Social science research helps us understand human behaviour and social structures. These are determined by various factors, which makes the research complex and increases the likelihood of drawing the wrong conclusions. The choice of research method and analysis is therefore extremely important. It…

Promotor: M. de Jong, Co-Promotor: Samtleben

The routine assumption that Upper Palaeolithic early modern humans in Europe were regular fire users who produced fire at will has never been tested against the archaeological record. Utilizing literature, database and microwear analytical approaches, this project seeks to establish the role and forms…

The Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) aims on doing applied research with partners. You can be involved in our research, and in the knowledge transfer of our research results.

The publication Making Matters - A Vocabulary for Collective Arts marks the end of the NWO project 'Bridging art, design and technology through Critical Making', led by Janneke Wesseling and Florian Cramer. The book contains the outcomes of this project.

Mooc Eu Policy Europe Europa

Mapping out the problem of plastic pollution requires a lot of data over a large area. That's why scientists are increasingly turning to volunteers for help, also known as citizen science. But what are the challenges for a researcher when he or she involves the public in research in this way? Four Leiden…

Data and information should be stored in a way that computers can understand, says Barend Mons, professor of Biosemantics at the Leiden University Medical Center and Chair of the High Level Expert Group for the European Open Science Cloud. We speak with him about FAIR data, knowlets and nanopublicat…

Crucial information about research, funding or how university rankings are created is often not freely accessible. The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information calls for such information to be made open. Professor Ludo Waltman is one of its initiators. What needs to change?

Over recent years Leiden University has taken some significant steps forward in innovation in teaching and learning and in diversity. But there is still a lot to be done. These were the comments by governors, lecturers and scholars during the farewell seminar for Vice-Rector Simone Buitendijk on 27…

Despite the field’s general agreement that pyrotechnology had a significant impact on the cultural evolution of humankind, our understanding of the origins and development of fire use and its role in humankind’s cultural evolution is very limited, blurred by strong disagreements over its chronology…

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On the 17th of January, Sarah Von Grebmer Zu Wolfsthurn successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Sarah on this achievement!

Biological cells, the basic building blocks of all life forms, are surrounded by a lipid membrane. More than half of the membrane is occupied by membrane proteins, which can regulate the cell functionality through specific arrangements.

What are the goals of healthcare? That very question must be asked more frequently before healthcare-related choices are made. This is what Martine de Vries, Professor of Normative Aspects of Medicine, advocated during her inaugural lecture on Friday, 2 November 2018.

At the conference Surrealism and Scotland on 23 and 24 March, Janice McNab will share the paper ‘Surrealism and the making of Mother’.

Impossible Situations: Concerts in the Making recounts the journey of a group of artists including performers, composers, an architect, a photographer and a sound engineer, as they explore different ways of making music together.

What are 'defects' and mechanical properties of mosaics of different shapes of tiles?

It takes years to develop new medicines, from the test tube to trials in humans. During the process it often happens that a drug that seems promising in the initial stage has to be dropped in a later phase. This costs time and money. Leiden University and the LUMC are working closely together to make…

A group of biology students are working on a solution to the world’s plastics problem by getting bacteria to make biodegradable plastic.

Smart algorithms and powerful processors are just as essential for astronomy as big telescopes. Astronomers at Leiden University therefore constantly operate at the interface between astronomy and data science.

Urban green infrastructure has the ability to make make cities more sustainable. However, the exact implementation of green infrastructure and the choices that must be made during implementation, are still topic for discussion. In the Future Cities podcast, environmental scientist Joeri Morpurgo chats…

Tineke Schutte made her debut as beadle at Maartje Schoorl's inaugural lecture on 29 April. A unique moment because she's the first female beadle in the history of our university.

The importance of digitalization has become even more evident during the Corona crisis. Society and the Dutch economy are therefore rapidly digitizing. This calls for a good balance between seizing opportunities and reducing risks.

Patients share valuable advice and experiences with their peers in online patient discussion groups.

In this article, Marco Cinelli, assistant professor at Leiden University College The Hague, examines proper and improper uses of Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods in energy systems analysis.

