Two words, international relocation – what do they make you think of? Our guess is companies sending their employees from one side of the globe to the other, or even families moving for a different lifestyle. However, relocating isn’t just limited to those corporates with a high salary or parents about to start their new adventure for themselves and their children. Many young people move internationally for their studies, in the first step of a long career of international assignments. Lots of students from different backgrounds, beliefs and upbringings study internationally to experience new life, teachings, culture and friends. One country of choice in particular is The Netherlands. Universities around the world are ranked academically every year by the Centre for World Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. This is known as the Shanghai Rating or Academic Rating of World Universities (ARWU). Although the highest number of top universities are located in the U.S. (16 out of the top 20), The Netherlands scores extremely high considering the small size of the country. Four universities are ranked in the top 10, and a number of others within the first 500. Ratings for the most highly rated Dutch universities are as follows: World rank The Netherlands rank University 57 1 Utrecht University 77 2 Leiden University 82 3 University of Groningen 100 4 VU University Amsterdam 101-150 5-7 Radbound University, Nijmegen University of Amsterdam University of Wageningen 151-200 8 Erasmus University 201-300 9-10 TU Delft Maastricht University 301-400 11-12 TU Eindhoven University of Twente 401-500 13 Tilburg University The Netherlands is very proud to have a strong history in this type of comparison. However, 2014 is the first time four universities have ranked in the Shanghai top 100 and it is fantastic to see this result. The University of Groningen has moved up 10 places to position 82, while the VU University enters the top 100 for the first ever. Every year the number of international students coming to The Netherlands continues to rise, from all corners of the world. Between 2007 and 2011, there was a 54 per cent increase in numbers. Such a dramatic increase led to some Dutch political parties to call for restrictions on the numbers of students, amid fears they were taking the places previously filled by Dutch nationals. In both 2006 and 2011 the highest numbers came from Germany, China and Belgium. There are many reasons why international students choose The Netherlands, but one key incentive is that many courses are taught in English. In addition, Dutch tuition fees are considerably cheaper than in many other European countries. In 2014-2015, the yearly fee for a bachelor degree was EUR 1906 (US$ 2505) per year compared with EUR 8400 (US$ 11, 042) being the average UK fee. These results demonstrates the continue development in our education system and we are pleased to welcome students from all countries. Now, international relocation has another meaning.