 The concept of polarization has fascinated me for a very long time. It's something that is often misunderstood in society, but also in the academic debate. And yet it is super relevant for society nowadays. I'm Kieta Meijs. I'm an alumnus of Tilburg University's Research Master in Social and Behavioral Sciences. During my current research, I found out that people often perceive polarization while there's actually no scientific evidence for this. And if people act upon these perceptions, polarization can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. So there's a lot of unclarity about this concept. Every discussion, every disagreement, every dispute can be seen as polarization, while we know very little about it in academic discussions. So that's why I'm studying it in my current research. The Research Master focuses on individuals in their societal context and it prepares students for scientific career or a research-intensive career. During the program I had a lot of autonomy to choose my own research topics and to do my own research and the hands-on approach of the program really gave me a real research experience. And the direct communication with professors and with other experts really helped me to grow even further as a researcher. During the courses I was already able to study topics related to polarization and I really had the freedom to do that in different unique courses. And these equip me with needed research tools and advanced skills that also prepared me for my PhD application, which I'm finishing at the moment. Doing this program meant a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. And this combination of enjoyment and dedication really helped me shape my professional career nowadays. And I experienced close contact with fellow students, a very diverse group of people and some of them are still my friends today. To future students, if you're ambitious, if you're passionate about doing research, this Research Master program is really something for you. It enables you to dive deep into societal issues to develop advanced research skills with which you can really make an impact.