Children find that both dinosaur fossils and replicas belong in a museum, but they appreciate the real objects more. This is shown by research from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center. 'Children look beyond superficial looks and attach great value to less obvious characteristics, such…

From predicting Alzheimer’s to the growth of organisms: psychologist Marjolein Fokkema’s algorithms can be used in many disciplines. They also provide inspiration for her songs, theatre shows and life lessons. What drives this rocking researcher?

In a paper, researchers suggest how the next European Commission can develop an alternative policy model that centres people’s well-being.

How do you know if your idea has succeeded? The Queen coming to call a year and a half later might just be a clue. This happened to the Leiden student foundation ‘Door Het Geluid’, which promotes student well-being.

The outbreak of coronavirus has radically changed our life and work. We have had to work, teach and conduct research from home. How has coronavirus changed your work? What do you miss most? And what is keeping you going? We asked a few colleagues.

Many international students start their master programme at the Humanities Faculty in Leiden every semester. Among them also Ronghu Zu (29, China), Yucheng Lu (28, China), Mariana Diaz (25, Mexico) en Julia Seidel (27, Germany). For many students the university, city and country were completely new…

“A partnership based on water” summarised Gerhard van den Top the relationship between the Netherlands and the Philippines in the 4th Louwes Lecture. He emphasised the significant role of international and intercultural cooperation in managing the complex challenges brought forward by climate change.…

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?

Jaïr van Rhenen studied Medicine in Leiden and is now a GP in the largely religious Veenendaal. Before this, he worked as a tropical medicine doctor in Lesotho. ‘If you have the prospect of an afterlife, you often respond differently to illness.’

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded Veni funding to seventeen researchers who recently obtained their PhD. This award offers promising young scientists the opportunity to develop their own ideas over a period of three years.

How do local, non-institutional ideas about end-of-life care influence professional palliative care and vice versa? These questions will be answered by medical anthropologists Annemarie Samuels and Natashe Lemos Dekker in the coming years.

Some bacteria, it turns out, have proteins much like ours that organise the DNA in their cells. They just do it a bit differently. This is revealed by new research from biochemists at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry and the Max Planck Institute for Biology. The discovery helps us better understand…

Since August 2017, dr. Sarah Schrader is working at the Faculty of Archaeology in the department of Archaeological Sciences. Her expertise is human osteology with a specific focus on the bio-archaeological reconstruction of daily activities. Recently she took over the management of the Osteoarchaeology…

January is the final month of our temporary exhibition 'Above and Beyond: Making Sense of the Universe for 100 Years'. You can visit every weekend until Jauary 26th.

An astonishing twelve students from Leiden University have received a Young Talent Award from the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities in Haarlem, a record. During the festive ceremony on 25 November, five master students received a Young Talent Graduation Award for their thesis and seven…

Anthropologist Erik Bähre has received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for research on the morality of life insurance.

Vicencio Oostra, who defended his PhD-thesis at the IBL successfully in June 2013, published new insights into the hormonal regulation of butterfly responses to fluctuating environments.

Electrical inner ear prostheses like Cochlear Implants (CIs) help deaf and severely hearing-impaired persons to regain many of their communication abilities. The performance of CI in social environments is, however, not optimal. The new

Nerve pain is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. It is therefore one of the biggest reasons for cancer patients to stop treatment early. Darcy Reynolds worked on new drug candidates against this pain during her bachelor's thesis. She developed a new series of molecules that increase…

Nematic liquid crystals form the key ingredients of most tv screens. The active version of these complex fluids forms a useful model for physicists to research the responses of active matter—like bacteria or traffic flows—to mechanical and geometrical cues. An international research team publishes their…

On 10 December Walter Burkard won the Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award 2020 for his thesis on climate change and children’s rights. The prize for the best master’s thesis in the field of children’s rights is awarded every year by Defence for Children and the Department of Child Law of Leiden…

Plant scientist Omid Karami is the first winner of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award. The jury praises the outstanding quality of his scientific research as well as the positive societal impact and commercial potential of his work.

The monthly ILS Lunch Seminars present the perfect opportunity to unite the different Institutes situated within Leiden Law School. On Thursday 14 March 2019, the next edition of the ILS Lunch Seminars will take place. This time, Nienke van Heek and Esther van Ginneken will present their research.

