You are described as a someone who successfully makes use of a wide range of teaching methods, promotes interactivity and brings a healthy mix of business and humor to class, but what is it you teach?
“Thank you, yes I read the motivation and I am very flattered. I’ve been teaching databases, software development/programming and systems integration since 2016. I have a sneaking suspicion that this award has something to do with my incorporation of AI in my courses. Seems like that was appreciated by my students”, says Björn.
He explains that generative AI poses challenges but also opportunities for education and knowledge in general. He is certain that integrating this in the curriculum and teaching the students how to use AI in work-like situations gives them an edge right now, but will be standard and necessary in a very short time.
How would you describe yourself as a teacher?
“I’d say that students learn in different ways, so my strategy is to incorporate as many different methods as possible and hopefully something sticks”, he says with a laugh. He tries to manoeuvre between standard reading, AI prompts, video clips, lectures and workshops as much as possible and it does seem to work.
What do you like best about teaching?
“I was a teaching assistant while studying, so there was an attraction from early on. I like tech and I find that and my topics fun as well as important, which makes it even more fun to share with others. We have curious and super engaged students and that of course makes my job even more rewarding.”
And the toughest bit?
“Definitely, keeping my knowledge and courses up to date in such a fast-evolving domain is THE challenge. And it has become even more challenging since generative AI came into the picture. It’s fun to try and keep track of things, but the tech industry is evolving at the speed of light and today’s news are literally history in a week. I will keep doing my best to keep up and try to give my students the tools, knowledge and the skills to be as attractive as possible on the labour market."
On a finishing note Björn adds that it is important to prepare the students for professional roles that will involve using generative AI and their competitiveness will to some degree be dependent on their ability to use AI.
“So we had best prepare and keep preparing.”
