Make your dream come true

Per Brændgaard Mikkelsen is a consultant, communicator and teacher within the field of human nutrition. He is self-employed and treasures his job. After completing his MSc thesis on ”The effect of animal vs vegetable protein in the distribution of energy” in the Department of Human Nutrition in 1999, Per has taken matters into his own hands and created a job he enjoys so much that he finds it difficult to accommodate a growing desire to work less hours.

 

Per Brændgaard Mikkelsen speaks of social networking as the main reason why he is where he is today. “Don’t wait, be proactive and make your dream come through” is his advice to job seekers of today and tomorrow.

 

From research to reaching the public

Per Brændgaard Mikkelsen’s first job after finishing his MSc degree was a PhD. position at the Department of Human Nutrition. After a few months though, he was convinced that becoming a scientist was not what he dreamed of and so he set out to create an alternative future for himself.

 

When he decided to start his own company in 2006, he could look back at 3 years as a nutritional consultant with GCI Mannov and an additional 3 years as a development consultant, head of a ‘centre of excellence’ and teacher at SUHR’S, which provided him with a strong foundation to build on. “Being your own boss is a good way to make sure that your time is spent working with things that you find interesting and meaningful”, he explains.

 

His interests as well as his workday are dedicated to communicating scientific knowledge to non-experts and the general public. With this as his starting point, Per specialises in obesity, nutritional guidance and behavioural changes towards a healthier lifestyle.

 

A typical day at work

Per spends most of his time by the computer or telephone in his own living room, but he also has a lot of “out of house” activities to attend to, which are time-consuming and contribute to making the distinction between work and leisure time somewhat blurred. As he puts it: “I work out of my own house, so my working day usually begins five minutes after I wake up, often around 6-7 am. Now, of course sometimes I have to attend meetings around town and I also spend quite a bit of time on presentations and courses. These often take place in the evening and so I try to take some time off during the afternoon, just to make sure that it’s not all work. I’m practicing on taking time off and working less, but better. It’s hard though, when most of it is so exciting”.

 

Future plans

Even though in many ways Per feels he has found his dream job, there is always room for new goals, dreams and ambitions, and he is by no means prone to idleness. At the moment he is working alongside the National Board of Health and the Danish Medical Association, on implementing and further developing a concept he has called ‘Small Steps’. The concept is based on Per’s thoughts on how to loose weight, change your eating habits or become more physically active. “I work with highly skilled psychologists and find it very exciting to combine my take on nutritional science with modern psychology. It is probably something I will continue focusing on in the future. ‘Small steps’ is probably just my first step in that direction”. Furthermore, he reckons he will spend more time writing books, giving presentations and holding courses, hopefully reaching a wide audience of non-experts.