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Teaching awards 2020

Teaching awards 2020

According to the University law, one of the two main tasks of universities is to provide research-based top education. This will not be possible without motivated teachers. LTKY Representative Council annually selects the lecturer and course of the year so that we can give our praise for the valuable work. The selections are based on the Quality of Teaching survey and the proposal of the Advocacy Committee.

I was supposed to give a speech in LTKY’s annual celebration, and at the end of it toast for the recipients of the teaching awards. Like many other things this year, also this one is now being handled differently. The laureates will have their moments in the limelight next year, but especially during this corona fall, praise can never be given enough. So here are a few words about the 2020 lecturer and the course.

Lecturer of the Year – Mikael Collan

What is required of a lecturer of the year?

The Lecturer of the Year is a particularly distinguished lecturer who, year after year, inspires students to learn. He takes into account the needs and level of the students. He presents things consistently and understandable and sets clear learning goals. He has a good output and sufficient presentation skills. The material supporting the lectures is clear and comprehensive and binds the issues discussed in practice. The content of the course is up-to-date and preferably based on the latest researched information. He uses alternative forms of teaching and examination that support the topic of the course. He handles the technical side of the course with honor, eg. Practical work and exam results are returned on time. The content of the exams and the level of grading correspond to the teaching.He collects student feedback and clearly takes it into account in the implementation of the course.

Based on these, students were allowed to suggest a lecturer of the year and justify it. Below are some comments from students about Mikael:

“The first lecturer / course I took a part at every single lecture, and even with pure interest and enthusiasm, because Collan knows how to present even difficult / complex things so that everyone understands them.”

“Collan’s course Information Systems in Corporate Management and Decision-making had really clear and good lectures and they were videotaped. He used a variety of methods in teaching. ”

“Mikael Collan explains very tricky things in a way that everyone understands. The lectures are also entertaining to follow. ”

 “Good sense of humor and explains things in detail. He do not assume that students know what he is talking about, and explain things well ”

Course of the year – Simulation of Mechatronic Machine – Aki Mikkola

What is required for the course of the year?

The course has a particularly good set of materials. The course is a whole consisting of exercises and lectures and it supports study well. The information for the course has been handled electronically. Comprehensive feedback is collected from the course and the results of the feedback are visible to the student. In addition, alternative teaching methods used in the course, which support the student’s learning, can be considered positive things.

Student comments on the course:

“The lectures were clear and followed the material and content of the course. The lectures covered the issues needed in the course and the learning progressed clearly forward. At no point was it unclear what needed to be done and when to be ready. The exam also asked about the things studied in the course. ”

“A lecturer who is really passionate about teaching things and knows how to activate listeners well (not force). The lectures were very interesting. Uses electronic systems well (remote lectures, recordings, etc.). ”

“There were enough calculation examples, and based on them, the exercises could be solved independently.”

“Good course materials, lectures of high quality (content, sound and image), not too burdensome. Aki is excited and teaches clearly and expertly. Exams are suitably challenging and success is rewarding because there really aren’t pass-through stuff. Keys for success are available on the course, if you can see the effort. ”

Thank you Mikael and Aki for your investments to the quality of teaching! Let’s toast at next year’s anniversary.

Iita Hinkkanen

The author is a member of the board of LTKY responsible for higher education politics.

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