Paul Gobée (LUMC), Kirsty Rolfe (Humanities) and Frank Takes (Science) have been nominated for the Leiden Teaching Prize 2023.

Lecture, Language & the Human Past Lecture Series

After two virtual editions, the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences could finally come together in real life again to celebrate the start of the new year. So it’s no surprise that the central hall of the Pieter de la Court Building was filled with lively chatter during the New Year’s Reception,…

On April 12th three students majoring in Earth, Energy, and Sustainability (EES) from Leiden University College participated in the annual conference of the Netherlands Center for River Studies.

After three years of covid postponements, the time had finally come on Wednesday 29 June 2022: Carel Stolker’s last speech as Rector Magnificus was buried according to tradition under the ginkgo tree in the library at the Kamerlingh Onnes building.

Over the past 20 years, levels of common crime throughout the world dropped, except in countries that are plagued by poverty, have large families and have been afflicted by civil wars. This was established in a study that compared safety in 166 countries.

Research into our history of colonialism and slavery, heart-to-heart conversations at a Keti Koti table, exhibitions, lectures and podcasts that establish the link between present and past. Staff and students participated in the national Slavery Memorial Year in many different ways. What have we learned…

What is the significance of the history of slavery for our present-day society? A special exhibition in the inner courtyard of the Academy Building features eleven insightful portraits of students and staff, and their answer to this question. The aim of the exhibition’s initiators is to make the subject…

Roundtable discussion

Echoing corridors, chaotic lessons and the obligatory chit-chat in the playground: for pupils with autism, an average day at school is exhausting. As a result, many of them feel lonely. Elijah, an expert from personal experience, says: ‘In the breaks, I’d sit on my own in a room.’

Panel conversation

The Dutch phrase ‘ijs en weder dienende’ (literally, ‘ice and weather serving’) is a good example of what is known as a participle clause and is perhaps one of the most unfathomable grammatical constructions in Dutch. For what (or who) is serving whom (or what)? It actually means ‘ice and weather permitting’.…

He had been emeritus for 13 years when he suddenly received an email from Poland. Professor of Inorganic Chemistry Jan Reedijk was awarded an honorary doctorate from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. During the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the birth of patron Nicolaus Copernicus,…

Since 2009-2010, the West viewed China as more assertive. Especially after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the country abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s ‘low profile’ foreign policy. Friso Stevens explains in his dissertation where this change has come from. The dissertation defence is on 28 March.

Lecture

Conference, D&I Symposium

On August 18, 2022, Henk Bodewitz, distinguished Indologist and emeritus professor of Sanskrit at Leiden University, passed away in his hometown of Utrecht.

In recent years, much research has been conducted at the Department of Labour Law on the topic of sustainability and fundamental labour rights. Linked to this field is a journal: the International Labor Rights Case Law Journal (ILaRC).

Of the 150 elected representatives, 24 studied or conducted their PhD research in Leiden. Who are they and which degrees are most popular among these MPs?

Professor Michiel Kreutzer, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University, will move to Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) on 1 May. Alongside his professorship, he will focus on university initiatives in the field of innovation in education.

Arts and culture

How do you turn your thesis into an academic article? That's a question Floortje Fontein, who conducted research into inclusive leadership, can answer. She looked at how public managers manage a diverse team. She got a 9 for her thesis and is currently working on several articles based on the results…

Pandemics, terrorist attacks, environmental disasters... These are real threats, which we cannot ignore. In fact: we need to prepare better for the large-scale crises of the future. Preferably in a way that suits our lifestyle and respects our social values. Over the next ten years, an interdisciplinary…

What can we learn from female colleagues who are the first to hold top positions within the university? On International Women’s Day, President of the Executive Board Annetje Ottow and Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl talked with a group of university staff from all levels within the organisation, and…

The Faculty’s traditional New Year’s reception, like everything else these days, was transformed into an online event this year. Dean Paul Wouters as the host led us through the programme filled with the Casimir Teaching Award, the Pieter de la Court Medals, the Master’s Thesis Prizes, and a short lecture…

Finally we know for sure that there is a black hole at the centre of our own galaxy. Today, astronomers unveiled the first ever photo of Sagittarius A*, a super-massive object at the centre of the Milky Way. This picture could only be taken thanks to the cooperation of telescopes worldwide.

It often takes longer for women with heart problems to get the right diagnosis. In her Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture, Professor Hester den Ruijter will talk about how hormones influence the heart and the importance of medical research that focuses specifically on women.

For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, women students and researchers from physics talk about what inspires them about their work. From quantum to cosmology and biophysics, their curiosity about how nature works is what connects these women. What do these 5 scientists want to share…

Han Meyer, Carola Hein, Paul van de Laar and Sabine Luning, argue that in the current moment of major crises these ship channels necessitate radical reconsideration.

How can social scientists contribute to a healthier society? That question was central to the Healthy Society Event on 9 June 2022, which successfully marked the start of a more conscious and intensive collaboration between the five Institutes of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences on education…

Inaugural lecture

Conference

Kenan van de Mieroop recently joined the Institute for History as Assistant Professor. Below, he introduces himself.

What hidden nature is there in our cities and how can we use such organisms? This is what the HiddenBiodiversity project will be exploring over the next four years. The project’s kick-off meeting was held at the Hortus botanicus on Monday 26 September.

Arts and culture

Prof Dr Joke Bouwstra will receive the “ Dr Saal van Zwanenberg Ereprijs” from the “Koninklijke Hollandse Maatschappij der Wetenschappen” on November 14 in Haarlem. Joke is awarded for her innovative contributions to the field of skin delivery science and technology. She shares the price with prof…

CADS alumna Ruth Erica has won the Glazen Globe with her book The Tree with the White Leaves. This is a biennial prize for the best geography-related youth or children's book.

Wimar Bolhuis, lecturer in economics, has become a member of the Central Planning Committee (CPC), the independent supervisory committee which audits the work of the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB).

Lecture

Lecture

Course

What can you do about sustainability in your immediate living environment? On Thursday afternoon, April 14, the Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden was filled with policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, citizens, students, and even the mayor of Leiden. Leiden University and the Association of Dutch Municipalities…

Lecture

Eva Loeve (22), a fourth-year student of Cultural Anthropology, worked for five months at Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). At the end of May 2021, the report "Spinning Around Workers' Rights" about working conditions in spinning mills in South India was published, on which Eva…

In his new book 'Flooding and Management of Large Fluvial Lowlands', Paul Hudson Associate Professor of Physical Geography at Leiden University College in The Hague, examines human impacts on lowlands rivers. The past twenty years the pressure on large fluvial lowlands has increased tremendously because…

How can the people of Leiden age as well as possible? And what is needed to reduce health disparities? That is the mission of Leiden Healthy Society Center, a new partnership between the Municipality of Leiden, Leiden University and many other partners in the city.

On 11 January 2022, the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences opened the new year during a livestreamed reception. Dean Paul Wouters and Executive Director of Studies Kristiaan van der Heijden were the hosts. After several faculty prizes were awarded, our Dean expressed a new year’s resolution…

An internship at the Police Academy in Apeldoorn. This will be possible for the first time for third-year students of the bachelor's programme Security Studies as of September 2021, now that Leiden University and the Police Academy have joined forces. ‘The internships offer students a unique opportunity…

Most people think of waste as something dirty that needs to be disposed of as soon as possible, but Olivia Yun-An Dung's dissertation aims to show that this does not always have to be the case. For this purpose, she focuses on Tzu Chi recycling in Taiwan. There, an army of elderly volunteers has been…