The Austrian Studies Fund was established with a festive gathering in the Faculty Club on Friday afternoon, 23 June. This fund is the successor of the Austrian Studies Foundation and will continue and expand the program of activities of the Central European Studies chair at Leiden University, which was established in 1992.

With her exciting research into criminal truth finding in Europe, Linda Geven won this year’s Gratama Science Prize for young talented scientists. As the winner of the prize, Geven received the sum of €20,000 to use for her research. The jury believed that Geven belongs to ‘a new generation of legal psychologists, who are making a new indispensable contribution to enhancing criminal truth finding.’

Sustainable rose smell that can be produced on a large scale. Tobias Fecker made this into a possibility during his thesis, which was a collaboration between the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the TU Delft. He wins the fourth edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award.

The family of the famous diplomat, sinologist and writer Robert van Gulik has donated his personal archive and part of his collection to Leiden University Libraries (UBL). The collection and archive provide insight into the life and work of Robert van Gulik, who became known to the general public for his Judge Dee novels. In addition, the family has set up the 'Robert van Gulik Fund for the sinological collections of the Leiden University Libraries', placed with the Leiden University Fund, to stimulate research into the life and work of Robert van Gulik.

The Joskind Fund was signed in the Academy Building on Monday 22 May. The fund focuses on food production and biodiversity. Erna Barèl and Bas Reichert, the founders of the Base Clear biotech firm, are also the founders of the fund. Both studied biology at Leiden University and wanted to remain in the discipline, but as entrepreneurs rather than academics. Experience during internships had shown them that there was a demand for expertise in DNA analysis. This was how BaseClear began.

The Leiden University Fund (LUF) Committee for Academic Expenditure (CWB) has an annual project grant round in March for teaching and research projects up to € 35,000. The resources come from the named funds of the LUF, the project grants funds of Stichting Praesidium Libertatis I and from the collaboration of the LUF with the Gratama-Stichting, Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds en Stichting Verpakking en Milieu.

Friends and family of Willemijn van Woensel are holding a golf tournament to raise money for ovarian cancer research. Willemijn died in 2021 at the age of 57 of ovarian cancer, a fatal disease that affects 1,400 women per year. Every year 1,000 women die from this silent killer.

It’s over a year ago since Russia started its war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Life has carried on for the Ukrainian students in Leiden as they try to make the best of things. Last summer, we spoke to Sofia, who started her second year on the Psychology programme last September. How is she coping?

Leiden University and Unicef have already been working together for ten years to increase and share information on children’s rights. They are extending this cooperation. Professor of Children’s Rights Ton Liefaard explains what has already been achieved and what he wants to achieve in the next five years.

‘If we all possessed just an ounce of Cleveringa, then all would be well in the world,’ said Professor Leo Lucassen. In the Cleveringa debate on the line between free speech and threatening speech he called for ‘more guts’. He is not the only one who thinks this is badly needed if the debate at the Academy Building on Wednesday evening between academics, politicians and journalists was to be believed.