Hello everyone! Today I’ll share a bit about my minor, which was already my first choice before COVID-19. Luckily for me, not much changed this period, except that almost all my classes and lectures are online. This half-year, I’m doing the minor Psychobiology of Eating Behaviour at Wageningen. This minor consists of 5 courses, two in period 1 and 2, and one course in period 3.

As I already mentioned, almost everything is online (the same as for everyone else). In the first period, I had the course Principles of Sensory Science, which included an experiment about sensory science that actually was on campus. This was really fun to experience, and it was also nice to see some people for the first time. I do have a room in Wageningen since August, so for me, it is really easy to go to campus if necessary.

The reason I choose this minor is that I wanted to do something really different from tourism, and I have always been really interested in nutrition and food. This minor also really is a perfect fit. In the first period, you have the course Principles of Sensory Science, which teaches you about all the senses and how they can be manipulated, and Principles of Consumer Studies, which is a general course about why people consume. Then in the second period, you have the course Communication and Persuasion, which is exactly what it sounds like, and the course Nutrition Behaviour, talking about why we eat what we eat. Next period I have Nutritional Neurosciences, which will focus more on the brain and biology. I am very excited about this course! The course Nutrition Behaviour also offered hybrid classes, so I was able to follow most of them at uni which made it much easier to stay concentrated and motivated.

Personally, I find this minor really interesting and it gives me answers to the questions I sometimes ask myself. It has also shown me that I would like to specialize myself more in nutrition, or at least that this is something I would like to learn more about. I am even looking for a master’s in nutrition and figuring out if I would be able to apply with the courses I have had so far. I was really struggling with finding something that interested me, and even though it is far off from tourism, I can finally say that I have found something!

Author: Annick van der Zande