Rose Vossen has been named winner of the Young Star Award 2021. The Life Science and Technology student received the award on Monday from Ewine van Dishoeck, the founder of the award. Vossen wins a cheque for 2,500 euros for her exceptional results as a bachelor's student. During her final bachelor…

Electrical inner ear prostheses like Cochlear Implants (CIs) help deaf and severely hearing-impaired persons to regain many of their communication abilities. The performance of CI in social environments is, however, not optimal. The new "Machine learning To Enhance teMPoral cOding foR cochleAr impLants“…

International pharmaceuticals company Grünenthal is to open an innovation hub on the Leiden Bio Science Park. The hub will make it easier for scientists and drug developers to work together.

The seminar is dedicated to the work-in-progress of Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy staff and doctoral students. The paper is sent in advance and discussed in the meeting. The seminar is open to all. Venue: Lecture room or zoom.

At the OWL faculty day about 150 newcomers met their fellow students and had a chance to check out the study and research facilities at the Faculty of Science. The OWL introduction week is specially for new international bachelor’s and master’s students at Leiden University.

Preventing or delaying disease often requires lifestyle changes, which turns out to be difficult. Valentijn Visch and Sandra van Dijk are researching how to help people change their behaviour.

Leiden University occupies the 95th place in the QS World University Ranking, making it the fourth Dutch university in the Ranking. In 2014 Leiden was in 75th position. However, a radical new measuring method makes comparison with previous years problematic.

Leiden archaeologists have set fire to a reconstructed Neolithic house in Horsterwold: all in the name of science. Studying the remains will help them understand present and future finds.

Starting April 13 a brand new exhibition is open for visit, titled 'Above and Beyond: Making Sense of the Universe for 100 Years

On 13 and 14 October 70 first-year students of the MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy had the opportunity to visit several European Union institutions in Brussels.

Leiden or The Hague? Dutch or English? These two questions decide which introduction week new Leiden University students should choose: EL CID, HOP or OWL.

Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, organised a book launch for his new book: 'Ruminations: Framing a sense of self and coming to terms with the other'. The book launch took place on Thursday 15 December at Campus The Hague.

Students Sjors Keijzer and Kasper van Alphen won the finale of the Student and City film competition on 29 June. Their promotional film puts Leiden on the map as the best student city.

On 10 December Walter Burkard won the Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award 2020 for his thesis on climate change and children’s rights.

The winner of the 2022 Spring edition of the NWO Venture Challenge was announced during the Dutch Biotech Event. The innovative startup Iprotics has developed specific proteasome inhibitors that potentially treat multiple myeloma (MM) without the side-effects known from traditional proteasome inhibi…

Ed van den Berg started his role as the new interim Director of Operations in September. He will hold the fort until a permanent successor to Dirkje Schinkelshoek has been found. What will Ed be doing exactly, and who is he? We’ll leave that to Ed to tell you...

Professor Barend Mons has been appointed Chair of the Commission High Level Expert Group

Margarida Borges has been working as a PhD candidate at the Leiden Institute for History since September 2011.

Leiden University strengthens the collaboration with the Chinese Xi’an Jiaotong University. The Chinese delegation visited the Faculty of Science to talk about collaborations in the field of life science and data science.

The study association of honours education SLHC established an international commission concerned with the closer involvement of international students in the Honours Community. The language of communication will become English where possible, and more upcoming activities will be organised in The Hague…

Hans-Martien ten Napel recently published a volume with Routledge, Culture, Secularization, and Democracy; Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville, co-edited with Prof. Sophie van Bijsterveld (Radboud University Nijmegen).

The colonial and slavery past is an important theme in education and research at Leiden University. Particular attention is also paid to structural abuses that arose from this history and that often still persist in the present day.

With its iconic buildings, Leiden University has a strong presence throughout the city. The university has left its mark clearly on museum collections in the city.

Learn all about the writing systems used in the famous wall poems of the city of Leiden.

The LGBT+ Network offers a platform for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer staff and students at Leiden University.

Quantum computers deserve their own quantum internet. This is a network that dispatches information not in the form of bits - ones and zeros - but rather as qubits, just like in the quantum computer itself. In the view of Dirk Bouwmeester, a professor in Leiden’s Quantum Matter & Optics research group,…

Methods of treatment for chronic illnesses are limited. Doctors and researchers at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University are working on new therapies as an alternative for organ transplants. The goal is to cure the illnesses by restoring organs to their original function. Stem…