FAU Teaching Award presented to early career researchers

Emel Löffelholz from the Department of Didactics (Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology)

In a nut shell: What is your area of research?

My teaching and research center on the teaching methodology of economics, with a particular focus on education for sustainable development (ESD). My doctoral thesis focuses on investigating professional knowledge and the teaching methodology used by teachers of economics at Bavarian secondary schools (Gymnasium) regarding sustainability and ESD. My research interests also include the critical, reflexive and effective integration of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning processes, the optimization of career advice and encouraging the integration of young people onto the employment market. I take an interdisciplinary approach connecting economic, educational and social science perspectives.

For which innovative teaching concept did you receive the award?

I was recognized for my participative and practice-oriented teaching approach. This includes innovative methods such as the flipped classroom concept, the fruitful integration of external collaboration partners in my classes and connecting theory and practice with specific examples from the classroom and case studies. Special mention was made of my ability to spark enthusiasm for teaching economics and the successful combination of research and everyday school routine.

What is particularly important for you in your teaching?

I am particularly keen to encourage the integration of ESD in all my courses with the aim of enabling students studying a teaching degree in economics to act as multiplicators for sustainable development. My focus is on developing an holistic approach to teaching that links economic concepts with ecological and social questions, whether in the context of entrepreneurship education, economic consumer education, financial education or any number of other areas. Other aspects close to my heart are merging theory and practice during teacher training, taking an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on topical issues and encouraging innovation in teaching and encouraging students’ autonomy in their own individual learning processes.

What would you wish for in the future (with regards to teaching)?

In future, I hope that ESD becomes even more closely integrated into teacher training at university and teaching at school. I also hope that there will be even closer links between universities, schools and external partners and more room for innovative teaching concepts and a critical and reflective approach to using digital media in the education sector.

I have this piece of advice (for students or teaching staff):

Cultivate a “growth mindset ecology” in your academic environment. View challenges as opportunities for growth and errors as a valuable source of learning. Create collaborative spaces where innovative ideas can thrive, whether through interdisciplinary projects, reverse mentoring between students and teaching staff or the integration of future technologies like AI in your teaching and learning processes.
Anticipate the challenges most likely to face society in the future and integrate them proactively into your teaching and learning. Use, for example, methods from design thinking (including an open learning atmosphere, interdisciplinary collaboration and encouraging creativity and a feedback culture) in order to develop innovative approaches to solving real world challenges.
Build a network going beyond traditional boundaries, with practitioners, experts from other disciplines and the local community. Create synergetic learning environments where theoretical knowledge, practical applications and social impact intertwine.
Last but not least: Stay curious, adaptable and bold in your lifelong learning process – both students and teaching staff. The ability to keep reinventing yourself and keep learning is the key to personal and professional success in a rapidly changing world.

More about Emel Löffelholz on the website of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

Dr. jur. Hyun Jung Lee from the Professorship for Legal Theory and Legal Philosophy (School of Law)

What is your area of research?

My research covers public law, in particular anti-discrimination law and the protection of minorities. I focus particularly on discrimination based on sexual orientation. I also investigate current topics such as digitalization in the public sector and the constitutional challenges entailed by AI. My work with Prof. Sieckmann in the area of legal philosophy has given me valuable insights into basic principles and methods of constitutional law and had a major influence on my research. At the same time, collaborating closely with Prof. Clérico in the area of international human rights has given me the possibility to integrate global perspectives of issues relating to human rights into my research, which has made my work even more diverse and comprehensive.

For which innovative teaching concept did you receive the award?

I was recognized for my basic seminars covering the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), EU anti-discrimination law, and the problem of constitutional interpretation. The basic seminars are designed in such a way that students can choose to focus on one current case concerning anti-discrimination from either the ECHR or the European Court of Justice. At the end, students submit an essay of between 15 and 25 pages in length and give a presentation. This teaches law students with relatively little experience valuable fundamental skills that they can put to good use in the upcoming advanced seminar paper. For example, students can learn how and where to find good sources, or how to analyze and discuss a legal case. One major advantage of the basic seminars is that any questions that arise can be discussed or answered flexibly and at short notice on a one to one basis. The basic seminars are communicative in nature, leading to a final result that satisfies both students and teaching staff.

What is particularly important for you in your teaching?

