How I prepare my summer research stays

As I spend my summers in the Netherlands every year, I have developed a set of checklists to streamline the process (I like a good checklist, in case you hadn’t noticed yet).

Here’s the set of checklists that I use:

• A pretravel checklist with all the logistics that need to be taken care of before the trip, such as the document of authorization to travel alone with my daughter, as well as booking tickets and all practical aspects.
• A checklist of things to do in the first days, such as stopping by to reactivate my campus card.
• A list of things to plan over the weekends, family to visit, and places to go to.
• My work priorities for the research stay. These priorities are often centered around in-person meetings and catching up.
• A list of dates in terms of when I arrive, which type of childcare I have for when, and when I leave.

If you have carry out international mobilities, this overview of lists may be useful for you!

How do you prepare for international research stays?