In a packed Grotius Hall, family and friends came together to pay tribute to young talent at Leiden University. The celebration was part of the annual Dies Natalis Festival for Alumni and gave dozens of visitors the chance to get to know a new generation of academics.

Leiden astronomy professors Ewine van Dishoeck, winner of the Kavli prize 2018, and Tim de Zeeuw, former Director General of the European Southern Observatory, have set up a Named Fund to stimulate young talent in science, both at Leiden University and in the Netherlands Antilles. The couple recently put their signature on the Van Dishoeck-de Zeeuw Fund.

The Dutch universities and the Leiden University Fund are shocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and empathise with all those affected by it. What is happening there is horrific, and we are deeply concerned about the ramifications for the Ukrainian universities and the academic community.