The Good Teacher award to Antti Haapala

The Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion has awarded this year’s Good Teacher award to Professor Antti Haapala, who works at the University of Eastern Finland. Students describe him as an exceptional teacher whose teaching is high-quality, inclusive, and motivating.

Antti Haapala’s teaching style emphasizes student-centeredness and hands-on learning. According to students, Haapala’s teaching not only transfers knowledge but deepens understanding and sparks genuine curiosity. Haapala is approachable and present in students’ everyday lives.

"I think about how I would want something to be explained to me if I was a student in my twenties. That helps me keep the student’s perspective clear in mind, even with more challenging topics”, Haapala says.

As the head of the Sustainable Technologies degree program, Haapala plays a central role in developing the education program. The program content is designed in close dialogue with students, stakeholders, and industry representatives. The goal of the program is to respond to the kind of engineering education Finland will need in the future.

Collaboration for the makers of the future

According to students, Haapala is a teacher who genuinely cares about his students and their future. Haapala supports students' career paths individually and with empathy.

He brings companies and experts into the teaching, which strengthens the real-world relevance of the courses and gives students an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in different fields.

Local companies, the City of Joensuu, and the Regional Council of North Karelia have shown strong interest in the degree program and supported its development, which brings momentum and gives students access to cutting-edge knowledge.

This supports Haapala’s goal of providing students with a multidisciplinary technical education that equips them for various career paths.

Joyful and hands-on learning 

Haapala’s teaching is based on current research, and students are encouraged to actively seek information and think critically. According to Haapala, the aim is to create an education that fosters joy in learning and inspires continuous development.

Jorma Kyyrä from the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion's grant committee emphasizes Haapala’s ability to make even the most difficult and less interesting topics engaging.

Hands-on learning is a central part of Haapala’s pedagogy. Learning by doing is a cornerstone of the engineering degree program, and students actively participate in both planning and carrying out projects. Haapala thanks the members of the Sustainable Technologies student guild, SusTek Ry, for their commitment to developing shared activities.

"Studying is still hard work. We teachers can’t row the boat for the students, but it’s our job to show the direction and at the very least hand them the oars”, he sums up.

The Good Teacher award is granted by the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion to a person working in a teaching position at a technical university or a university’s technical faculty. The award amounts to 10,000 euros.

At the beginning of the year, the foundation asks engineering student associations in Finland to propose suitable candidates for the Good Teacher award. When selecting a candidate, the foundation asks the associations to consider factors such as the content and quality of teaching, use of the latest research, and the ability to inspire and motivate students.