What does academic freedom mean? And how do we give shape to it in Leiden? The Academic Freedom Core Team considered these questions and presented its final report on 17 June.

A love of puzzles and the patience of a saint: these are two essential traits for linguists wishing to explore the Indo-European language family. Fortunately, Professor Michaël Peyrot possesses both. In his inaugural lecture he will take the audience on a voyage of discovery to the past.

The nominees for the IRO Thesis Prize 2024 and the Prof. Dr. J.Th.J. van den Berg-prijs 2024. Who authored the best thesis in Leiden University’s bachelor’s programme in Political Science?

In his biography about Professor Rudolph Cleveringa, Kees Schuyt adds to the image we already have of this famous Leiden professor. The overriding focus is generally on Cleveringa’s protest speech against the Nazis, while his later Resistance work carried much greater risks. And we also shouldn't forget…

The climate crisis, the return of TB and the digitisation of cultural heritage. The Netherlands and Indonesia face many of the same challenges. A visit by a delegation from Leiden University to Indonesia at the end of June highlighted the benefits of cooperation.

Laura van Broekhoven always knew she wanted to study archaeology, and that’s exactly what she did. Now this Leiden alumna is director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, one of the four museums of the University of Oxford.

Rietje Knaap’s (83) PhD was a real feat of endurance, but she persisted. ‘You’re married so you don’t need a pension, do you?’ What are the experiences of Knaap and women who followed in her footsteps? In the run-up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, three generations of female doctors look back…

PhD defence

Exhibition

Course

Almost all the western countries were too late responding to the outbreak of Covid. Why was that? Three governance experts, including Leiden professor Arjen Boin, have written a book about the response to the pandemic. ‘Our current system isn’t geared towards identifying and managing a long-term crisis,’…

Dutch people are far more law-abiding than they might like to think. And they are very different from the Belgians in that regard. The different approaches of the two governments towards the coronavirus crisis, for example, can be explained from the history of both countries since the Middle Ages. Historians…

Emeritus professors Dirk van Delft and Frits Berends both channelled their inner Sherlock Holmes as they delved into the life and work of the great physicist Hendrik Lorentz. Their voluminous biography ‘Lorentz: gevierd fysicus, geboren verzoener’ (Lorentz: celebrated physicist, born mediator) is published…

What is Leiden University doing to make its buildings future-proof and independent of fossil energy?

What holds people together and what makes them willing to fit within larger political structures? Our project examines this question in the practices of dynastic rulership in Eurasia ca. 1300-1800.

The scientific interest in stone sculpture has been present in the archaeological investigation of Nicaragua from the mid 19th century onward.

Within the ICM 2018 project, Leiden University cooperated with 25 partner universities from 14 countries. In total, 97 mobilities were granted to this project - 65 mobilities were realised (some mobilities had to be ended prematurely due to covid-19, others were finished online).

The combination of academic and professional skills taught in the Public Management specialisation of Public Administration makes graduates excellent candidates for positions as a public manager, or take on an advisory role as a management consultant or strategic advisor within public organisations.

“To change the world, you do not need everybody. You only need one. So, will you be the one? That’s the question.” Saturday December 3rd, Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus gave a special lecture at the Anna van Buerenplein campus of LUC The Hague. (Text: Jakob Semb Aasmundsen; Photography: Paul…

For many people, five o’clock signals the end of their working day. But not for the motivated students of the Honours College Law. With some drinks and snacks, they keep going well into the evening. This time, they met for the festive conclusion of a course which brought the history of Dutch crime to…

Migration is nothing new. A lot of people immigrated to the United States after it was ‘rediscovered’. The Netherlands also colonised a part of the New World and gave it the name New Netherland. Pepijn Doornenbal, a master’s student History, conducts research in the United States about how different…

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking (76) passed away on 14 March at his home in Cambridge, having been a long-term sufferer of the muscular disease ALS. A number of Leiden scientists look back at the life and scientific career of this world-famous physicist. 'He was very approachable and extremely…

Peter Stevenhagen delivered daily lectures at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering in Lahore, in collaboration with ICTP, a well-known UNESCO institute in Trieste. The aim is to enhance it he knowledge of students from low- and middle-income countries. ‘By teaching here, I can truly…

After three years of courses, exercises, debating and reflecting, Honours College students received their certificate during a festive ceremony. Even more than with the certificate as such, attendees were pleased with the way Honours enables students to deal with an increasingly complex world.

Researchers, policymakers and funders have to take more account of the effect of sex and gender in scientific research. This is the view presented in an advice paper published by LERU, the League of European Research Universities. The lead author is Vice-Rector Simone Buitendijk.

