As a researcher, I aim to chart and understand intraspecific variation in the social structures of primates' group life. Specifically, I study cultural differences in great apes' sociality, and their impact on expressions of behaviour that bear relevance to survival and ultimately fitness (like cooperation and social learning). A better understanding of the reach of culture in primates' lives can teach us important lessons about (the validity of) species-specific characterizations (e.g., "chimpanzees are aggressive"; "bonobos are peaceful"), and by extension, the evolutionary origins of human culture. As a teacher, I feel privileged to teach the methods and contents of primatology to new generations of students of animal behaviour. Hereby, I mainly focus on the principles underlying ethology (applied to the study of primates) and their intrinsic value for understanding animal, including human, behaviour. The interplay between research and education makes for a very exciting job in which original insights are constantly updated with state-of-the-art science.