University’s Campus The Hague.

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.’

You’re about to start your minor at Leiden University. Make sure you are well prepared and get your studies off to a good start.

President Putin will be officially opening the Netherlands–Russia Year on 8 April in Amsterdam. Leiden Slavist Sjeng Scheijen was responsible for putting together the cultural programme. How much freedom did he have in doing so? ‘The Dutch photography project on the demolition of Sochi districts was…

On Monday, 09 April 2018, Aron Fischer Ph.D., freelance mathematician and researcher of Colony and Ethereum Foundation’s Swarm team, delivered an absorbing presentation on the Ethereum blockchain, smart contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) at Leiden Law School. These headline-grabbing…

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, hosted the first Horizon Europe BIAS Project co-creational workshop geared towards defining the requirements for identifying and mitigating diversity bias in AI systems used for recruitment purposes.

What effect do trends in the art world have on the formation of museum collections? University lecturer Martin Berger wants to answer that question in his research within the Museums, Collections and Society project, which asks ethical questions about the origin of collections.

When you become very good at one thing, that sometimes comes at the expense of something else. Such trade-offs also apply to bacteria. When becoming more resistant to one antibiotic, bacteria can sometimes become more sensitive to another. Linda Aulin, PhD candidate in the pharmacology group of Coen…

Leiden archaeologists have been conducting research with students and local archaeologists in Oss (in the province of Brabant) for 50 years. An exhibition at Leiden University shows how these finds tell the region’s story.

Submissions are sought for a special issue with Frontiers in Political Science that explores the conceptual and practical aspects of a ‘just’ energy transition both within and beyond Europe. In particular, contributions to the theoretical and interdisciplinary foundations of just transitions, as well…

Colonial art and artefacts were not necessarily looted. Pieter ter Keurs, Professor of Museums, Collections and Society, calls for more nuance in the debate on art and collectors’ items from a loaded past. Inaugural speech on 2 December.

Two courses on Central Asia will be offered within the Leiden Central Asia Initiative, funded by the research profile area Asian Modernities and Traditions. 'History of Central Asia & Afghanistan' will be open to BA students of Middle Eastern Studies and 'Material Culture, Memory and Commemoration along…

Nine talented Leiden researchers have been awarded a Vidi subsidy by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Vidis are intended for researchers with several years of research experience who want to set up or expand their own line of research.

Hydropower plants need not be disastrous for fishermen and nature. For that, we need to place new dams more strategically, but also modify or even remove some existing ones. Valerio Barbarossa and Rafael Schmitt showed that with a computer model of the Asian Mekong basin.

A tax on CO2 emissions from products entering the EU offers unprecedented opportunities in the fight against global warming. That is the conclusion of research on which Leiden environmental scientist Hauke Ward collaborated. ‘A new world is opening up,’ Ward says. ‘But success hinges on how we involve…

More severe droughts that will also last longer: this will primarily be a problem for irrigated croplands, as discovered by environmental scientist Qi Chen. Mixed forests with a variety of plant species will be the least vulnerable. Chen compared the effects of drought on different ecosystems across…

Professor Nira Wickramasinghe will research forgotten lineages with an NWO Open Competition grant, in particular the afterlife of Dutch slavery in the Indian Ocean World.

Het faillissement van zorgonderneming Co-Med stelt de curatoren voor dilemma’s. Want wie krijgen voorrang: patiënten, personeel of de schuldeisers? Universitair docent Jessie Pool, gespecialiseerd in het ondernemings- en insolventierecht, pleit voor insolventieprocedures die beter zijn toegespitst op…

Joris van den Tol spent three months doing archival research in Albany in the USA. Read on how he experienced his stay.

In recent years, freedom of movement within Europe has come under increasing pressure as a result of transboundary crisis situations. In his inaugural lecture on 22 October, Professor Jorrit Rijpma argues that what is needed is even closer cooperation to provide the best protection.

