Teacher of the Year and Teacher Talent announced

In her laudatory speech on Thursday, jury chair and associate professor of Social Geography Gery Nijenhuis described Marijke de Belder as an ‘all-round’ lecturer who excels in multiple aspects of her field. According to the jury, De Belder also shows great passion for her students and for education.

Nijenhuis emphasized the differentiation that De Belder brings to the classroom. Students can use the colors blue, yellow, and red to indicate how they want to participate in the course in order to achieve their personal goals. “This way, like-minded students can find each other,” said the jury chair with appreciation. 

De Belder was nominated by the Awater study association for Dutch studies. According to the jury, the students spoke highly of her accessible and humorous lectures. In particular, the lecturer's “emancipated perspective” was often mentioned. “You are committed to the empowerment of women in your choice of literature,” said the jury chair. 

De Belder's focus on interdisciplinary education also impressed the jury. Finally, the linguist's commitment to research into education, particularly the teacher shortage, was praised. 

In addition to De Belder, geologist João Trabucho Alexandre and communication scientist Karin Fikkers were also nominated for the Teacher of the Year award. They were nominated by the Earth Sciences study association UAV and the Communication & Information Sciences study association Contact.

‘Extremely enthusiastic’ 
Jeroen Ooge was named the most talented young lecturer at Utrecht University by the jury. The Teacher Talent Award honours lecturers with less than five years of experience. Coincidentally, Ooge was also educated at the Catholic University of Leuven, just like the Teacher of the Year. The AI scientist was nominated by the Sticky study association.

In the short time that Ooge has been working at Utrecht University, he has had a major impact on the Computer Science and Information Science program and implemented important changes, according to the jury. Chair Nijenhuis said this in a laudatory speech that she initially forgot to read aloud. Ooge was already celebrating with the Sticky students when he was called back to hear the praise.

Ooge uses such innovative teaching methods that students who are taught by him for the first time speak of a “culture shock.” According to Nijenhuis, students are “extremely enthusiastic”, for example about his way of asking questions. “If you ask Jeroen a question, you get one back,” his students know. 

Nijenhuis concluded: “You do your best to create a better understanding between teachers and students, and this creates an atmosphere in which students can follow their own curiosity.” 

The two other nominees were educational scientist Kim Borsen and historian Mette Bruinsma. They were nominated by the Vocus study association for Educational Sciences and UHSK for History.

The winners of the team prize.

Behind the scenes
For the third time, a “team prize” was also awarded during the Education Festival. This year, the prize went to the team that prepared the transition to the new Brightspace learning management system.

Last summer, UU made the switch after twenty years of using Blackboard. This was preceded by a two-year process. More than 4,000 courses had to be transferred, lecturers had to be trained and a support structure had to be set up.

This was mainly done by a team of faculty implementation coordinators (known as FICOs). They were honoured on Thursday. The jury emphasised that the work that takes place behind the scenes and is often invisible is essential for improving education at Utrecht University.

A total of four teams were nominated by the jury. The interdisciplinary Master's programme in Medical Humanities, the creative workplace for students Playground, and the design studio for prototypes Lili's Protolab were also in the running for the award.

The Brightspace FICOs will receive a cash prize of 5,000 euros to spend on training, courses, or study trips.