In the eighteenth century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) housed its enslaved people on ‘Slave Island’ in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Today ‘Slave Island’ is under serious threat from property developers. Senior lecturer Alicia Schrikker, together with her Sri Lankan colleagues Iromi Perera…

In the ‘Educatips’ column, psychology lecturers share their most important insights on teaching. This month: Taarique Debidin thinks making contact with one another is more important than cramming knowledge. ‘I’d get no energy at all from being a formal lecturer.’

Tech company Uber uses various tricks via the Netherlands to avoid paying tax on its profits. A $16 billion inter-company loan from Singapore has prompted questions with experts claiming the loan is not under arm’s length terms. MEP Paul Tang wants Brussels to investigate.

Only 27 per cent of Dutch households are financially healthy. This appears from a joint study conducted by Deloitte, ING, NIBUD and the Department of Economics of Leiden University.

A meeting place for singing parrots. That is one of the ambitions of Michelle Spierings’ new project. With her awarded NWO XS grant, she wants to test the parrots’ hearing ability. ‘I am curious to see how they can recognise and imitate changing melodies. And it would be amazing to test that with a…

Professor of Cognitive Psychology Mariska Kret studies how humans and animals express emotions. Comparisons between humans and great apes offer important evolutionary insights, Kret will say in her inaugural lecture on Friday 9 September.

The Choose a Language Day was created to make high school students enthusiastic about choosing a linguistic profile and further education. Third-years were able to learn about different language studies at the Faculty of Humanities.

When professors become emeriti, it usually does not mean they stop working. The Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) will therefore soon have a first: a symposium is going to be organised where all the speakers are emeriti professors. 'Science will always be part of you are.'

Leiden University has taken eighth place in this year’s SustainaBul, the sustainability ranking for universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. It was in 18th place last year.

We already know a lot about genetics and the risk of breast cancer. But much still needs to be done in breast cancer genetics to improve the prognosis and make sure women at high risk aren’t missed. This is what Professor by Special Appointment Marjanka Schmidt will say in her inaugural lecture on 4…

On behalf of trade union FNV, Egbert Jongen and Heike Vethaak from Leiden University conducted a study on income distribution over the past 40 years. Dutch national media outlets have given extensive news coverage to their study.

Human resources

Like spoken languages, sign languages evolve organically and do not always have the same origin. This produces different ways of communication and annotation. Manolis Fragkiadakis wrote his PhD thesis on this.

Why are mycobacteria such successful pathogens? And are there defence mechanisms in the body that help reduce an infection? To find out, Annemarie Meijer has been awarded the NWO Open Competition ENW-XL grant. She will not explore this quest alone. Five other leading Dutch research groups are participating…

As a result of the current corona measures, attendance at the Opening of the Academic Year on 6 September will be restricted to a maximum of 75 persons. The ceremony can, however, be viewed online by taking part in a video wall.

Many students who graduated during the pandemic were unable to celebrate their graduation in style. To make up for this, they were given the chance to sign their name in the Sweat Room on Friday 26 May.

ICT, Security

In a new article in the journal Scientific Reports, Leiden archaeologist Wei Chu and colleagues report on recent excavations in Western Romania at the site of Româneşti, one of the most important sites in southeastern Europe associated with the earliest Homo sapiens. The site gives an important glimpse…

Every year in February, ninety students who love making music come together in Someren, a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. Through rehearsals and festivities over ten days, they transform into the latest version of the Dutch Student Orchestra (NSO), which then performs concerts in the Netherlands…

Security

A leaving do, birthday or other celebration? Many people like to ask for a donation to a good cause for their birthday or anniversary present. Leiden research can be one such cause.

The Chinese History chair has a long, rich history within Leiden University. Since 1 February, this position has been held by Ying Zhang. ‘Leiden University brings together a legendary range of Asian knowledge.’

'I hope to contribute to a better understanding of social dilemmas we constantly face, like those that arise with climate change or the current pandemic,' says social and organisational psychologist Jörg Gross in an interview on his Starting Grant of the European Research Council (ERC).

An organisation the size of Leiden University requires careful internal communication.

Master

Bachelor, Master

All University employees and researchers have a personal profile page on the website. This page will show where you work and how you can be reached.

LaTeX is a system for document preparation. It gives the user control over typesetting, references, complex formulas, and more. It is widely used in communication and publication of scientific documents in many fields.

Are you an international researcher working for Leiden University? Please note that you probably are legally obliged to take out health insurance. Here you will find if you need a public or a private health insurance, and how to apply for it.

The information on your profile page is generated by different underlying systems. You can (request to) change or delete it. Please note that it may take some time before the adjustments are shown.

When moving to the Netherlands, it is important to know whether you are considered resident tax payer or non-resident. Both residents and non-residents are taxed on their taxable income. A number of criteria help determine your status as resident or non-resident.

If you are granted permission to defend your thesis at Leiden University, please take into account the rules concerning the PhD ceremony. Below you find an overview of the practical matters.

Communication

Bachelor, Master

The working language at Leiden University is Dutch. As not all employees at the University have the same level of Dutch language skills, there are various ways of working together.

The University pays out salaries on pre-determined dates. Additionally, the holiday allowance is paid out in May and the end-of-year bonus is paid out in November.

Since the opening of the SSH labs in the Sylvius Building, more and more researchers are starting in the state-of-the-art lab spaces. What research are they doing, and how do they like the new facilities? Read about their experiences.

The Party Catering Administration Office has special catering packages for the Faculty Club, and an overview is presented below.

In an inclusive learning environment, every student feels welcome, valued and respected.

From assessment periods and deadlines to invigilators and organising digital assessments. Everything you need to think about for planning, organising and communicating assessments.

Course, Terra Incognita Masterclass

Freezers set three degrees higher, a recycling bin for plastic petri dishes or timer switches installed on equipment: a growing number of Leiden University laboratories are taking small – but effective – steps to reduce their environmental impact, via the internationally recognized Laboratory Efficiency…

Master

Many Leiden University employees engage in ancillary activities. The University stimulates such activities because we believe that the right place for a university is at the very heart of society. Ancillary activities bring together research, teaching and society. However, there are some limits on what…

If you work at the university and are in scale 11 or above, you have the option of concluding a function-based contract.

Diversity and inclusion within the police creates opportunities but also meets resistance. Professor by special appointment and former police officer, Saniye Çelik, emphasises how ambivalent feelings about D&I are essential to the learning process and can lead to informed decisions and real change.

You are entitled to an allowance for your commuting expenses. The amount of your commuting allowance depends on your means of transport and the number of kilometres.