My name is Kristina Rakinić, I am a young researcher and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. I am a third-year Ph.D. student, exploring the topic of (im)morality on social media among adolescents. I visited the Berlin Ipsos Institute for two weeks in November 2023. The whole experience fulfilled me both personally and academically. The main motivation for applying for the TAV programme was to gain new experience in the field of research. In addition, I found it a great opportunity to get to know the work of researchers at a private institute in Berlin and to experience life in a metropolitan city. I am very grateful for this opportunity and would recommend it to anyone who wants to develop both personally and academically.
I visited the Ipsos Institute three times during my stay. And each time I felt very much at home and welcome at the Institute. Dr. Johannes Kaiser was very helpful and the discussions we had were always very interesting. Dr. Kaiser also gave me useful suggestions for further work. I also had the opportunity to meet other members of the Institute and learn about their work. I also had a meeting with the director, Dr. Robert Grimm, who gave me a more detailed insight into the work of the Institute. Overall, I gained an interesting insight into the workings of a private institute involved in public opinion and market research. This experience and knowledge enriched and broadened my previous research knowledge.
During my two-week visit, I worked on the EU Kids Online database. I had the opportunity to process data collected from a representative sample of German children and adolescents and their parents. Working with good quality data is definitely something every researcher wants to experience. The database offered many opportunities and ideas for formulating interesting research questions, and I can say that the time I spent analysing the data and reflecting on the reasons for certain results flew by.
David Bowie, the famous singer who lived in Berlin for a few years, in the district of Schöneberg (where the Ipsos Institute is also located), said that Berlin was the greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine. And that is more than true. Berlin offers a cultural diversity that is hard to find anywhere else in the world. It has something for everyone, with its international and non-judgemental character. During the visit be sure to eat at least one döner kebab, because without it, you can't really experience Berlin.
This experience will always be a fond one for me and all I can say is that the time has gone by all too quickly. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this great opportunity offered by the TAV programme. It is through travel that we learn the most, as it is the new people, places and experiences that enrich us and make us grow.
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