Alumnus testimonial
Alumnus Andries Olie – MSc Nutrition and Health
After high school Andries started working in the police force. With an interest in nutrition and wanting to know how nutrition influences human health and body he decided to study Nutrition and Health at Wageningen University, with a specialisation in Nutritional Physiology and Health Status.
An important skill that I have learned at Wageningen University is to be able to read, understand and critically look at a scientific article
Internship
“I went for my internship to India, which was a great experience! We conducted a study with Indian schoolchildren. We wanted to investigate whether an iron rich mung beans diet with or without guava could improve the iron status of the schoolchildren. Guava is a fruit rich in vitamin C, which increases the iron absorption. My part in the research was to investigate whether this had an influence on growth and morbidity.”
Career
“Immediately after my graduation I started working at the VU University Amsterdam as research assistant. In between two projects at the VU University Amsterdam I have completed a traineeship at the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission in Dublin, Ireland. During this traineeship I could combine my police background with nutrition. The Food and Veterinary Office is responsible for ensuring that community legislation on food safety, animal health, plant health and animal welfare is properly implemented and enforced in EU member states. During this traineeship I lived in Dublin and worked together with people from across the world. During this traineeship I gained very useful experience and had the best time of my life. Therefore I would recommend such a traineeship to anyone!”
“After this traineeship I started working as manager nutrition and health at the ‘Kenniscentrum suiker en voeding’ (Knowledge institute sugar & nutrition). This institute carries out research and gathers scientific information on sugar in relation to nutrition and health. In this job my task was to keep track of the latest knowledge in the field of sugar and nutrition and health, write position papers and decide what kind of research the institute will support financially.
“For me it was very clear that I did not want to continue in scientific research, although I think research is very interesting. I am more of a people person and therefore I searched for a job in communication, cooperation or policy. The nice part of my job is that I am in a position where I am involved in nutritional research projects, communication and visiting conferences. I work together with different sectors: health professionals such as dieticians, the food industry and research institutes. And of course, sugar is a hot-item at the moment. I enjoy the discussions about sugar and making people become aware of the facts.”
“An important skill that I have learned at Wageningen University is to be able to read, understand and critically look at a scientific article. And actually the whole basis and background on nutrition and health is something I still use very often.”