Impressions 2013

Impressions 2013 The year in pictures

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During the EL CID week, thousands of enthusiastic new students get to know Leiden, The Hague, student life and one another. International students have their own introduction programme.

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INTRODUCTION

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Living and studying under one roof. Students at Leiden University College The Hague move into a brand new building on Anna van Buerenplein in the centre of The Hague. The official opening of the building was performed by Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague.

NEW Around 300 different products are made every year in the new pharmacy at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

They include patient-specific chemotherapy drugs and medicines for clinical research that are not available commercially.

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‘You still have the luxury of being allowed to make mistakes, so it’s your duty to take risks,’ Leiden alumnus Prince Constantijn tells students at the opening of the 2013-2014 academic year. Leiden University welcomes distinguished guests to speak at academic ceremonies and special events throughout the year.

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ROYAL VISITS Queen Mรกxima opens the renovated tropical greenhouse in the Hortus botanicus. The royal visit is a great honour for Leiden University, where King Willem-Alexander studied History. The Hortus attracted over 137,000 visitors this year - a record number.

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For many years, the coldest place on earth was in Leiden, thanks to our physicist Kamerlingh Onnes. Exactly a hundred years ago, in 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research. To his right, fellow-physicist Johannes van der Waals.

PRIZE WINNERS An atomic force microscope for a new MRI scanner designed to distinguish individual atoms in biological materials to aid drug development. Physicist Tjerk Oosterkamp has received a VICI grant of 1.5 million euros to develop this instrument.

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First-year students at Leiden University College The Hague with their mentors, just before the start of the 2013-2014 academic year.

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First-year students of the new International Bachelor in Psychology (IBP), taught in English, are photographed during their introduction day with their study adviser, the programme coordinator, the Institute Board, the Faculty Board and Vice-Rector Magnificus Simone Buitendijk.

STUDENTS Getting your first-year diploma in one year: students at the Faculty of Science celebrate a successful start to their studies. To keep students on their toes, the University has now extended the binding study advice to the second year for all students.

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Archaeologists Corinne Hofman and Willem Willems are the Leiden leaders of Nexus 1492, a vast international research project looking at the history of the Caribbean region from the perspective of the indigenous Amerindian population. Funded by an ERC Synergy Grant of 15 million euros, more than 50 researchers will be rewriting the history of the colonisation of the Americas. This year, Hofman also won the Merian Prize for excellent female researchers, awarded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

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FIELDWORK Measuring particulates with your smartphone to quantify air pollution. Thousands of Dutch people took part in the first National iSPEX measurement day organised by Leiden astronomers. This socially appealing research proposal won the Academic Year Prize.

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‘Without imagination and a strong community, people don’t stand up for one another,’ says Michael Ignatieff, Cleveringa Professor for 2013-2014, in his inaugural lecture on 26 November. The Cleveringa lecture and the 26 November lectures for alumni commemorate the speech given by Professor Cleveringa in 1940 in defence of his Jewish colleagues.

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FREEDOM This is the week when the world holds its breath: will there be war with Syria? In his Leiden Freedom Lecture in August, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for calmness and diplomacy. The Freedom Lecture, which is delivered each year by an international advocate of freedom, is an initiative of the University, the LUMC and the City of Leiden to invite reflection on this important theme.

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Linguistics students in Leiden test a new kind of glasses, SpraakZien (SpeechView). The glasses project speech in the air at a distance that the wearer can adjust. For the time being, it’s done by computer, but soon it will probably only need a smartphone.

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INNOVATION Let the camera roll! Professor Stefaan van den Bogaert’s online lectures in European Law are followed by over 43,000 participants at their computers around the world. In 2013, Leiden University offered our first free MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). More MOOCs will be offered in 2014.

Everyone is welcome to participate.

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Hebrew Studies lecturer Martin Baasten is awarded the Leiden Teaching Prize.

Sass Rogando Sasot, a student at Leiden University College The Hague, receives the ECHO Award for talented ethnic minority students for her work on behalf of the LGBTQI community.

Marie-Anne Frenken, Biology alumna, wins gold at the World Rowing Championships in Korea.

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Seven of the Leiden students participating in the Oxford International Model United Nations win awards.

HONOURS Geert-Jan Kroes, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euros to research how gas molecules react on metal surfaces. This fundamental knowledge will make it possible to produce many chemical substances more efficiently.

Political scientist Daniela Stockmann is researching the use and influence of the internet and social media in China, funded by an ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros.

Remco Breuker, Professor of Korean Studies, has been given an ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros to examine the dispute between both North and South Korea and China over the history of ancient Manchuria.

Wil Roebroeks, Professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology and an expert in the field of the earliest occupation of Europe, has been awarded the Academy Professor Prize by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) for his excellent scientific achievements.

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It’s exciting, living away from home for the first time, in the city centre, in a student house or in lodgings. The Leidse Schans Campus, currently under construction, will provide 1,900 new student rooms in the next few years.

STUDENT LIFE Modern sports halls, new fitness equipment and improved facilities. The totally renovated University Sports Centre is now completely ‘fit for use’ for both sports and exams. Leiden University is committed to providing excellent facilities for its students.

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New international scholarship students and PhD candidates receive a warm welcome from the Mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, in the City Hall. Of the 23,000 students in the 2013-2014 academic year, more than 2,000 are international, representing 110 different nationalities.

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In Leiden Leiden University’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of Arabic Studies in Leiden includes a new wall poem by the acclaimed Arab poet Adonis and a Walking Guide to Islamic Leiden. Leiden has a long tradition of research and teaching in the humanities.

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The ‘Gradus ad Parnassum’ is saved! Generous donations from alumni have made it possible to restore the charcoal drawings by Victor de Stuers on the walls of the staircase in the Academy Building. Alumni support academic research and help maintain the University’s heritage.

HERITAGE Letters as loot: over a thousand 17th and 18th century letters confiscated from seized ships are now available online.

The letters are a gold mine for researchers studying the language used by ordinary men and women during this period.

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‘I’m Leiden to the core’ says Carel Stolker of himself, as he takes over the reins from Paul van der Heijden. Stolker is Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board.

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CELEBRATIONS Passed! 150 students are presented with the highly coveted Honours Certificate from the Honours College, and celebrate with the traditional graduation cap throwing. More and more students are taking part in the Honours Academy. Excellence is a core value in our teaching.

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More information You can find Impressions of 2013 with the stories behind all the pictures on: www.leiden.edu/impressions2013 Subscribe to our newsletter: www.leiden.edu/newsletter

Impressions  has been produced by: Strategic Communication and Marketing Directorate, Leiden University (Editorial) Ratio Design, Haarlem (Design) UFB/Graphic Productions (Printing)

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Photography: Jurriaan Brobbel 4, Pierre Cromp 17, Taco van der Eb 18 (centre), Peter van Evert 11 (below), Ben Grishaaver 24 (above), 18 (above), 26 (above right), Marc de Haan 5, 6, 15, 18 (left), 19, 20, 23, 24 (below), 26 (above left and below), André van Haasteren 27, Arnout Jaspers 9, Jeroen Jumelet, ANP 13, Elisabeth Koning 25, Francine van der Kooij 12, Arthur Koppejan 2,3, Michael Mendonca 24-25 (above), Pascal Neuteboom 21, Monique Shaw 10 (below), 14, 16, 22, Petra Sonius 7, Louis Wouters 18 (below right) February 