Have you ever seen your friend smiling, and suddenly you started grinning too? PhD student Chris Riddell is researching how and why we copy body language. As a new Face of Science, he will take us along on his research journey for the coming year.

The updated MRI scanner at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) will become operational on 29 September. The new version is faster and better than the current model.

Tijdens de campagnes voor de Europese Verkiezingen werd beweerd dat 70 of zelfs 80 procent van onze wetten door de EU worden bepaald. Maar klopt dit wel? Hoogleraren Armin Cuyvers en Kutsal Yesilkagit spraken erover met Pointer.

As a result of the decentralisation of responsibilities in the public domain, most Dutch municipalities have created community teams. These community teams are tasked with providing easy access to care and support for citizens and with providing solutions to fit their individual needs. This requires…

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

At an extraordinary summit held in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, the ECOWAS states have decided to impose a string of economic, financial and diplomatic measures against Mali.

The future is digital. That is why the new Humanities Hub for Digital Research Skills, and Media (in short: Humanities Hub) will soon open its doors in the Johan Huizinga building. This Hub brings together a number of innovative labs that are in line with the development of the new Humanities Campus,…

Het kabinet is voornemens om het strengste asielbeleid ooit te gaan voeren. In het NRC geven Peter Rodrigues (emeritus hoogleraar immigratierecht) en Mark Klaassen (universitair docent immigratierecht) commentaar op dit voornemen.

The United Nations has chosen The Hague as the location for a new data centre for humanitarian aid. Leiden University is involved in developing the digital knowledge to be used by the centre.

Coming semester Karen Vet will be joining our team as the new intern. She has a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from Leiden University, specializing in Arabic language and culture.

From Afghanistan to South Africa: 1,144 international students, including refugees from Syria, are taking part in the Orientation Week Leiden.

Ineke Sluiter, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, has been appointed Corresponding Fellow by the British Academy. Every year the Academy selects the best researchers from the humanities and social sciences in the UK as well as outside as Fellows.

A report by interest group Tax Justice Network shows that the Netherlands is still one of the most attractive countries for companies when it comes to tax: we hold a dubious fourth position on a list of seventy coutries. In Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland Jan Vleggeert, Professor of Tax Law, explains…

Following years of negotiations between Member States and the European Parliament, there’s finally been a breakthrough for migration policy. What does it mean for the Netherlands, exactly? Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor in Immigration Law, discusses this on various media channels.

The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service has demanded that Gideon van Meijeren, Dutch Member of Parliament in the Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, be handed 200 hours of community service for inciting violence. Marloes van Noorloos, Associate Professor of Criminal Law, discusses when a comment turns…

Come to IMAGINARY at Administration and Central Services (Rapenburg 70) and discover the beauty of mathematics. This exhibition is open to the public until 24 March.

Fergus McNeill has been appointed as visiting professor at the Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology of Leiden Law School.

This year’s University elections will be held from 25 to 29 May. You get to choose who will represent you this coming year in the University Council as well as the faculty council of the Science Faculty. This week, the various student parties will introduce themselves. Today: Lijst Vooruitstrevende…

Legal frameworks are often a pitfall when it comes to citizens’ initiatives. Esmee Driessen, a guest lecturer at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law and an expert in citizen participation, conducted research on the support and facilitation of citizens' initiatives. In a Dutch journal…

Het boek met de titel ‘the story of constitutions’ probeert interdisciplinair te begrijpen waar de grondwet vandaan komt en waarom het juist nu in korte tijd viral is gegaan. Waarom is dit oeroude fenomeen de laatste jaren zo in populariteit toegenomen en ook nog eens in een tijd, waarin democratieën…

It is the fourth year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Ranking by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the Archaeology/Egyptology programme for this year comes in a new form. It is all-digital; consisting of virtual museum tours, Arabic classes, and Egyptology lectures!

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our director, Dr. Rudolf de Jong. We extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones. The Institute will be closed the coming week in mourning. Details of a memorial in Cairo will follow soon. Rest in peace, boss. We will miss you.

Wrap-up of the BADGES project: what are the results?

On June, Wednesday 27th nine of our ALGANT master students received their diploma. Herewith a very successful ALGANT year has come to an end.

The Cairo semester of MA Archaeology/Egyptology for students from the Netherlands and Flanders has unfortunately come to an end.

