When you think about this programme, it's now about 25 years.
25 years ago, people who wanted to go into medical research, clinical research or public health research,
basically did not have a platform to have scientific training, education.
What this programme does now, for 25 years,
is to provide the platform for those who want to do scientific research.
So I think one of the first things I realised when I looked on the website,
was that it looked already very international.
And that's what I experienced here.
It's people from all over the world.
This makes it more exciting. 
You get a lot of good ideas and hopefully you find some friends and collaborators for the future.
One of the main important selling points of this course, is that it's not just a Dutch course,
organised here at the Erasmus MC,
but it's really an international course.
We invite people from all over Europe and the world, including the United States,
teaching staff, but also students come from all parts of the world to gather here and to learn from this world leading teaching staff.
Even without being an epidemiologist there are some really famous names..
and it's all compressed to 3 weeks.
So it's almost too much.
There are so many lectures and sessions I would go to
That was really impressive, just to see the list of the lecturers.
We try of course to focus very much on not only the best colleagues academically,
but also didactically.
So we want them to be good teachers and be good for - in that sense - for their students aswell.
And I think we generally succeed in that.
It's a very easy-access platform here.
The teachers stay here for a longer period of time during the course.
So it's very easy for you to interact with them,
and to learn that they're also normal people like you and me.
This here, the reunion here, the meeting with the professors,
it's something that I haven't heard of, of any other university.
I mean, we had a long day. 
And they still are willing to come up and meet with us, the students.
And talk about maybe, future projects, joint interests in research.
And it's just amazing for me.
It's a very positive way of welcoming us at Erasmus MC.
Well this is of course a great educational programme, and it's quite an experience for them,
but besides that... students do other things aswell.
So the social elements.. going out in Rotterdam,
Enjoying not only with your own group but with the other international students...
exchange with them in other than academic sense..
That's really a very important part of the programme.
Because everyone is, or many people are visitors, they are all interested in getting into contact.
So I had lot of interesting talks already with different people..
and we went out yesterday with 6 different nations or nationalities,
 and this is very stimulating and that's a fun part of it.
This is a bit of the first step into international collaboration...
So I think it's a very unique chance to.. 
To make friends, but also collaborators for years maybe, the rest of your life.
