Do you remember the 3 October celebration during your study time in Leiden? And do you miss it every year, while living abroad?

Seif Kabil is the new chairman of the International Young Leiden Law Alumni Network. Time to get to know him better.

Chuan Zha from China studied International Relations at Leiden University. He comes from Chengdu, a city of more than 14 million inhabitants, but regards the relatively small town Leiden as ‘more cosmopolitan’.

For many Indonesian alumni, studying in Leiden or The Hague was a life-changing experience. This is what they told a delegation from Leiden during its recent visit to Indonesia. On their return to Indonesia, some of these alumni set up the Ikali alumni network. But why did they go to Leiden in the first…

After two years, it was great to be back in Brussels again. Many thanks to all alumni and students who were present during the academic discussion on the values and the future of the EU, followed by networking drinks.

Alumni event, Brussels

Alumnus Ruurt Hazewinkel (90) has presented Leiden University with a special gift: a historic house on Leiden’s Rapenburg canal. He handed over the key to Rector Carel Stolker on Monday 25 January.

Lecture

The Dies Natalis for alumni on 11 February was an online event. Almost 1,000 alumni tuned in to Bastiaan Rijpkema’s interview with Annetje Ottow, who had then been President of Leiden University’s Executive Board for all of three days. Alumni are part of her portfolio on the Executive Board.

Alumni event

On Thursday 19 October, the Crisis and Security Management programme welcomed back six alumni for an alumni panel.

There are thousands of stories to tell about our alumni. How they experienced their student days. Where they ended up and what they still dream about. We provide an overview of Leiden alumni with our newsletters and the alumni magazine Leidraad.

Practical advice, a panel discussion, and an informal networking reception: students and alumni from the MA International Relations can look back on yet another successful event last April. The diverse backgrounds and careers of the alumni vividly illustrated the range of opportunities awaiting students…

It is one of the most talked-about subjects right now: how do we eradicate sexual harassment and violence? Alumnus Femke Eisma is the spokesperson for Mariëtte Hamer, the government commissioner tasked with tackling this persistent social problem. Eisma studied the Dutch language at Leiden. How is her…

Ineke Bussemaker studied Maths at Leiden University and now works as a banker in Tanzania. In an interview in alumni magazine Leidraad she brings those two worlds together and looks back on her time in Leiden.

What are International Studies Alumni doing after graduation? Get to know Guido, Paulien and Lennart. They all studied International Studies at Leiden University in The Hague and are now working in three different fields.

Sunday, March 25th, the LUC alumni network organised a meet up in London for the large group of alumni living, working and studying there. Special guest Dr Kai Hebel, assistant professor in International Relations at LUC, was in London to present a paper at a forum on Contemporary International History…

The International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) has always been proud of its network, and most notably its alumni. These unprecedented Corona times mean that the students have not had the same opportunities as in past years to meet and engage in personal relationships with that alumni-base,…

On Tuesday 16 April 2019 study association JSV Liberi and the Department of Child Law welcomed alumni of the master’s programme Jeugdrecht to a careers afternoon and alumni evening.

Leiden alumnus Emma Govaart (24) wanted to make an impact on society, so she took a job in the non-profit sector after graduating.

Philosopher Stefan Buijsman obtained his doctorate this year at the age of 20 at the University of Stockholm, making him the youngest PhD in Sweden. He was already taking lectures in Astronomy in Leiden when he was 12, and at 15 he started a degree programme in Information Technology. 'The first reaction…

Alumnus Sam van Raalte followed his passion into freelance journalism.

On Thursday 6 May 2021, alumni of the Bachelor Security Studies (BaSS) and the Master Crisis and Security Management (CSM) were gathered in an online event arranged by the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and the study association L.S.A. Custodia.

As a former (PhD) student of the Faculty of Archaeology, your relationship with the Faculty doesn’t end when you graduate. You will join an international community of Archaeology Alumni, working in a wide range of careers including academia, commercial archaeology, heritage policy, museums, the media,…

Andrew de la Haije is Director of the Dutch branch of Xebia Consultancy Services, an internationally operating consultancy agency that coaches companies through digital transformation. He followed the executive master’s programme in Cyber Security and graduated with distinction.

We are extremely proud of our alumni Nandini Paliwal (LLM 2016) and Valentina Vecchio (LLM 2017) for winning first and second place, respectively, for their essays in the EALA Prize this year.

An alumni masterclass on inclusive leadership was held on Tuesday 12 June. Alumni of Leiden University returned to the lecture hall to learn about managing diversity in organisations. Various speakers shared their knowledge of the topic. The evening ended with a panel discussion, which gave the alumni…

Representatives from the Leiden University Alumni Association in Indonesia (IKALI) were honored to have a discussion with Dutch Prime Minister H.E. Mark Rutte during his visit to Jakarta on 7 October 2019.