I think it is particularly important that teaching is based on three stable pillars: Ongoing communication, mutual trust and mutual respect. I am keen to create an environment in which students feel relaxed and at ease, where they feel confident about asking questions and expressing their opinion openly. Empathy and interactive exchange play a major role when building trust with students at the same time as placing yourself at the same level as the students in order to encourage students to take an active role in the learning process. It is also extremely important for me that students do not give up, even when they encounter difficulties. I help them discover their interests during their studies in law and find topics that really spark their enthusiasm. This helps them remain motivated and successful in the long term.

What would you wish for in the future (with regards to teaching)?

For the future, I hope that I will be able to use the opportunities offered by modern artificial intelligence to continue my research, without losing the human aspect. A further topic that interests me is the impact of climate change on the constitution. Another of my goals is to make better use of my strengths, for example the fact that I am fluent in several languages and know the German and the Korean constitutions inside out. I hope that I can help in the academic exchange between the two countries and make a greater contribution by presenting various cases from the constitutional courts. For me personally, I would like to teach permanently at FAU. My journey as a lecturer began here at FAU and I would really appreciate the opportunity to continue with my teaching. If possible, I would like to continue to make a contribution to teaching at this university, as teaching here really means a lot to me.

I have this piece of advice (for students or teaching staff):

My advice for students is to always remain curious and open-minded, and not to be afraid to ask questions. Education is a two-way process based on keeping an open mind, communication and the willingness to learn from each other. It goes without saying that knowledge is important, but active listening skills and the ability to communicate with empathy make a huge difference. For other teaching staff, I would recommend the conferences offered by the Academy of European Law (ERA) on EU anti-discrimination law and gender equality that I regularly attend in order to keep my teaching material up to date. I incorporate these recent findings directly into my basic seminars on EU anti-discrimination law, on case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and on interpreting the constitution in order to offer my students the best possible learning experience.

PD Dr. med. Cornelia Erfurt-Berge from the Chair of Skin and Venereal Diseases (Faculty of Medicine)

In a nutshell: What is your area of research?

I have worked at the Department of Dermatology for many years now treating people with chronic wounds and I am the head of the wound center at the Department of Dermatology. Here we treat people with chronic wounds caused by vascular disease, inflammatory dermatoses or tumor diseases. As well as the differential diagnosis of these wounds, that often requires genuine detective work, I also focus on caring for patients whose wounds can have a seriously detrimental impact on their quality of life. Our research projects cover the widely diverse aspects a chronic wound entails and try to establish uniform standards for patient care.

For which innovative teaching concept did you receive the award?

My aim is to incorporate the topic of caring for patients with chronic wounds into my teaching. It is a topic that is particularly well suited to interdisciplinary and interprofessional teaching units. I have already been able to initiate various teaching sessions on this topic. For example, a practical course offered in the PERLE skills lab that can be taken by medical students as well as nursing trainees. In addition, I have recently started offering a compulsory elective module at the Department of Dermatology on caring for wounds following the flipped classroom concept which links digital learning blocks on the theory with practical exercises in the hospital.

What is particularly important for you in your teaching?

I love being able to integrate my teaching into my everyday work as a doctor. I am motivated by the opportunity to pass on my knowledge or spark enthusiasm for the topics close to my heart. I particularly enjoy giving practical advice to students, but also to young colleagues in training. Not everything can be learned by reading books, and I have some valuable advice that can help directly in everyday life at hospital and contribute to providing good patient care. Effective teaching should always take a practical approach. At the same time, students should be taught the theoretical background behind all practical measures.

What would you wish for in the future (with regards to teaching)?

A wide range of exciting new teaching methods are available to us for the future. From exercises using sophisticated technical models to the critical use of chat bots to teaching within virtual reality scenarios, all these tools can help add huge variety to our teaching. However, especially when it comes to teaching medicine, we still need to incorporate teaching at the patient’s bedside and must prepare students for all aspects of their later working life as a physician. Is is therefore important that we allocate enough time for teaching during everyday clinical practice. In future, I would also like to network and communicate more with other lecturers. I find planning interdisciplinary teaching units particularly exciting.

I have this piece of advice (for students or teaching staff):

Less is often more. Don’t bombard students with too many details, focus on teaching the basics well until students have really come to grips with them, and then you can build on that in future.

Theresa Maria Schichtl from the Chair of Food Chemistry (Faculty of Sciences)

In a nut hell: What is your area of research?

