In 2025, Leiden University College became the first university programme in the Netherlands to receive the special “Sustainable Higher Education” label from the NVAO, the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation.

Programmes can earn this label when the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) play an important role in their curriculum. LUC’s focus on Global Challenges is largely inspired by the SDGs.

The requirements for the Sustainable Higher Education-label include, among others:

• Transmitting and developing knowledge about sustainability in relation to one or more SDGs,
• Exploring interconnections between the SDGs,
• Developing a solution-oriented attitude toward the SDGs,
• Fostering a sense of responsibility, integrity, respect, and personal and social leadership,
• Organizational development,
• Developing behaviors and skills such as interdisciplinary collaboration, engaging in ethical debates, and systems thinking,
• Cultivating social intelligence alongside other forms of intelligence.

With LUC’s interdisciplinary and challenging curriculum centered on Global Challenges, our close-knit international community, and our emphasis on diverse learning methods and student development both within and beyond the classroom, this new label suits us perfectly. We are proud to have been awarded this distinction!