Following a period of intensive discussion, the University Council (UR) approved the University Quality Standards Plan on 10 December. The UR endorses the content of the plan in broad terms and is pleased with the extra efforts made by the University.

Professor Wim van den Doel, dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University, has been appointed member of the Executive Board of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) with effect from 1 January 2017.

A convolutional neural network (CNN) is a biologically inspired algorithm, highly capable at processing images and videos.

Didactics

This study is the first to directly relate brain development to sex differences and school performance. The results debunk the myth that brain development is slower in boys.

Nieuwscheckers, a team of journalist fact-checkers from Leiden University, received the Mr. K.J. Cath Prize at the opening of the academic year on 5 September. This biennial prize is awarded to students or staff who have enhanced the University’s good name.

On International Women's Day (8 March) we take time to consider female emancipation and participation. What does this day mean for Leiden University, and how does it tie in with our aim of becoming more diverse and inclusive? We talked about these issues with Annetje Ottow, who recently became the…

Leiden University, together with the Open University and Universities of the Netherlands, will take up residence in the Spui building at Grote Marktstraat 48-50/Spui 3 in downtown The Hague from 2025. The partners signed the leases on 7 November.

The Executive Board of Leiden University has asked the University Council to advise on its proposed decision to reactivate the person counters/sensors in due course. The Council will now look at this carefully before the Board makes a final decision. The advice of the University’s participation body…

Mathematician Hester Bijl will be appointed Vice-Rector Magnificus and member of the Executive Board of Leiden University with effect from 1 November 2016. She succeeds Simone Buitendijk.

LUGO and Campus The Hague employees will discuss sustainability in campus strategy. The university is discussing a new Development Strategy and Implementation Plan for Campus The Hague for the next decade (timeline: 2020-2030).

Annetje Ottow is the first female president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, which means a return to her Alma mater.

A diverse (ad hoc) committee will advise Leiden University’s Executive Board on its exhibitions policy in a broad sense, with a special focus on the painting by Rein Dool in the Academy Building.

Revelations about unacceptable behaviour and sexual misconduct in the TV and sporting world have rekindled the public debate about a safe environment. At Leiden University we are coming together to prevent unacceptable behaviour and provide proper care and support for victims. According to President…

In this dossier you can read about Leiden University’s commitment to sustainability.

It’s the middle of the academic year, but most of the University buildings are closed – something that hasn’t happened since the Second World War. Fortunately, after a week of intensive preparations, the teaching has moved online. How is the Central Crisis Team steering the University through the corona…

One of the good things about my job is that I come into contact with so many different alumni. It’s incredibly important that we build good relationships with our alumni from a young age already. We can help our graduates develop skills and grow their network, and they in turn can help our organisation…

This study examined the effects of a classroom-focused intervention on different domains of early literacy. The intervention consisted of shared e-book reading combined with a print referencing technique done via a SMART board. The specific goal of the study was to examine whether children could be…

Professor Annetje Ottow will be appointed President of the Executive Board of Leiden University on 8 February 2021. She will be the first woman to be appointed to this post at Leiden University.

In deep reinforcement learning, searching and learning techniques are two important components. They can be used independently and in combination to deal with different problems in AI, and have achieved impressive results in game playing and robotics. These results have inspired research into artificial…

The theme of the opening of this year’s academic year was peace and justice. With the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine, these are turbulent times. During the ceremony those present reflected on what the academic community and universities can mean in times of crisis and conflict.

The Executive Board has adopted a new Code of Conduct on Integrity for staff. This new code encompasses all the existing regulations within Leiden University, including in the field of research, behaviour towards students and purchasing. 'This Code of Conduct is a very clear statement,' commented Rector…

Professor Bert Meijer has been appointed to the Board of Governors of Leiden University by Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker for a term of four years from 1 January 2017.

Four years ago, the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) first started with an executive master’s programme called Cyber Security. The programme proved to be a huge success and has continued to develop. This academic year, Els de Busser was appointed as Educational Director and Chantal de…

The Faculty of Humanities wants to take a stand in the middle of society with its research and education. That’s why last year, in the middle of a pandemic, the Societal Advisory Board was founded. What are the members’ plans?