Every other year, Leiden University participates in the National Alumni Survey (NAE): a national survey of all recent graduates from Dutch universities. At the end of October 2017, anyone who received a master between October 1 2014 and September 30 2016, will get an email or letter with the request…

Jorik ter Veer studied Political Science in Leiden. How does he look back on his student days?

The goal of alumnus International Studies Dennis Jansen (24) is to make the voice of young people heard in the climate debate. In November he is going to el-Sheikh in Egypt, where the Climate Change Conference is being held.

Alumnus Vincent Renken studied Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences in Leiden and is now co-founder of an outdoor escape room company. ‘I asked myself: do you want a standard life or an adventure?’

Leiden alumna Tulasi Das moved to England to pursue a career in film, was accepted onto the BBC Trainee Scheme and now works in London as a researcher on historical documentaries. “I still can’t believe I get to do such cool work.”

Gerard Soeteman (1936) created a furore as a screenwriter of films that became classics (Dutch films: Turks Fruit, Soldaat van Oranje, de Aanslag), but personally he is much more attached to his critical documentaries for television. He studied Dutch in Leiden. How did that help him?

No full-time job, but full-time voluntary work instead. That’s what Aniek Moonen decided on graduating from Leiden University College The Hague, when she started work as a committee member of the Young Climate Movement (Jonge Klimaatbeweging). As its Chair, she joins CEOs and government ministers in…

Chiara Porro from Australia studied International Relations and Diplomacy at Leiden University and has been Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See since August. How did she end up at the Vatican and what is it like? ‘The Pope told me his door was always open!’

Halfway through his career alumnus Marc Tijhuis made a radical change: he left the corporate world to join the global battle against waste with the International Solid Waste Association.

If you would want to set up an alumni network after you graduated in Leiden and returned to your home country, how would you go about it? Seven Leiden alumni in China did not hesitate and decided to just do it! Last year they launched the Leiden Alumni Chapter in China, an initiative which was met with…

Last Tuesday 20 February, the first Public Administration Alumniactivity took place, with the theme: Citizen participation in theory and practice. Carola van Eijk talked about her PhD Research 'Engagement of citizens and public professors in the co-production of public services.' Menno Spaan, founder…

The Linked In profile of alumnus Arne Driessen describes him as a ‘serial entrepreneur’. After studying Japanese he ended up working for a translation agency, after which he founded his own online marketing company, which he later sold to enable him to do something different again: making offices more…

An impressive 60 alumni recently came to the Dutch Embassy residence in Japan to meet, network, see friends and practise their languages.

Merijn Tinga hit the headlines in 2016 as the Plastic Soup Surfer. In force six winds, the Leiden biologist ventured across the English Channel on a hydrofoil kiteboard made from plastic bottles. Interview with this Leiden artist who is fighting the mountain of plastic waste and finding his feet as…

The new cabinet has finally taken office. Six of its members studied in Leiden, once again making the University a key supplier to the cabinet. Who are these alumni?

On a sunny Saturday on June 9th, the first Alumni Reunion of the BA International Studies took place in The Hague. Organised in Café Schlemmers, a stone’s throw away from a Plein buzzing with students trying to enjoy to the comfortable temperatures, approximately 40 alumni and BAIS staff got together…

Recently, the BAIS Alumni Association organised their yearly reunion. Due to the current circumstances, there was a twist: the reunion – as many events that are currently being organized – took place online. This was a perfect solution for a Bachelor programme that finds its students from all over the…

What’s new, BAIS alumni? This summer, the BAIS Alumni Association hosted the yearly alumni reunion, organized in virtual format for the second time after the previous reunion also took place online in 2020. Feeling the need to compensate for the lack of in-person interaction, the Alumni Association…

Carmen Gonsalves has been the Dutch ambassador to Chile since this autumn. She studied history in Leiden. How useful has her degree been and what’s it like to be an ambassador? ‘Diplomacy is fascinating.’ We spoke to her just before the presidential elections.

Patients who can’t afford medicine. Refugees who need help. Expats who are ill. All alongside research into obesity. Having trained as a doctor, Dennis Mook-Kanamori chose the hard reality of life as a GP together with a job as a researcher at the LUMC.

Alumnus Peter Burger – along with his colleague Alexander Pleijter – is the face of fact-checking in the Netherlands. ‘My degree led straight to this.’

From assistance in the event of natural disasters to peace-keeping missions. As a communication adviser, Leonoor van Poelgeest goes to all those destinations where the Royal Navy are active. Why did she choose this work and how has her Public Administration study helped her?