The Leiden Leadership Programme is going to innovate. After 12 years, the honours track for master’s students will get a new set-up. We asked two of those involved about the ins and outs of the new LLP. ‘You learn what leadership style suits you and how to make an impact.’

Organized by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, this programme enables students and professionals from all over the world to engage in discussions on the prospects and challenges of international criminal justice. The announcement for the next edition is scheduled to take place…

No more smelly lorries disposing of building waste or delivering building materials to the centre of Leiden. That’s Leiden University’s ambition for its future renovation or construction projects in the city centre. Electric boats should make the process cleaner and less inconvenient for the people…

New Approaches to the Study of Textual Material from the Early Pharaonic to the Late Antique Period

A Functional Analysis of Pre-Columbian Shell and Stone Artefacts from Anse à la Gourde and Morel, Guadeloupe, FWI

Evidence-informed policy-making is crucial for good governance. Yet, despite the abundance of evidence from research and evaluation available to decision-makers, we know little about the actual influence of evidence on government policies. The ‘Power of Evidence’ (PoE) research programme, directed by…

Astronomer and science communicator Pedro Russo is awarded the K.J Cath Prize and € 2,500 for his outreach efforts that bring science to the general public. ‘There are so many bright scientists, and so few people communicating about science.’

Theoretical research does not always give us the right solution to a problem in society. This message, loud and clear, is delivered during the final presentations of the Master Honours Class 'Social Innovation in Action'.

Artificial intelligence systems are smart. They can recognize patterns better than humans, for example. Yet humans are still very much needed. How can you better steer those AI systems? LIACS lecturer Jan van Rijn wrote a book about this together with a number of colleagues. We asked him a few quest…

Arnold van der Valk on Food Council MRA.

Artificial intelligence systems are smart. They can recognize patterns better than humans, for example. Yet humans are still very much needed. How can you better steer those AI systems? LIACS lecturer Jan van Rijn wrote a book about this together with a number of colleagues. We asked him a few quest…

Nanoplastics influence the behaviour of larval zebrafish, says new research by the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML). The researchers observed that a certain type of nanoparticles leads to stress reactions in the sugar balance, resulting in hyperactivity…

The Mycenaean civilization of ancient Greek times offers enormous potential for useful information: from innovative construction methods to ways of handling crisis situations as a society. Archaeologist Ann Brysbaert and her team analyse Mycenaean construction processes in the ERC Consolidator project…

One of the current research projects funded by the profile area Political Legitimacy is the research group From Disorder to Order: Conflict and the Resources of Legitimacy.

Muslim scholars work in a long and rich tradition of knowledge-production in their own culture.

Promotor: J.N. Kok, Co-Promotor: A.J. Knobbe

The second and final report on the Netherlands‘ crime-terror nexus has analysed all fourteen profiles of individuals arrested in 2015 for offences of terrorism.

To achieve societal impact, you need to do more than solely writing academic articles. That's the idea behind the Master Honours Class 'Leiden Revisited', in which students demonstrated with art how residents at the outskirts of Leiden experience the city. 'It's the perfect way to start the debate.'

How is it that the internet works so well, with billions of users sending millions of gigabytes all together every day? That's because the foundation of the internet is solidly set up. Yet sometimes there are problems on the internet. For example, when certain systems misbehave and disrupt the routing…

Mining for natural resources harms the environment. But we desperately need them, for both the development of countries and the transition to a sustainable energy system. Professor of Sustainable Resource Use Ester van der Voet researches how we can reduce the environmental impact of natural resources…

Galaxies form and live inside dark matter haloes. As a consequence, they are exposed to the tidal fields generated by the surrounding matter distribution: this imprints a preferential direction to the galaxy shapes, which leads to a coherent alignment on physically close galaxies, called intrinsic a…

Leiden University's interdisciplinary research programme SAILS funds young interdisciplinary scientists working at the intersection of AI and other fields. Researcher Matthijs Westera talks about his experiences working within SAILS and the Leiden academic community.

On 25 February more than 6,500 prospective students will visit the Open Day to learn more about programmes in Leiden and The Hague and to get a taste of student life. Have you signed up yet? Five golden tips to make your Open Day a success.