Impressions
DIES NATALIS Animated professors in their billowing gowns and the beadle with his silver staff. The Dies Natalis is one of the most photogenic events in the academic year. Rector Carel Stolker enthusiastically tweets his photos of this special day.
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CEREMONIES
WCC-AWARDS It’s raining prizes during the World Cultural Council ceremony in the Pieterskerk. Nine women academics from Leiden each receive a Special Recognition Award for their ability to present their research in a way that is easy for the general public to understand.
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3 OCTOBER UNIVERSITY How do babies learn to talk? Leideners of all ages absorb new knowledge during the 3 October University. The programme includes interactive lectures by an archaeologist, a legal expert and a linguist.
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LEIDEN
SYSTEMATIC GARDEN IN THE HORTUS Young visitors search for members of the pawpaw fruit family. The Systematic Garden in the Hortus botanicus, where plants are organised according to how they are related to one another, has been updated to take account of the latest scientific insights. The information on the noticeboards is intended not just for students and experts, but also for a wide audience and the youngest visitors.
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LEIDEN ASIA YEAR For a whole year the focus in Leiden is on Asia, with a vast array of events, exhibitions and concerts. The year marks the opening of Leiden University’s new Asian Library, whose collection includes this photo from 1863 of Javanese dancers.
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ASIA
ASIAN LIBRARY Queen Måxima opens the new Asian Library during a ceremony in the Pieterskerk. The Library is housed on a new floor constructed on top of the University Library, and holds one of the world’s biggest collections on Asia. It contains over 30 kilometres of old manuscripts, historic maps, antique photos, drawings and prints.
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ELECTION DEBATE Is it acceptable to curtail liberties in the fight against terrorism? Leading politicians keenly debate current issues in the Great Leiden Election Debate. The debate in a packed city hall is organised by the five major Leiden student associations.
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ELECTIONS
LEIDEN IN THE CABINET After a long process of forming a government, Mark Rutte finally assembles a new group of ministers, and what do we see? Leiden University is the main source of candidates for the new posts. No fewer than six of the positions are filled by alumni of Leiden University. And that’s without including the King.
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MENTOR NETWERK What is a typical day like for a judge, or a chemist? Students and new alumni can ask experienced alumni all their pressing career questions via Leiden University’s alumni mentor network. Almost 900 mentors have signed up.
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ALUMNI
SWEAT ROOM Possibly Leiden University’s best tradition: signing your name on the wall of the Sweat Room. There’s now a digital version of the Sweat Room, which is handy if your signature has faded. Alumni can tag the spot where they wrote their signature, thus preserving it for posterity.
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KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE Expanding cities in Kenya are encroaching on the habitat of wild animals. Leiden environmental experts are studying the consequences of this development in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service. Master’s students are also carrying out research on this area of potential conflict between humans and animals.
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COLLABORATION
NIMAR It is crucial both for international relations and for Dutch society to have more knowledge about Morocco. Minister for Education Jet Bussemaker stresses this point at the opening of the new headquarters of the Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR). The Institute has been part of Leiden University since 2015.
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CLINICAL TECHNOLOGY
Think like a doctor and a technologist. This is what the first bachelor’s in Clinical Technology have learned to do in this joint programme offered by LUMC, TU Delft and Erasmus MC. In their graduation projects, the young graduates demonstrate some clever ideas, such as wrist lights to improve visibility during operations.
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PASSED!
HONOURS COLLEGE It has become a fun tradition: honours students throw their caps in the air to celebrate receiving their diplomas. The Honours Academy is for students who can and want to do more. ‘A university programme shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all formula,’ in the words of Honours Dean Ton van Haaften.
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WIJNHAVEN Located at the political heart of the Netherlands, Wijnhaven is the ideal base for our students and researchers in The Hague. It is where the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs is situated, and the other six faculties are also active here.
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THE HAGUE
SECURITY STUDIES More than 115 students with 21 different nationalities start their new bachelor’s in Security Studies. Teaching and research on security and counter-terrorism have expanded enormously in recent years.
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MOOCs Researchers at the Online Learning Lab at Leiden University’s Centre for Innovation are working hard to develop digital teaching. From transplantation studies to heritage under threat, Leiden University now offers more than twenty Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
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DIGITAL
PROPAGANDA POSTERS North Korean propaganda posters show an idealised image of the dictatorial regime, giving a fascinating insight into this closed country. The University Library has digitised 1,200 propaganda posters from the collection held by external collector Willem van der Bijl.
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OPEN DAYS What can I do with this degree later, and what’s it like studying in Leiden? Thousands of school pupils and their parents visit the Open Days. A growing number of bachelor’s programmes are taught in English, which makes Leiden University interesting for both Dutch and international pupils.
