On Tuesday 13 February 2018, the Europa Institute had the honour of receiving HE Ditmir Bushati, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania. He delivered a speech in the Academy Building in the framework of the European Union Seminar Series, jointly organized by the master’s programme in International…

The results of the National Student Survey (NSE) are now available. In 2024, students from the Faculty of Humanities were satisfied across the board. The expertise of lecturers was rated particularly positively.

Femke Binnendijk and Olaf van Loon have been appointed as lecturers at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden Law School.

Wednesday the 23d of March, Olexander Horin, the ambassador of the Ukraine honoured us with a visit to discuss his vision on the referendum and the current political situation in Ukraine. Hereby a short summary of the lecture by Professor Madeleine Hosli, who attended the event.

A new series of webinars, the Cleveringa Dallaire Critical Conversation Series, begins on 22 September. In this series of online conversations, expert panels from Leiden and abroad will talk about leadership and moral dilemmas in times of conflict and crisis. The series is open to all.

Maarten Lamers and Peter van der Putten were guest editors of magazine Terugkoppeling, the publication of the NVON (Dutch Association for Education in Natural Sciences), and wrote two articles. On March the 29th 2018 the Media Technology lecturers are opening speakers at the national Bétatechniekdag,…

Three lecturers from Leiden University have been awarded a 100,000-euro Comenius Teaching Fellowship within the scope of the Senior Fellows programme. The grant will enable them and their project teams to carry out their own teaching innovation project.

On Friday 8 February 2019, we were honored by a visit of Ms. Anna Batalla, Human Rights Officer at the Petitions and Inquiries Section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - United Nations, who gave a lecture on bringing a case to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and on the…

Molecular Science & Technology student Renske Donkers has won the second edition of the Young Star Award. During the ceremony on Wednesday 17 February, no less than three teachers were awarded the title 'Teacher of the Year'. Finally, students had a surprise in store for all teachers: with a video they…

On 11 March, Oliver Rathkolb (University of Vienna) held a lecture about Social Democracy.

On December 9, 2016 Prof.dr. Ton Koopman will give a lecture 'Bach en zijn zangers' in the Pieterskerk in Leiden.

Met de H.E. van Gelder Onderzoeksbeurs wordt beoogd interdisciplinair onderzoek naar munten, bankbiljetten en penningen van een impuls te voorzien. De beurs heeft een waarde van € 10.000 en stelt de onderzoeker (m/v) in de gelegenheid een publicatie voor te bereiden en aan de hand daarvan vervolgonderzoek…

Gruni has been invited to Wageningen University on 15 March 2016 to speak on trade issues. What does the historical context from which TTIP emerged tell us about the present negotiations and the direction this trade agreement is taking? How does the TTIP relate to the broader context of global economic…

Cancer is still one of the most common diseases in the world. What exactly is cancer and will we one day be able to cure everyone? In a video from the Universiteit van Nederland Noel de Miranda (Tumour Immunology, LUMC) tells you about his research on new treatments.

On 1 June 2022, Maarten Kunst, Professor of Criminology at Leiden Law School, gave a lecture on his research into the effects of the right to be heard on both the defendant and the victim. Victims have certain rights in the Dutch criminal process, including the right to be heard in criminal proceedings.…

The roof of the lecture halls at the Faculty of Science was fitted with solar panels in June, making it the biggest solar-panel-covered roof in Leiden.

Professor David Simchi-Levi of the MIT Sloan School of Management delivered a guest lecture to SBB students enrolled in the Technology and Operations Management course led by Xishu Li, Assistant Professor at Science Based Business. Simchi-Levi’s lecture focused on new approaches he developed at MIT…

On 6 March, Jelle Klaas, lawyer for the Public Interest Litigation Project of the Dutch Section of the International Commission of Jurists, delivered a lecture to the students of the Advanced Master’s in European and International Human Rights Law at Leiden Law School.

On 24 November 2018 Yvonne Erkens (Associate Professor Labour Law) gave a lecture during the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Labour Court Judges (EALCJ) in Copenhagen.

‘Broad Implications of Climate Change in East Africa in terms of Human and Animal Futures’

Many people in the Netherlands have difficulty managing on their income. Professor by special appointment Wilco van Dijk, affiliated to Leiden University and Nibud, is researching what we can do to gain a healthier approach to managing our finances. His inaugural lecture is on 1 April.

Much of the work of Serge Fehr, Professor of Quantum Information Theory, is abstract and theoretical and comprehensible to very few people. But his work helps make the digital world safer so that in future our internet banking will still be problem free, for instance. He will explain more in his inaugural…

Jojanneke van der Toorn, professor by special appointment in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workplace Inclusion at Leiden University, states that it is difficult to create an inclusive work environment. This is partly due to the fact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have themselves…

‘Three books published within a year – that happens only once in a lifetime!’ This was the reaction of Katarzyna Cwiertka, Professor of Modern Japan Studies at Leiden University, on the publication of Cuisine, Colonialism and Cold War, one of her three new books. The book sketches the colonisation of…

Now that selling via digital platforms is flourishing, we need to take a closer look at the rights and obligations of all the parties involved. This is the subject of the inaugural lecture by Leiden Professor Vanessa Mak on 15 October.

