Long-standing collaborations were furthered and expanded when Gerard Canters (Leiden University) spent his VVP sabbatical in Allen Hill’s lab at Oxford.

“The excellent scientific reputation of the host institute; complete freedom of any bureaucratic obligations and the ability to focus on science and mutual contacts; the length of the stay. Longer than three months would have caused problems in my own institution; shorter than a month would have diminished the usefulness of my stay abroad disproportionately…” (Gerard Canters, VVP 2003)