Medical students at the UMCG are introduced to the basicprinciples of medical research during the 3-year bachelor’speriod. These experiences increase awareness of the impor-tanceofresearchandgivethemthecompetencytoexploretheliterature and to find the gaps and limits of health science. Inthe3-yearmaster’speriod,studentspracticetheseskillsduringa research clerkship of 26 weeks. Many opportunities are of-fered locally, but students can also choose to go abroad.Personally, I wanted to go to a famous oncology researchcenter in the world, because I want to pursue a career in on-cology. I was lucky to find a supervisor who knew about TheUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and I wasimmediately enthusiastic. A great advantage to Texas washaving a family member living close to Houston. InMarch 2014, I had the first encounter with my supervisor atUMCGandsoonafterthatIcontactedmysupervisorinHous-ton. In June, I started writing my proposal and organizing therequireddocuments and could start my electivein November.Planning a research project abroad is not easy. You needsponsorship letters from your university and from yoursponsoring supervisor abroad for obtaining a visa fromthe consulate. I had to create an online profile on theMD Andersonwebsiteforuploadingtherequireddocuments.And besides that, you need letters to apply for funding.Every student has to select a research topic, review liter-ature, generate data, and interpret research findings. Howev-er, in doing a research project abroad, you have to deal witha lot more. For example, you need to find a place to stayshort-term, to learn about other cultures, and sometimes tospeak a foreign language, which is not always easy, espe-cially in presenting research. Also, you need to navigatepublic transport or buy a car. I decided to travel by bicycle,which was uncommon in Houston. Finally, if you haveproblems, your friends and family are not easily availableto you for support.Iexperiencedmanybenefitsfrommyinternationalresearchexperience at MD Anderson: attending lectures given by fac-ulty from a top international institution and invited scientificleaders from elsewhere, being exposed to research methodsfrom an international context, practicing how to work in aforeign language, improving my social skills, expanding mycultural awareness, growing my professional network, andlearning how to cope with unexpected situations (e.g., orga-nizing visa documents). I learned how cancer registries work,howtheirlimitationsandbenefitsinfluencetheresearchques-tions asked, how to analyze data, including how to manageoutliers and small numbers, and how to analyze and presentresearchoutcomes. Ofcourse, addingthis uniqueopportunityto my CV was a highlight.I was fortunate to have ideal supervisors. They were avail-ableanytime,includingafter5p.m.,whichhelpswhentimeisshort.Theyunderstoodandrespectedmypositionasastudentand knew the extent of their responsibilities to help me withmy clerkship research project. Having knowledgeable super-visors is critical to a successful traineeship, in that they have