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WHAT TO STUDY LADIES DAY The world needs men and women with knowledge of computer science, but the majority of students of this programme are still male. The Computer Science department organises the Ladies Day specially for girls from the final two years of pre-university education so they can discover the many and varied options offered by this programme.
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LExS SCHOLARSHIPS Australia, Brazil, China‌ More than 50 excellent students from 25 different countries are able to study for a master’s degree in Leiden or The Hague, thanks to a LExS scholarship (Leiden University Excellence Scholarship).
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DIVERSITY
WOMEN’S DAY Journalist Sheila Sitalsing gives the Annie Romein-Verschoor lecture on International Women’s Day, entitled ‘The Angry Woman’. The University women’s network Sophia aims to create equal opportunities and promote a better working climate for female academics.
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RUNNING FOR A GOOD CAUSE In both Leiden and The Hague students and staff of Leiden University push their sporting boundaries for charity. The proceeds of the Science Run in Leiden go to the UAF association for refugee students and the participants in The Hague collect a tidy sum for UNICEF Netherlands.
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SPORT
VICTORY FOR ORANGE The Orange Lionesses are European football champions. What is their secret? Using super computers, the Leiden researchers at the Sport Data Center analyse the every move of the women footballers, which gives more insight into their recipe for success.
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MOOT COURT This is where generations of eminent lawyers have learned how to plead a case. The famous Moot Court at the Leiden Faculty of Law has been in existence for 25 years. This practice law court has become the ideal academic skills training course for some 800 law students every year.
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ANNIVERSARIES
LORENTZ CENTER Mayor Henri Lenferink and curator Marthe Sophie view the inspiring posters covering 20 years of the Lorentz Center. For two decades already, the Center has been organising workshops in which international groups of researchers from different disciplines examine issues together.
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PRACTICUM MUSICAE Studying and playing music at a high level. Almost 70 musical students follow the Practicum Musicae track at the Royal Conservatoire alongside their study programme. The University actively encourages interaction between science and art and culture.
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THE ARTS
NANOPARTICLES Research often
generates artistic images, such as this colourful view of gold nanoparticles made with two different electron microscopes. Physicist Sander Blok won the LION Image Award with this photo. 29
MIXED REALITY FOR EDUCATION Studying a three-dimensional image of an ankle joint with a HoloLens. In their anatomy lessons students can now even walk around the image to gain a better understanding of how joints work. Educational innovators in Leiden developed this application for the Microsoft HoloLens.
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INNOVATION
SUPERCOMPUTER The Netherlands’ smallest supercomputer is in Leiden. The Little Green Machine II, the size of four pizza boxes, has the computing power of 10,000 PCs and helps researchers in such fields as computer science and astronomy. The computer was developed by a team of Dutch scientists in collaboration with IBM.
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FOREIGN VISITS Leiden delegations travel the world to strengthen the University’s cooperation with international universities and to maintain contacts with our alumni. Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker has visited China, Mexico and Japan over the past year, each time with a different group of academics.
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INTERNATIONAL
OWL American psychology student Madison cannot imagine life without her dog John, so he too has moved with her to Leiden. Over 1,300 international students from 84 different nationalities begin their studies in Leiden or The Hague. Orientation Week Leiden (OWL) is their opportunity to get to know one another and the city.
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WITH THE HIGHEST DISTINCTION Medical student Chimar Rahmattulla graduates with the highest distinction. She has also worked on her PhD research during her studies and will soon complete her programme in Biomedical Sciences. We will be hearing a lot more from this exceptionally bright medical alumna.
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YOUNG TALENT
FAMELAB Which of these young scientists can explain their research in a clear and appealing way in just three minutes? Neuroscientist Laura Steenbergen and astronomer Christian Eistrup give the most impressive performances and are invited to represent Leiden in the national final of FameLab.
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS BATTLE Fired with enthusiasm, the finalists of the Sustainable Business Battle pitch their green solutions, from an Energy Race app to a plant-bedecked bicycle park on the Bio Science Park. Together with students, members of staff and external companies, the University is becoming greener than ever.
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SUSTAINABILITY
DRINKING WATER STATIONS Plastic soup surfer Merijn Tinga, a Leiden biology alumnus, opens the first drinking water station in Plexus Student Centre. The 30 stations are the initiative of Leiden University Green Office, the student organisation that promotes sustainability. The taps should reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles.
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DNA DATING Why do opposites attract? According to LUMC researcher Karin van der Tuin, it is probably due to your DNA because the more two people’s DNA differs, the better the match. She tests her hypothesis at the Lowlands music festival where visitors can date one another on the basis of their DNA.
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TAKING PART IN SCIENCE
NIGHT OF ART AND SCIENCE Street theatre, drama, poetry and a lot of science: Leiden’s city centre is the backdrop to the Night of Art and Science. Many University buildings – from the Observatory to the Hortus – open their doors to artists, scientists and an inquisitive public.