The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) is hosting an international conference on November 29 and 30 at Gravensteen on the role and position of sounds and sounding arts in public urban environments. This unique conference aims to increase the attention to the role of the sound, sound design,…

Biologists today have to be able to work with big data. Data analysis skills should be taught from the start of the degree programme, or - even better - in secondary school. This is the message of Vera van Noort, new Professor of Computational Biology. Inaugural lecture 22 January.

Some fifty students started their study of Europe in Practice on 4 April. This minor includes lectures by professionals who work closely with the European Union.

The D66 proposed bill on Ending Life with Dignity is inadequately substantiated and contains contradictions. This is the view expressed by Professor of Political Philosophy Paul Nieuwenburg in his inaugural lecture on 17 March.

More allowance should be made for differences between municipalities, argues Geerten Boogaard, Thorbecke Professor of Local Government. The Municipalities Act could, for instance, offer a ‘menu of options’ for the decision on whether to have an elected mayor. Professor Boogaard will deliver his inaugural…

To properly understand how babies absorb a language we need to study the process from a number of different perspectives, linguist Claartje Levelt argues. She accepts her appointment as Professor of Language Acquisition on 27 March with an inaugural lecture entitled ‘Language in its infancy’.

To get important topics such as climate and human rights higher on the agenda of listed companies, stakeholders other than shareholders and employees should officially be given more say. This is what Professor of Business Law Harold Koster said in his inaugural lecture on 18 March. He proposes introducing…

Jan Aart Scholte is the first professor on the new Leiden interdisciplinary programme, Global Transformations and Governance Challenges. He researches how to tackle global challenges such as climate change and inequality. Inaugural lecture on 4 February.

Over 100 participants joined the first grant matchmaking and working session on the call for the Dutch National Research Agenda, on 25 June in the PLNT building. They explored topics ranging from health care to smart cities.

Plants love favourable microbes such as bacteria and fungi: they grow better and become healthier. Jos Raaijmakers, Professor of Microbial Ecology, is in search of the right microbes to be used in agriculture. Inaugural lecture 13 November.

Gert Oostindie, Emeritus Professor of Colonial and Postcolonial History, is this year’s Cleveringa Professor at Leiden University. He was appointed by the University on 4 October. In his inaugural lecture on 24 November, entitled Courage and Disregard, he will talk about (academic) freedom in relation…

On November 8, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) named Wessel Kraaij as one of the 2017 Distinguished Members. ACM Distinguished Members have made a significant contribution to the field of computing, computer science or information technology. This year, worldwide 43 scientists received…

Many academics who specialise in tax law also work for commercial tax consultancies. It would very much seem as though the combination of different roles can hamper independent research, says Jan Vleggeert in his inaugural lecture on 30 October. Tax avoidance and other hot topics therefore do not receive…

Many astronomers suspect that most of the matter in the universe is invisible. So how can you weigh dark matter if you can't actually see it? Professor Henk Hoekstra is looking for a solution. Inaugural lecture 25 June.

Where does Dutch come from? Newly appointed Professor Alwin Kloekhorst looks for an answer to that question in millennia-old languages from Anatolia, the Asian part of present-day Turkey. 'A new interpretation in one of the Anatolian languages can have consequences for dozens of other languages.'

There were no bitcoins or artificial intelligence when our civil code was compiled. This could cause problems.

Afro-American slaves in the 19th century did not always flee to the north of the United States, according to historical research. Most of the slaves who fled remained in the southern states and posed as free coloured people. This is the conclusion that Professor Damian Pargas from Leiden University…

Traditional leaders in many African countries have regained some of their former powers. Politicians and companies in some of these countries manage to gain access to valuable land via these leaders, at the cost of the local population. This is the message of Professor of Law, Administration and Development…

To develop good cancer treatments, we need to know much more about how malignant tumour cells develop. Professor Ewa Snaar-Jagalska looks at not just the effect of medication on isolated cells but also the behaviour of cancer cells in their tissue environment. Inaugural lecture on 11 December.

In the week of 22 May, a delegation of the Faculty of Science visited Indonesia to strengthen the cooperation with the Universitas Gadjah Mada, the Universitas Indonesia and the Kebun Raja (botanical garden) in Bogor. Furthermore, the delegation visited the faculty of Pharmacy of the Institut Teknologi…

As of February the SBB team has expanded. Simcha Jong has joined the team as a Professor and Director of Science Based Business.

Starting 1 January 2023, Matthias Haentjens has been appointed as Professor of Civil Law at Leiden University. His expertise lies in the field of property law, insolvency law, and private international law.

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…