My doctoral thesis focuses on developing a mass spectronomy method for identifying, localizing and quantifying heat-induced protein modifications in whey. This method allows us to investigate the influence food components such as vitamins have on triggering these modifications. This allows us to make a contribution towards improving the quality and nutritional properties of baby food, sports nutrition or food for tube feeding.

For which innovative teaching concept did you receive the award?

It was Dr. Gensberger-Reigl who originally developed the teaching concept, and I used it when I stood in to cover her teaching while she was on maternity leave. I would therefore pass the question on to her:

Sabrina Gensberger-Reigl: I don’t think you can put your finger on one single decisive factor that makes a teaching concept particularly innovative. For the award-winning teaching unit

on the topic of “quality management in analytical laboratories”, a highly regulated area that is often seen as being rather dry, I deliberately chose a very practical approach. The theoretical content is taught on the basis on very many practical examples and experience taken directly from professional practice, making it easier to grasp. The theory is supplemented with practical exercises during which the students can directly apply the knowledge they have acquired. This approach helps students to transfer what they have learned to their own lives and professional practice and to gain a better understanding of the context.

Another key component of the teaching unit is several weeks spent working on a laboratory project. Students implement the skills they have learned in small groups of 2 to 3 people and receive intense individual supervision. This allows students to combine theory and practice in the best possible way. We also use tools for online polls such as Mentimeter and a collaborative platform that offers a chat function. These tools encourage students to play an active role and share their ideas with everyone else on the course.

What is particularly important for you in your teaching?

Theresa Maria Schichtl: The content must be clear, easy to follow and well structured. It is important to also make the context and relevance of the topics clear. I am a strong believer in treating students as equals, offering them possibilities to participate and encouraging them to take an active part. Both sides, students and teaching staff, are crucial for successful learning. Teaching can only be effective if both sides are motivated to work together.

What would you wish for in the future (with regards to teaching)?

Sabrina Gensberger-Reigl: I would like teaching to receive the same appreciation and to be treated as just as much as a priority as research. Teaching and research ought to be seen as equally valuable pillars of academic work that are mutually beneficial, with one strengthening the other. Finally, I hope that teaching will be perceived as a dynamic and creative field that requires just as much room for innovation and development as research.

Theresa Maria Schichtl: I hope that we can continue to encourage young people to take an interest in science. Effective teaching of today lays the foundation for excellent research in the future. And that is crucial if we are to find solutions for the growing challenges of the future.

I have this piece of advice (for students or teaching staff):

Theresa Maria Schichtl: For students: Ask questions, contribute your own thoughts and ideas to the debate. For teaching staff: Remain open for new ideas and listen to students’ concerns.

More information on teaching and the relationship between mentors and mentees is available in this interview.

Angelika Thalmayer from the Chair of Technical Electronics (Faculty of Engineering):

In a nutshell: What is your area of research?

In my research, I focus on controlling magnetic nanoparticles. These are used as carriers for cancer drugs in a new cancer therapy known as magnetic drug targeting that allows localized cancer treatment with few side effects. Specifically, my work focuses on designing a hybrid magnetic array (consisting of electrical and permanent magnets) aimed at maximizing the effect of the magnetic force on the nanoparticles and allowing them to be moved efficiently through the bloodstream.

For which innovative teaching concept did you receive the award?

I started teaching as a student tutor in winter semester 2015/16 (during my Bachelor’s degree) and have taught ever since as a course instructor and lecturer during my time at the Chair. I am particularly active in teaching fundamentals, for example in the subject “Foundations of electrical engineering I (GET-I)”. As this subject has the reputation among the students of being particularly difficult, I take a lot of time to alleviate their fears and excite students about electrical engineering in spite of its complexities. I am also keen to act as a role model for female students and to show them that there are also women in the predominantly male-dominated world of electrical engineering.
Another aspect I have focused on together with other colleagues is to establish a Master’s teaching unit on “ Multiphysical systems and components” that is much closer to my current research. During this teaching unit, I hold the lecture and the related tutorial.

What is particularly important for you in your teaching?

For me, it is and has always been important that I remain close to the students. I try to demonstrate the dry basics using practical examples or to break down different types of tasks into “recipes.” I always arrive early to my GET-1 tutorials and write the most important take-home messages concisely on the board before the students arrive.

What would you wish for in the future (with regards to teaching)?

Unfortunately, fewer students have chosen to study electrical engineering in recent years. I would be very pleased if this were to change. In particular, I would also be pleased about more female students.

I have this piece of advice (for students or teaching staff):

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today!