~ A collaboration between National Sports Institute (ISN), Sport Nutrition Centre and IMU BSc (Hons) Nutrition ~ 23 – 24 May 2017 – A group of 25 athletes from the National Elite Cricket team and Women’s Netball team who are provided with sports science services by Institut Sukan Negara (ISN), Kuala Lumpur, participated in a personalised snack preparation session at the International Medical University (IMU). These sessions were organised by final year undergraduate students of the University’s Nutrition programme.
The students explained and demonstrated to the athletes the importance of healthy snacking as well as optimal nutrition for post-training and post-competition recovery. Each one of athletes then prepared their own personalised light post-training or post-competition recovery snack with the guidance and help of the Nutrition students.
Final year Nutrition student, Ch’ng Yu Xuan reflected “It never occurred to me that I would undergo my internship at Institut Sukan Negara (ISN). What I have learnt in class was useful for this internship. I was able to apply my knowledge and hone my skills as a nutritionist here. I was very nervous at first but managed to overcome it. My teammates and I were happy that the session was a success and the athletes enjoyed it. Going through Nutrition Practicum makes me appreciate everything that the lecturers have taught me even more, and I am now more prepared for my future career.”
Thye How Jie, another final year Nutrition student, shared “I personally feel that IMU BSc (Hons) Nutrition has prepared me well for this placement. The soft skills that we acquired throughout the semesters do come in handy. This experience prepares me better for the real world when I join the workforce.”
This activity is organised to expose students to one of the areas of work for students graduating from the Nutrition programme, which is the field of Sport Nutrition. A Sport Nutritionist is trained to assess body composition, hydration and energy balance in the context of athletic performance and use the information obtained to work with other sports scientist and provide advice according to the training/competition phases based on the periodisation plan . He/ She is able to advise athletes on optimal nutrition for performance in regards to nutrition for exercise training, competition and recovery from exercise.