Through an NWO grant, chemist Rik Mom has received a tenure track position at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry, where he obtained his PhD cum laude in 2017. Mom will study the storage of sustainable energy by means of splitting water. Using new methods, he will investigate on an atomic scale which…

This week the Turkish army invaded North East Syria. The Turkish invasion might well have had an unintended side effect: the escapement of thousands of Islamic State terrorists held in captivity. Experts on terrorism and politicians fear a resurrection of the terror group.

SAILS Professor Gerard van Westen tells us about his first 100 days 'in the office'.

Leiden Professor of Astronomy Mike Garrett is searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. In his Kaiser lecture on 23 April he will discuss how far science has progressed in this quest.

Eight university vegetable patches will soon join the display at the Hortus botanicus. The sun shone down on almost 40 enthusiastic students and staff as they started work on the new Community Garden there earlier this month.

The book ‘The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science’ by Paul Behrens has been launched in the US, a year after its original release in Europe. In his book, Behrens describes both hopeful and pessimistic scenarios for our planet.

As of April 1, physicist Dorothea Samtleben is the first female program leader of Nikhef, the National Institute for Subatomic Physics. Samtleben will lead the Neutrino Physics group there. ‘This is an important step for Nikhef when it comes to diversity.’

Leiden University's Academy Building (Rapenburg 73) will be less accessible for traffic and pedestrians on 28, 29 and 30 March because of filming by the BBC along the Rapenburg. Filming will only take place in public areas, not in the University buildings themselves. Some roads may be closed off to…

Assistant professor Markus Davidsen has received the Comenius grant, with which he wishes to improve secondary education on religion. In this interview, he will tell more about the content of his project and its aims.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death across the world. Professor Johan Kuiper of Leiden University carries out research to develop a vaccine for arteriosclerosis, which is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases. With the aid of a European research grant of six million euros he is…

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.’

A better integration of Digital Humanities into study programmes, so that students develop their digital skills as well as possible. That is what Hossam Ahmed wants to achieve in the coming years. He received a senior Comenius Fellowship to develop a digital programme for students.

Fiction is more effective than autobiographical non-fiction when it comes to conveying the sensation of enforced solitary confinement. That is the conclusion of writer and lawyer Maarten Asscher in his study 'Het uur der waarheid. Over de gevangenschap als literaire ervaring' (The Moment of Truth: Imprisonment…

On 22 May, the Dutch House of Representatives invited one hundred citizens to pose critical questions regarding the Ministries’ annual reports. This followed on from the annual ‘Accountability Day’. Caspar van den Berg, Associate Professor of Public Administration, helped think about how citizens could…

Scientists of the faculty of Governance and Global Affairs research completely different subject, among which terrorism, cybercrime and migration. In the upcoming weeks we will give the floor to several of our very best researchers. In this episode: migration researcher Alexandre Afonso.

A Dutch-led team of astronomers has discovered that high-mass stars are formed differently from their smaller siblings. Whereas small stars are often surrounded by an orderly disk of dust and matter, the supply of matter to large stars is a chaotic mess. The researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter…

Connecting generations, reducing loneliness and slowing mental decline: these are goals of the Oud Geleerd Jong Gedaan foundation’s lectures, which are given by students. What is it like to be a student giving these lectures? And what do the seniors think of them?

How can we work together to create a safe study and learning environment and offer students the support that they need? The Vision on Student Well-Being outlines the University’s plans to promote student well-being in the coming years.

More attention for internationalisation, diversity, but also the mental health of students: that’s what Marleen van Dorst would like to see change. As of 1 September, she will be the new assessor of the Faculty of Science.

Building the neutrino detector KM3NeT on the Mediterranean Sea floor has picked up pace. Five detection lines, each carrying eighteen detectors, have been sunk and installed, and the first measurement data are coming in, says neutrino physicist Dorothea Samtleben.

James Webb life’s building blocks

The Public Day of the Leiden Institute of Brain and Cognition (LIBC) has grown in recent years into one of the most popular popular-science events in Leiden. Tickets are selling fast for the upcoming edition on Friday 11 October in Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden. Professor Bernet Elzinga tells us more.

Thirteen Leiden University exchange projects have been awarded an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility grant. The total award of around 450,000 euros will enable 103 students and staff to go on an exchange.

From 11 to 17 September, Leiden will be all about art and science. What can the combination of these two domains do for us? And how can cooperation between them be strengthened? Several public events and a brand new symposium for specialists should answer these questions.