Text: Marianne Fuglsang Welling Farsinsen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

Photos: Lars Horn, Baghuset

"Good mood and commitment - you always go to his lectures." This is one of the many great statements from the students' motivation, which forms the basis for the appointment of Associate Professor Tue Bjerg Bennike from the Department of Health Science and Technology as Teacher of the Year at the Faculty of Medicine.

Tue Bjerg Bennike is particularly committed to the two bachelor's programmes; medicine (medical education) and medicine with Industrial Specialisation (MedIS). Both as semester coordinator and teacher, Tue Bjerg Bennike works to ensure synergy and cooperation between the two programmes, the students' social integration and professional development. An intention that, according to the students, he succeeds in to the highest degree:

Think learning, not teaching

It was also a very happy and grateful Tue Bjerg Bennike, who was named Teacher of the Year at The Faculty of Medicine’s New Year's Cure on 15 January 2025:

"I am very grateful and touched. It was very nice and touching to hear the students' attitude to the New Year's cure. I am fortunate to work with some fantastic, dedicated and talented colleagues. We often save and give each other feedback and work together on the development of the teaching material. The award is definitely also their merit, as I am convinced that good teaching at the highest level and in complex subjects requires a dedicated and competent collegial collaboration," says Tue Bjerg Bennike.

In addition to the strength of the starting point from the collaboration with colleagues, Tue Bjerg Bennike's lectures are also praised for always having a clear agenda that helps the students navigate the curriculum. He has developed new interactive elements, such as spontaneous questions and prepared quizzes via Google Forms, that aim to invite students to participate actively in class.

"Something I really actively use is the doctrine "Think learning, not teaching". When I have lectures, it is typically for 280 medical/MedIS students at once. Here, I have a special focus on active learning and engagement of the students, which can be difficult with such large teams. I do several different things to facilitate active learning and engagement: it's everything from something as simple as walking around, instead of standing passively and talking. I also share academic fun facts and also ask many ongoing questions, some spontaneous and some over a digital platform, which the students answer, and I show the results live. This gives me the opportunity to go through the material that the students are having difficulty with again. Finally, both as a lecturer and as a case supervisor, I try to actively share my enthusiasm for what I teach and share with the students why I think molecular biology is a fantastic subject!", says Tue Bjerg Bennike about his approach.

Tue Bjerg Bennike has been elected by the Study Board of Medicine and as Teacher of the Year at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. He is now a candidate for the title of Teacher of the Year at AAU, which will be announced at AAU's annual celebration on 4 April 2025.

In addition to the award as Teacher of the Year at the Faculty of Medicine, Tue Bjerg Bennike was also presented with the Svend Andersen Foundation's Talent Award at the New Year's Eve for his research into the innate immune system and inflammatory diseases.

The Faculty of Medicine honours more teachers

In addition to the selection of Tue Bjerg Bennike as Teacher of the Year at The Faculty of Medicine, several teachers were honoured. The Study Board of Health and Technology chose Professor Johannes Jan Struijk as their favourite teacher, while the choice fell on Associate Professor Cathrine Elgaard Jensen of the Study Board of Sports and Public Health. All three received many nice words along the way at The Faculty of Medicine's New Year's Reception on 15 January 2025.