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EL CID It’s going to be an unforgettable EL CID. For almost 50 years this whirlwind introduction week has been the rousing start of studies and student life for thousands of first-year students.
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WELCOME, FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
HOPWEEK Hundreds of students hopping in the Grote Kerk in The Hague. More and more Leiden University students study in the royal city, and they have their own introduction programme: the HOP Week.
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DISABILITY Studying often takes a lot more time and energy when you have a disability. Around ten per cent of students have some kind of impairment, varying from a physical disability to a learning disorder, such as dyslexia. Leiden’s Fenestra Disability Centre is there to help them.
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INCLUSIVENESS
REFUGEE STUDENTS The first 15 refugee students are delighted to have completed their Preparatory Year in Leiden. Thanks to this intensive programme they are able to catch up on missing areas of knowledge and have worked hard to bring their Dutch and English up to the required level. After this, they go on to applied sciences or academic university programmes in the Netherlands.
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MRI-SCANNER Higher-resolution brain scans and a more detailed study of the brain. This is now possible with the new MRI scanner at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition. Over the coming years, LUMC and Leiden University can continue to conduct innovative research in such areas as the adolescent brain and psychiatry.
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MEDICINE
ORGAN-ON-CHIP It sounds futuristic, but it really is possible to make miniature organs and use them to study how diseases develop and how best to treat them. This is what project leader Christine Mummery and her research team are hoping to do with a Gravity grant of almost 19 million euros.
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WORLDWIDE ARCHAEOLOGY Leiden archaeologists have been conducting research in the Near East for many years, including in Oman. Their research includes reconstructing food supplies in ancient Arabia. Thanks to many international subsidies and prizes, our archaeologists are active throughout the world.
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FIELDWORK LIVING LAB Geert de Snoo, Dean of the Faculty of Science, poses proudly at the Living Lab, where environmental experts study the influence of chemical substances on biodiversity in 38 man-made ditches. The ditches were financed by a crowdfunding campaign.
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TEN YEARS OF ERC From research on spies to using light to combat cancer. Over the past decade more than 70 Leiden scientists have been awarded an ERC grant. The European Research Council (ERC) has been in existence for ten years, reason enough for a celebration with the researchers who have received grants. These and other prize winners are mentioned in the 2017 Hall of Fame on our website.
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PRIZE WINNERS
SPINOZA PRIZES Great news for physicist Michel Orrit and neuropsychologist Eveline Crone. They each receive an NWO Spinoza Prize of 2.5 million euros. Orrit intends to use the prize to continue his research on the role of nano-antennae in observing molecules, while Crone is starting research on the impact of social media on young people.
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PARABOLIC FLIGHT Students from Leiden, Nijmegen and Amsterdam go on a parabolic flight to test whether astronauts in a spacecraft can work not with their hands, but using only their brains. The students are among the first to research whether brain-operated computing is possible in a weightless condition.
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RESEARCH
MALARIA VACCINE Researchers at LUMC and Radboudumc are given the green light to infect volunteers with malaria so they can test a promising vaccine. If the vaccine works well, the researchers will carry out further tests in Africa.
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P.J. VETH BUILDING Leiden University is a completely renovated historical building for teaching and research richer. This is the first step in the direction of the new Humanities Campus that the University wants to realise in the coming years for the Faculty of Humanities.
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HERITAGE
NORTH KOREA IN AFRICA What are North Korean monuments doing in southern Africa? History student Tycho van der Hoog is studying how it is that these typical North Korean structures appear all around the world. They are an important source of income for a country that has become very isolated on the political world stage.
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CLEVERINGA LECTURE In her lecture Cleveringa Professor Marjan Schwegman reveals the history of the persecution of Jewish Professor Eduard Meijers. A former student of his, Lucy van Taalingen, played an important role in averting his deportation to a death camp. Schwegman calls for this aspect of Leiden’s history to be commemorated more widely.
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SCIENCE
PHD CANDIDATES | You come across them all along the Rapenburg: overjoyed graduates and brand-new PhDs. This year a record number of 423 Leiden PhD candidates received their diplomas. Congratulations to all of them!
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YOUNG TALENT THE HAGUE ALUMNI NEW OPPORTUNITIES CONGRATULATIONS PASSED ONLINE LEARNING DIVERSITY SPORT ANNIVER VERSARIES FIELD WORK INNOVATION SUSTAINABILITY ASIA HERITAGE ART SCIENCE HEALTH SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL HERITAGE DISCOVERIES SUS TAINABILITY AMHEID TAKING PART IN SCIENCE WELCOME, FIRST YEAR STUDENTS! ELECTIONS MEDICINE RESEARCH PRIZE WINNERS FIELDWORK WHAT TO STUDY LEIDEN CERWould you like to know more?
You can find the stories behind the photos at: www.universiteitleiden.nl/impressions
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