Theft, prostitution, fortune-telling or murder. Historian Manon van der Heijden and a group of students are researching court records from The Hague from 1600 to 1800. They are tracing crimes and offenders and shedding new light on The Hague’s Gevangenpoort (or Prison Gate). Among their many discoveries…

Promovendus Tristan Mostert onderzocht de ‘kruidnageljacht’ op de Ambonse eilanden en ontdekte dat VOC-gouverneurs extreme tactieken gebruikten.

People in motion. This is the theme of the Voice4Thought festival taking place in Leiden from 21 to 25 September. Debates, songs, art, workshops, a conference for school pupils. It's all about the encounter.

The ‘Stans Prize 2015' (for the best thesis, report or article produced by a CML student) has been awarded to Kevin Groen. Other CML prizes were awarded to Laura Bertola, Patrik Henriksson and Rene Kleijn.

On 8 September the students of the European Law Master gathered in the Lorentzzaal for the festive opening of their programme.

The archive of a 17th-century postmaster has been discovered in the Museum for Communication in The Hague. Using new scanning techniques, the international research team Signed, Sealed & Undelivered, headed by literary scholar Nadine Akkerman from Leiden University and historian David van der Linden…

Just like every other organism on Earth, plants’ ultimate goal is to survive and reproduce. In order to achieve this, they must make trade-offs between where and how to allocate their finite set of resources. Whether they put their resources and energy into their growth, reproduction or maintenance,…

Richard Chancellor, the English Willem Barentsz, discovered the North Cape during the first English expedition to attempt to find a northeast passage. But the ship, the Edward Bonaventure, was ‘robbed by Flemings on its return in 1554.’ Historian Louis Sicking and legal expert Remco van Rhee found the…

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, has hosted the second Horizon Europe BIAS Project co-creational workshop geared towards discussing fairness in the hiring process and identifing desirable requirements and functionalities of the Debiaser.

In a speech on Keti Koti the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, apologised on behalf of the royal family for the Netherlands’ historical role in slavery. What is the significance of this?

Climate change is affecting all areas of human life. 2024 has been the hottest year on record and natural disasters are becoming increasingly frequent around the globe. Every year since 1995, national delegations come together to address the climate crisis through the Conference of the Parties to the…

There are as good as no clear rules for the return of stolen art. This means that rather than in court, many cases are decided in the political arena instead. In her PhD research Evelien Campfens suggests how this could change. PhD defence on 11 November.

In 2017, Leiden University secured ties with numerous foreign partners. This is how we bring foreign talent to Leiden, and ensure our students and scientists can gain experience across borders. In this article, we look back on four foreign trips.

Six projects from the Faculty of Humanities recently received grants of up to 750,000 euros from the NWO Open Competition. Researchers involved tell how they will spend this money.

It was a unique meeting at the Academy Building on 10 April. Around 200 local entrepreneurs came to a networking event hosted by Leiden City Centre Management and Leiden University.

Prof. Jan Adriaanse and Dr. Jean-Pierre van der Rest are currently completing an edited volume on Turnaround Management and Bankruptcy which will be published by Routledge in December 2016. A book written by leading experts in the field of business, law and finance, this edited volume brings together…

Documenting and preserving rock art in the Pakistani Himalayas; this was the aim of the ‘Karakorum Rescue Project’ to which students at the Honours College Archaeology contributed. A Leiden exhibition visualises the project: ‘There is something magical about it.’

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima attended a meeting at Leiden University on 1 October to prepare for their state visit to China. China experts informed them about such topics as the image that Chinese people have of the Netherlands.

Studying ancient materials and the way they were made can give us groundbreaking insights into the past. Not only that, the interplay between people and materials is highly relevant for society today, says Ann Brysbaert, Professor of Ancient Technologies, Crafts and Materials, at the Faculty of Archaeology.…

An exhibition at Oude UB takes visitors to the historical Silk Road. Old maps, clothes and jewellery reflect the rich heritage of the cities of Central Asia and their inhabitants.

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…