While teaching, it is important to provide an inclusive, activating learning environment for students. In this section you will find some faculty guidelines to create a good learning environment for you and for students.

Prof.dr. E.C.P.D.C. de Brabandere dr. A.A. Marhold Summary This thesis explores the nature, scope, and limits of the powers exercised by international tribunals mandated to resolve disputes between States and foreign investors. Its main objective is to test the hypothesis that these powers are shaped…

The first classes at the Spui Campus will begin next week. All facilities there are largely the same as those at Wijnhaven, but we have listed the most important information for you below. As the building has three wings and is shared with partner organisations, it may take a little time at first to…

At a turbulent time in which world leaders are struggling to take stand against Trumpism, an artist from the small island of Puerto Rico sent a powerful message at none less than the unofficial national day of the United States. With over 128 million views, Bad Bunny’s performance broke NFL social media…

Yara Abbing is affiliated to the Institute Criminal Law & Criminology as PhD candidate since September 1, 2025.

We are busy introducing a new method for filling our online study guide. From now on, all study guide texts and the structure of the educational programmes will come from TimeEdit Curriculum (TEC). In the background, we are currently working the go-live of the study guide processes…

For a long time, even many researchers thought that guide dogs were a relatively modern invention. An accidental encounter with archival material showed university lecturer Krista Milne that guide dogs helped their blind owners as far back as the Middle Ages. Milne now has received an NWO XS grant to…

A useful hands-on guide to preprints is now available for researchers. It provides anwers to some urgent questions. What are preprints? What are the advantages and disadvantages to posting preprints? What are the implications for (my) research?

The collection guides of archives and collections of Leiden University Libraries (UBL) have been made available via the portal Collection Guides. This has greatly improved the findability, visibility and ease of use of these collection finding aids.

Dear colleagues, A new procedure is being introduced for managing the online study guide. On 13 October 2025, the first step was taken (see also this news item): the entire university is now using TimeEdit Curriculum (TEC) to design and record the structure of educational programmes. This marks an important…

Ashley Wilkinson is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Area Studies.

Roozbeh is a Ph.D. candidate at LIACS, studying computer architecture. His current research project, NeuroSoC, involves developing an advanced Multi-Processor System on Chip prototypes using high-density embedded Phase Change Memory (PCM) cell process technology. He is specifically working on the side-channel…

Leiden University has six top bachelor’s programmes, according to Keuzegids universiteiten 2024 consumer guide to universities published on 30 November 2023. This once again puts the university in third place among broad universities ranked according to top programmes.

Sex and power are closely linked, and this was certainly true in the former Dutch colonies. PhD student Sophie Rose investigated how sexual and love relationships influenced eighteenth-century power structures there. 'You can see that there was constant fighting over who stood where in the social hi…

The Air and Space Law (Advanced LL.M.) master’s programme at Leiden University is among ten ‘excellent master’s programmes’ at Dutch universities. This is according to ‘Keuzegids masters 2024’, a guide to master’s programmes in the Netherlands.

Bribing a politician to gain influence or making sure friends end up in powerful positions: Brazilian energy companies use these power strategies daily.

When you think of a library, you probably picture books – or students quietly studying. But for subject librarian Rutger de Jong, most of the work happens online. ‘We never throw anything away. Everything produced here in the name of science should remain findable.’

The norms, institutions and power relations that have defined the last decades of international political and economic relations in the European Union are undergoing major transformations. With the return of competition between great and ambitious powers, like the US, China, EU and Russia, the need…

From monitoring pollution to tracking rainfall, citizen science comes in different shapes and sizes. But at its heart, it’s about the relationships between citizens, policymakers and researchers.

Daan Scheepers conducts research on group processes, intergroup relations, and stress.

Michael Sampson is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science

Eating fewer carbs, moderate amounts of protein, and more fats — welcome to the ketogenic diet! While a ketogenic diet can have various effects on body and mind, did you know there are different types of ketogenic interventions? In this episode, Eline Dekeyster shares more about this topic.

