New Year's resolutions? We'll help you out!
Work out more, eat healthier, have more time to yourself: we make resolutions every year, but they often don't make it past the end of January. To help you succeed this year, we have compiled a list with New Year's resolutions you can put into practice at the University!
1. Work out at The Buzz in The Hague
Almost all of us make the same New Year resolution: in the new year - after all the copious Christmas meals - I will work out more often. Going to the gym right after work or lectures has become much easier, especially for our students and staff in The Hague. The new Beehive student centre houses a brand new gym, called The Buzz, with fitness and cardio equipment and many different group lessons. Students can become a member for as little as 10.85 euros a month; staff pay 17.16 euros per month.
Check out what The Buzz has to offer and register online
Doing sports in Leiden is of course also possible, at the University Sports Centre.
2. Learn something new: follow a MOOC
From terrorism prevention to linguistics, and from international criminal law to mindfulness. With a MOOC from Leiden University, over a number of weeks you can immerse yourself in a subject that might be totally unrelated to your study programme or work. And the best thing: you can just do it in your own home! The Massive Open Online Courses are available through online learning platform Coursera, are open to anyone and are free of charge. The Massive Open Online Courses can be found on the Coursera platform, anyone can follow them and they are free. Each MOOC consists of different modules in which lecturers from the University convey the material in the form of video lectures and learning assignments. There is also the option of online interaction with lecturers and fellow students. If you pass all the assignments, you can apply for a certificate.
See all the Leiden MOOCs on Coursera
3. Enjoy some culture: visit a free concert or exhibition by Leiden students
Students of Leiden University do more than just study well: many of them are also very musical or creative. They can combine their study programme with courses at the Royal Conservatoire or Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. But art and creativity also play a role in other study programmes, as in the master's programme in Media Technology. And all these creative students showcase their talents on many ocasions throughout the year! There are free concerts byfPracticum Musicae students, for example, and students of Media Technology and others from the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts often exhibit their works, especially their graduation projects. Come and take a look!
The next concert by Practicum Musicae is on 31 January.
Read more on the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA)
See the report of the latest exhibition of the work of Media Technology students.
4. Go on an exchange - but only virtual
Want to study for some time at the Sorbonne in Paris, or the University of Adelaide, without leaving your student room? Now you can, with Virtual Exchange! Leiden University and eight partner universities from all over the world offer online courses that students can follow through the virtual exchange programme. And the programme even gives you regular study credits! You study when you want to, in the comfort of your own room, and in the meantime you also build up an international network. There are about twenty courses available for Virtual Exchange that you can follow as elective courses.
Read more about Virtual Exchange and how to sign up.
5. Get inspired by our Healthy University initiative
Leiden University wants to offer students and staff a healthy environment for work and study, and enhance their health and well-being. That is why in October 2018 we joined the Healthy Universities network. Through this network, member universities exchange best practices with one another in the area of health, well-being and sustainability. Within the University, there is a vast amount of scientific knowledge on improving health, and we now intend to share that knowledge with our own students and staff. This means sharing simple tricks to exercise more - like visiting the bathroom on a different floor from your office or lecture hall - but also the launch of the Student Well-being Taskforce.
Read more on Leiden joining the Healthy Universities network.