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“We are proud of the wide range of excellent teaching that Mittweida University of Applied Sciences has to offer,” said Professor Christoph Meyer, Vice-Rector for Education at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, as he opened the awards ceremony on 20 November in the university’s TV studio. As is customary with such awards, however, the jury had to select a winner from the list of nominees: the recipient of the Mittweida University of Applied Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching 2023 is Dr.-Ing. Jan Thomanek, Professor of Ad-Hoc Networks at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences.
Mittweida University of Applied Sciences has been awarding its teaching prize every two years since 2012. The prize money is donated by Fredi Recknagel, a graduate of the university. The criteria include outstanding teaching skills, a contemporary link between practice and research, innovative teaching formats and exceptional commitment.
New teaching methods for new subjects and study programmes
In his laudatory speech, Professor Jörg Matthes, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, was able to identify evidence of the award winner’s commitment to these criteria in his teaching.
For instance, Thomanek is a pioneer in the introduction of new teaching concepts. In a multifunctional laboratory, he combines the teaching of theory with its direct application in practical experiments. Hybrid formats can also be implemented there. Students on the ‘Networked Intelligent Systems’ Master’s programme – which he played a key role in developing – benefit particularly from this. The teaching concept, developed in cooperation with IAV, one of the automotive industry’s world-leading engineering partners, enables students to combine (part-time) work with their studies. Here, Thomanek shows engineers how they can help shape the dynamic developments in the automotive sector, for example in the field of autonomous driving. Alongside other topics relating to future mobility, this is an area of application for so-called ad hoc networks – the term used to describe Thomanek’s innovative field of expertise.
This widespread praise is also reflected in the students’ nominations for their professor. “They involve the students in the further development of the degree programme,” emphasised Tom Weber, one of the award winner’s students. “They shine with great enthusiasm, wit, ambition and a high level of professional expertise. You do that very well. Please definitely keep up the good work.” There is also a great deal of appreciation from the students’ perspective for the lecture, seminar and practical course materials prepared by Thomanek, as well as the time he sets aside for students’ individual needs.
Excellent teaching to tackle the skills shortage
The award winner himself believes that his teaching is most strongly influenced by his own professional experience as a development engineer, which enables him to convey to students what really matters when working in industry. “I am an engineer through and through, and after many years in industry, I am also a university lecturer and researcher,” says Thomanek, explaining his motivation. “My passion for passing on my enthusiasm for engineering drives me – and, in doing so, helps tackle the shortage of skilled workers in this field.”