Social media are playing a key role in calling for resistance to the corona measures. Online, agreements are made about where and when people will gather to protest. The authorities are not always fully aware of what is happening and cannot just infiltrate, whereas civilians can often easily participate…

This practical guide is aimed at PhD candidates, Research Master Students, and early-career researchers from all academic disciplines. The instructions in the guide intend to inspire young researchers and to help them practice Open Science, by sharing all aspects of research as open possible.

Organisations like the UN and the EU should be given more powers to combat transboundary problems. This is the message of a report published by the Swedish SNS Democracy Council, whose authors include Prof. Jan Aart Scholte of Leiden University. The researchers also wrote the following article.

As of this month, Kim Bonger has been appointed Professor of Chemical Biology. As a first-generation academic, she’s especially grateful. ‘I wasn’t exactly a top student at school. I never could’ve imagined this.’

As both old and new democracies experience increasing democratic backsliding, there is a critical societal need to rethink the design and effectiveness of democratic checks and balances. In this conference on Friday 9 June, the aim is to explore multidisciplinary insights about what makes the checks…

On 30 November 2021 the book 'Audiovisual and Digital Ethnography: A Practical and Theoretical Guide' was published by Routledge. The book resulted from eight anthropologists of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology joining forces: Cristina Grasseni, Bart Barendregt, Erik…

On Tuesday March 11, the photo exposition on the ancient Mayan city of El Mirador (Guatemala) was officially opened. For the next two weeks, 60 photos taken over the past 20 years of excavations can be viewed in the F0 corridor in the Van Steenis building. Previously, the exposition was hosted in Mexico…

Transdisciplinary education, in which students work with external parties, is getting more popular. How do you start such a programme as a teacher? The Honours Academy and the Leiden Learning Innovation Centre have written a guide for all Leiden colleagues.

In the Malian Dogon region, various militias have been fighting for power since 2015. Land resources play a major role in this, doctoral student Ibrahima Poudiougou discovered. 'Power in the area is intrinsically linked to control over land and its resources.’

Anthropologist Marit Brun captured Leiden’s student life during her studies, which won her the ‘Best Leiden photo’ competition. She now wants to continue with photography and making travel guides with a nod to anthropology.

After receiving positive feedback from peers, socially anxious young people feel as confident about themselves as their non-anxious counterparts. 'These young people are then able to handle new social situations more confidently,’ says Leiden psychologist Anne Miers. Her research is published in the…

For decades it was thought that the family system of the ancient Egyptians was very similar to our own. However, PhD candidate Steffie van Gompel explains that the reality is somewhat different. ‘In Egyptian families, it was often the eldest son versus the rest of the children.’

Governments and public sector organisations consider evidence-based or evidence-informed policymaking as one of the pillars of good governance. That is to say: policies that are informed by scientific knowledge, expertise and evidence. In the research programme 'Power of Evidence', Valérie Pattyn and…

In the ‘Imaginary’ exhibition, its curators show how society is made up of mathematics. From algorithms that save lives to ones that generate art. The exhibition is from 2 June to 25 July at Oude UB in Leiden.

Christoph Niessen is a researcher in comparative politics.

Aleena Karim is an external PhD candidate at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. She works on film narratology.

Anyone can tell a story. That is the guiding principle Hans Dekker, Senior programme leader at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL), and his colleague Suzanne Verhees use to kick off their multi-day Storytellling course. Arjan van Unen participated in the course over the summer and learned how…

On 24 April 2025, political scientist Pawan Kumar Sen will defend his PhD dissertation, "Transforming Nepal’s Political System: Party Positions and Public Opinion (2004-2012)," at Leiden University. His research examines how Nepal’s major political parties navigated key state restructuring reforms—republicanism,…

Parents’ talk about new stimuli such as persons or objects strongly affects how avoidant or fearful their child will react. No stronger effect was found when parents had an anxiety disorder or in children with fearful temperaments. Publication by a team of Leiden psychologists in 'Clinical Child and…

In the 60s and 70s, Black Power groups were also active in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is what PhD candidate Debby Esmeé de Vlugt has discovered.

The Dutch Government recently announced measures to limit the loss of purchasing power. These include, for example, raising the minimum wage and healthcare benefits. Another way for households to maintain purchasing power is to work more. Olaf van Vliet, Professor of Economics, explains the effects…