In a supplementary decision on 17 May 2022, the Executive Board of Leiden University has concluded that it will publish the titles of seven articles in which there is evidence of malpractice. This concerns a former staff member of the Institute of Psychology. The Executive Board considers it to be in…

No procession of professors, just a handful of people in the church and snowdrifts outside Leiden’s Pieterskerk: 8 February 2021 was no ordinary Dies Natalis. Carel Stolker transferred the rectorate to Hester Bijl, and Annetje Ottow became the new President of the Executive Board. With an honorary doctorate…

The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities strategic alliance celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2022. At the ‘The Next Ten Years’ anniversary celebration in the Faculty Club on 12 April, the partners looked back on their achievements and ahead to the major social challenges of the next ten years.

The Executive Board of Leiden University has appointed the new Board for the Faculty of Archaeology. Read more about their plans for the future of the Faculty.

After a turbulent Covid year, the well-being of our students and staff has the highest priority. How can we prevent physical and mental health problems? This was the key question at the Opening of the Academic Year in Pieterskerk in Leiden on 6 September.

The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) has appointed five new members from Leiden. Annetje Ottow, Carsten de Dreu, Pancras Hoogendoorn, Ton Schumacher and Maartje van der Woude will be joining the oldest ‘learned society’ in the Netherlands.

Ten Leiden museums and heritage institutions have curated the online exhibition ‘Carel’s Universe’. They selected objects from their collections that symbolise retiring Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker and the research in Leiden. With direct references, playful associations and the odd nod and wink.

Annetje Ottow, president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, has been the new chair of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) strategic alliance for just two months. What does she want to achieve during her two-year chairmanship?

There’s been a lot of commotion about the ‘Apartheid in Israel’ panel discussion being cancelled. The organisers, Students for Palestine, wanted to hold this at Leiden University’s Wijnhaven building in The Hague on 21 March. The Executive Board would only allow the event to go ahead if guarantees…

On Tuesday a few dozen students and staff from Leiden University protested on the square in front of the Lipsius building against the classroom scanners that have been installed in buildings and lecture halls. They are demanding that the scanners be removed.

The winner of the Leiden University Thesis Prize has made an original and substantial contribution to argumentation theory. This is what Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board and member of the LUF board, said at the online ceremony for the University’s thesis prizes. The winner of the first…

On September 1 2017, Marlou Grobben ends her term as assessor of the faculty board of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. After a two- year period, having represented the student- interests within the faculty board, the position is transferred to Esmee Braam.

Lodewijk Govaerts has been appointed by Ingrid van Engelshoven, caretaker Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), as a member of the Board of Governors of Leiden University.

Ingrid van Engelshoven, outgoing Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), has appointed Robine de Lange-Tegelaar to the Board of Governors of Leiden University.

Campus The Hague's Faculty Board has a new member. Mikal Tseggai has passed on the baton to Marlou Grobben, making her this year's faculty assessor. So what exactly does an assessor do? What are Mikal's thoughts as she reflects on the past year and what are Marlou's plans? The two women are more than…

During a meeting at the University on 10 November, staff spontaneously removed a painting by artist Rein Dool from the wall in one of the meeting rooms in the Academy Building, reversed it and placed it on the floor. A tongue-in-cheek action with a serious undertone. This has led to a lot of commotion…

The Dies Natalis for alumni on 11 February was an online event. Almost 1,000 alumni tuned in to Bastiaan Rijpkema’s interview with Annetje Ottow, who had then been President of Leiden University’s Executive Board for all of three days. Alumni are part of her portfolio on the Executive Board.

When talking about innovative technologies, Blockchain should certainly be mentioned. In the Honours Class ‘Board the Blockchain Train!’, students learn about the influence of technology on, for example, banking transactions or real estate appraisal.

This year Leiden University exists for 444 years! This will be celebrated together with the residents of Leiden and The Hague during various activities. One of these is scientists and residents doing research on plastics and psychology together.

At the request of outgoing minister Stef Blok, the Province of Groningen wrote a letter to support the minister in his rejection of two amendments by the Dutch House of Representatives.

Ed van den Berg, MBA, will succeed Dirkje Schinkelshoek from 1 September as interim member of the Faculty Board of the Science Faculty, responsible for operational management.

On 9 June the deans of Leiden University met for the 500th time with the Rector Magnificus for the Board of Deans. An informal, inspiring and contemplative meeting without a strict ending time, say deans and former deans.

By making two final network connections and entering a command, Martijn Ridderbos (Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board) , Geert de Snoo (Dean of the Faculty of Science) and Bart Hoogervorst (Head of Department Operations ICT Shared Service Centre) ceremonially booted up the university’s latest supercomputer,…