The Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion awarded university teacher Leena Tynninen from LUT University the Good Teacher 2024 Award. Tynninen’s students give her credit for her inspiring teaching methdos and utilizing the latest research.

Leena Tynninen teaches industrial engineering at LUT University. She is responsible for organizing two of the most popular courses in her discipline. These courses are the Lean Leaders course for master students and the Management Game for bachelor students.

“The subject matter of the courses is interesting, but the courses would be nowhere near as good without Leena,” Tynninen’s students praise her in their recommendation letter.

Inspiring and motivating teaching

Tynninen’s students describe her as a teacher whose enthusiasm for her discipline is contagious. Tynninen implements diverse teaching methods in her lectures, which makes learning interactive and pleasant for the students.

Tynninen also receives credit for her ability to recognize diverse needs and learning styles of her students. According to her students, she creates an encouraging and supportive learning environment where students feel valued and understood.

“One can ask Leena anything anytime, and she answers thoughtfully and appropriately,” say Tynninen’s students.

Research plays a big role

Tynninen keeps herself up to date with the newest research in her discipline. For instance, she attends conferences and educates herself regarding her discipline and follows other researchers on social media.

Tynninen implements this newest research in her curriculum planning and encourages her students to utilize current research in their own projects and theses. She also stimulates discussion and cooperation within the academic community by sharing the latest research results with her students and colleagues.

The Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion may award a teacher who works at a technical university or in a university’s technical faculty with the Good Teacher Award. The prize sum is 10,000 euros.

The foundation asks Finnish student associations of technical disciplines to propose suitable candidates for the Good Teacher Award. When choosing the candidate, the associations are asked to emphasize the content and quality of teaching, utilization of the newest research results, and the ability to encourage and motivate students, among other things.