I find it great that we learn so much in a relatively short period of time - and that I am capable of taking all that information in.

In my opinion, IBP is a very demanding and time-consuming program, but what surprised me is the way your brain adapts to such way of studying.

I was also surprised about how interactive the Dutch teaching style is, and how the students on IBP willingly participate at workgroups but also at lectures. That creates great discussions and also allows you to get to know your class mates better. I have a feeling that everyone feels comfortable expressing their opinions, which is very freeing.

I like the fact that when we're in the halfway of our studying, we get to select our own direction and start selecting courses that we find most interesting. Before that, you get a broad overview of different sub-areas of psychology and then you can basically concentrate on what you think you wanna do in the future. (But it's also really good that we need to select three specialization courses, so you don't focus on just one thing and shut the other options out.)

I've now been here for two years and I've achieved expert-level knowledge and I have a quite clear idea of what I want to do in the future and what kinds of opportunities I have. The interactive teaching style that is used throughout the program also allows one to learn social skills and work with people from different cultural background. My English skills, both verbal and written, have improved significantly. I used to be really nervous when I had to give presentations in English, but since we have to do it so much at the university, nowadays it's pretty much a piece of cake. ;)

I believe all these skills will be useful later in life; in work life, for sure, but not only there. I'm very happy that I ended up studying in the Netherlands and in Leiden!

I use a lot of case examples coming from clinical practice in my lectures and work groups. I work as a psychologist in a rehabilitation centre as well, so I can share my practical experience in the classroom.

Also, I show videos of people who suffer from brain damage caused by traffic accidents. What kind of questions do you ask when doing a neuropsychological assessment? How can you help them to recover?

I like the course bio-neuropsychology, probably because of my biology background. The course teaches you about the brain: anatomy and how internal processes influence behavior and psychological disorders.

I like the study so far. I like the international environment. There are a lot of people from all over the world.

Courses sometimes have several lecturers so that we are always hearing from a specialist on the topic of that day. The professors are quite proficient in English with an occasional native level speaker.