Student Lennart Kleinjans - MSc Nutrition and Health

NIZO is a research institute which  assists food- and ingredients companies to make better and more profitable food. "I knew this was a company that conducts research on behalf of industry and I wanted to see how this relates to research at the university. Via a professor, I came in touch with NIZO employees who have the same backround as me (MSc Nutrition and Health, specialisation Molecular Nutrition and Toxicology), and they wanted me as an intern."

"Within NIZO, I have done research into improving sampling methods for research on intestinal bacteria. The daily activities were similar to the daily activities during my MSc thesis research. It started with reading about the subject and setting up a plan. After that followed a lot of lab work and finally report writing. It was very interesting to see the ins and outs at a research company. The atmosphere at NIZO was very good and I felt right at home. It was fun to work with researchers from many different disciplines."

Study

"During my MSc Nutrition and Health I already worked with bacteria, so that worked out well. Furthermore I had already used different techniques in the lab during courses. For this internship I could make use of the literature I had read for my MSc thesis. You will get the biggest challenge in the beginning of your internship or MSc thesis. You do not know that much of a particular topic, so you  have to familiarise yourself with what is already known and what aspects still need research. Sometimes you get quite a lot of responsibility to determine how you will start, that's a challenge, but that's exactly what I love."

Future

"After completing my MSc Nutrition and Health, I would like to combine research and education in my job. I hope to get started at a university, preferably in Wageningen. I would like to be an inspiring teacher for the upcoming students of Nutrition and Health at Wageningen University. Hopefully I'm up to it."

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