Practice what you preach: Why Leiden University should suspend all collaborations with Israel

The Executive Board has decided not to implement the recommendation of the Committee on Human Rights and Conflict Areas to suspend all collaborations with Israel, failing to uphold the values of human rights and international justice they claim to defend.

Caspar Jacobs, Julie Hall, Sara de Wit and Lieke Smits • July 06, 2026

Academia in Motion for young academics: an interview with the programme coordinators

Academia in Motion (AiM) aims to reshape culture at Leiden University, combining Recognition & Rewards with Open Science & Education. YAL sat down with programme coordinators Karlijn Hermans and Cas Henckens to learn why AiM is important, and particularly relevant to early-career academics.

Marcel van Daalen • 15-04-2026

Early career challenges at Leiden University: An analysis of the Work Experience Survey 2025

YAL was given access to results of Work Experience Survey 2025. Early career academics are currently left behind by the university, as our comparative analysis demonstrates. Improving the position of early career academics is not a marginal issue but a strategic necessity.

Caspar Jacobs + 3 others • 07-04-2026

Breaking the Walls between science, policy, and diplomacy

We travelled to Berlin to attend the Falling Walls Science Summit 2025. Drawing on our experience at the summit, we reflect on how early-career researchers can stay connected across borders, defend academic freedom, build stronger relationships with society, and navigate controversy.

Elizabeth Buimer + 1 other • 19-03-2026

Forming a hive: The importance of recognising and organising postdoctoral ‘worker bees’

A recent piece by Welmoed Visser in Ad Valvas describes the struggles of postdocs, “the disposable worker bees of academia”. As postdocs working at Leiden University, we recognise many of the concerns postdoctoral researchers face, such as stress around work pressure and precarity.

Renske Janssen + 1 other • 17-02-2026

Universities are awesome

In the past period, there has been quite a bit of attention for academia’s woes, such as the budget cuts, attacks on academic freedom, and cases of abuse of power. This may make it seem as if academia is a terrible place for work, especially for those who are at the start of their career.

Jochanan Veerbeek • 12-12-2025

Loss of academic freedom: Are we halfway there?

Recent developments surrounding the proposed discontinuation of the International Bachelor in Psychology (IBP) at several Dutch universities — including Leiden — raise serious concerns about the state of academic freedom in the Netherlands. This is not just about one programme or one decision.

Young Academy Leiden + 2 others • 12-08-2025