Student testimonial
Stan – MSc Animal Sciences (thesis Adaptation, Health and Behaviour for Trouw Nutrition)
Stan is writing his second thesis for a company, Trouw Nutrition, on the effects of fat composition in milk replacers for calves. Not only will he contribute to research on current topics, but he also has the opportunity to learn more from the company and share reflections on each others work.
I appreciated the possibility to speak with other researchers and interns of the company about my thesis study, progress, and possible limitations.
“I am currently in my last year of the MSc Animal Sciences, doing an second thesis at the chair group of Adaptation and Physiology (ADP). From last July until January 2022, I have been working on my first major thesis within the Animal Production Systems (APS) Group. This project was about the practical applicability of circular growing and fattening pig diets. For my second thesis I had the opportunity to do research on a similar topic, however, I wanted to broaden my horizon and experience how it is to work for a company. After discussing the available topics and opportunities of two different chair groups, I made the decision to do my second thesis at the Ruminants R&D Department of Trouw Nutrition.
The topic of my thesis is related to the effects of fat composition in milk replacers for calves on their growth performance, feeding behaviour, and digestive tract development in calves. Bovine whole milk and/or milk replacers are the primary nutrient source for neonatal calves until weaning, however the composition in milk replacers for calves largely differs from whole milk due to the use of alternative fat sources other than milk fat. In Europe, vegetable oils, including coconut, palm, and rapeseed oils are primarily used causing milk replacers to contain a different fatty acid profile, triglyceride structure, and fat globule size, and structure compared to whole milk. Limited research is done on this topic and the research performed did not have the optimal research design.
During my thesis, I am involved in a research that was set-up by my supervisor. Next to computer work, which I can do at one of their two offices in Boxmeer (the Netherlands), I had the opportunity to perform practical farm work for my research. Practical farm work included working with the calves when feeding, measurements or sampling was performed. It is great to actually see your data being collected, which helps a lot with writing your thesis report. After the practical work at the farm, I also had the opportunity to do some lab work at MasterLab.
In addition to my own thesis study, a lot of other studies are performed by researchers and interns. I appreciated the possibility to speak with other researchers and interns about my study, progress, and possible limitations. Another big advantages of performing a thesis for a company is that you can walk along with other employees in different departments of the company.
Currently, I am in my last two months of my MSc thesis, so I am busy with lab work, analyzing my data, and writing parts of my thesis. My final take away message would be to take the chances you get while you are still studying. I am really happy that I made the decision to do my second thesis within a company. Not only is the company great, but the people including my supervisor, other researchers, and interns are amazing to work with.”