In a festive and intimate award ceremony, plant scientist Omid Karami received the first edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award out of the hands of Wim Klop, Director of the Biotechnology Center at DSM. Several speakers spoke about Krijn Rietveld and why Karami deserves the prize that…

Architect Elisa Meijer is the face of the Humanities Campus. She knows all the buildings, from the Reuvensplaats to the Matthias de Vrieshof, like the back of her hand. In her role as Housing Adviser she has now spent more than three years dealing with everything necessary for the development of a new…

A delegation from Leiden University is visiting Brazil from 14 to 18 March. The first day of the visit was spent with scientists in São Paolo.

On I February 2018, at 15.00 hrs, Charlotte Vrendenbarg will defend her PhD dissertation ‘Proceskostenveroordeling en toegang tot de rechter in IE-zaken. Regelingen over proceskosten getoetst aan het EU-recht’ (Litigation costs orders and access to the courts in IP cases. A comparison of litigation…

Most people talk about truck drivers rather than to them. That’s an error of judgement, says PhD candidate Anke van der Hoeven, who explains why we should be making their lives easier. ‘People just don’t realise it, but they’re an invisible group that keeps the European economy running.’

Unemployed people often need not only a financial safety net but also a stimulus to look for work. PhD candidate Heike Vethaak researched the effects of incentives used by benefit agencies, such as compelling people to widen their job search.

Jean-Eric Paquet, a Director-General at the European Commission, visited Leiden University on 20 February. He was impressed by the researchers’ drive, the wide range of topics that they research and the strong collaboration with Leiden Bio Science Park.

Contrary to what one might expect, societal actors influence China’s foreign policy. PhD candidate Sabine Mokry investigated how Chinese academics and think tanks impact the authoritarian leadership’s views on what constitutes the country’s national interest in the international arena. On 14 November…

Online services are stored on servers in data centres. Remko Fermin researched methods to make the memory in data centres more energy efficient.

Gerrit van Dijk was born on 14th August 1939 in Kampen. He studied Mathematics in Utrecht where he also received his PhD in 1969 on the thesis ‘Spherical functions on the p-adic group PGL(2)’. His supervisor was prof. dr. T.A. Springer. The academic year 1969-1970 he spent in Princeton, at the Institute…

On 9 June the deans of Leiden University met for the 500th time with the Rector Magnificus for the Board of Deans. An informal, inspiring and contemplative meeting without a strict ending time, say deans and former deans.

Bringing together institutes and research groups, how do you do that? The Faculty of Science set up a joint research theme and financed three PhD positions. After four years, the profiling programme Endocannabinoids expires. ‘It really brought us together, and the collaborations remain.’

The first block is almost over and that means you will soon be able to evaluate the courses you attended.

A former employee of Leiden University breached academic integrity. This is what the Academic Integrity Committee (CWI) of the University concludes in its advice to the Executive Board of the University on 11 November 2019. The Executive Board has taken various steps.

Young researchers met this month for the fifth Science Communication Summer School. ‘This is the first time some participants get to meet other researchers who also enjoy science communication. It’s great to see’, says Julia Cramer, one of the coordinators.

Over 100 Leiden University alumni gathered in the heart of Brussels for the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event on 29 February. The European Banking Federation (EBF) generously hosted the event for the second time at their premises on Avenue des Arts.

Alumnus José Figuerero tells us about how a Criminologist can work at Booking.com and why he would have liked to have had more law-related courses in his master's programme.

Stilzitten doet alumnus Bart Jansen niet graag. Zo geeft hij les in onder meer Nederland, Maleisië en Curaçao, houdt hij zich naast het recht ook graag bezig met kunst en mystiek en vindt hij naar eigen zeggen ‘alles wat fout gaat’ wel interessant aan de rechtsfilosofie. ‘Ik ben gek op veelzijdige mensen;…

Indonesia still has a long way to go before the country can truly flourish, was the message given by Indonesian Vice President Boediono during his visit to Leiden University on 26 March. He viewed collections in the University Library and the Hortus, and was presented with the William of Orange medal…

As an exchange student, alumna Jessica Ma was already looking for a bridge between statistics and the real world. In Leiden, she gained the experience to follow her interests and, after a few detours, she landed her ideal job with Disney in the United States.

On 2 June 2023, the Liber Amicorum – 'The EU and the WTO: Ever the Twain Shall Meet' – in honour of Marco Bronckers will be officially launched at Leiden Law School. To mark this special occasion, an interactive discussion on 'Five future challenges facing the EU and the WTO in the next 50 years' will…

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 made a big impression on Nicole Hoevertsz. I’m going to be there one day, the eight-year-old Nicole decided. Her passion for sport and her perseverance brought her further than the once so introvert Aruban had dared to hope. Her appointment…