As a bachelor student, I studied Psychobiology at the University of Amsterdam. I really enjoyed learning everything about the brain and I wanted to continue in this direction for my Master's degree. Most neuroscience Master's degrees focus on a particular field of neuroscience, but I chose Brain and Cognitive Sciences because it allows one to investigate questions in neuroscience from different angles in an interdisciplinary setting. Especially the international atmosphere and small group size appealed to me. Our group of students got to know each other well during the courses, the many extracurricular and fun activities, and especially the study trip. All MCBS staff members were very approachable and helpful.

During my studies, I learned that my main interest lies in fundamental research towards understanding the neural basis of behaviour. I completed my last internship in the 'Circuits – Computation – Models' department at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, where I studied motion vision in fruit flies. There, I found the exact type of research and lab environment that I liked. Fortunately, after graduating in 2020, I could come back to start my PhD in the same group. The guidance and encouragement that I received during my Master's to do an internship abroad definitely helped in this process. I would advise current students wanting to go for a PhD to use the internships to try out different research methods. The exact topic is less important at this stage; when you start a PhD, you have to read the relevant literature and accustom yourself to the specific field anyway. However, previous experience with methods can be a great advantage for finding and getting the PhD position that suits you.