The Excellent Teaching Practitioner 2025 Awards were presented at the UEF Learning Environment Seminar on 19 August. This year, the recognition was given to a total of nine teachers, including both individual teachers and teacher pairs or teams.
Of those who applied for the award alone, it was presented to Academy Research Fellow Sonsoles López Pernas from the School of Computing and Teaching Pharmacist Hanna Kauppinen from the University of Eastern Finland Pharmacy and the School of Pharmacy.
In addition, the award was presented to one teacher pair and one teacher team. The awarded teacher pair is Associate Professor Kaisa Huhta and Professor Seita Vesa from the UEF Law School. The awarded teacher team includes Planning Director Sirkku Ikonen-Hwang and University Teacher Tiina Linjama from the School of Humanities and University Teachers Iija den Herder, Liisa Muukkonen and Tuuli Paajanen from the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology.
The criteria for receiving the award include community-based development of teaching, versatile use of teaching methods and student-orientation. All nine recipients have a student and working life -oriented approach to teaching and a desire to develop learning solutions and to share their skills to benefit the community.
UEF has presented the Excellent Teaching Practitioner of the Year Awards since 2017. The persons who have received the award over the years form the Excellent Teaching Practitioner network, which now includes 48 teachers. The purpose of the network is to promote the appreciation and development of teaching at the University of Eastern Finland.
Grounds for the Excellent Teaching Practitioner 2025 Awards
Sonsoles López Pernas: López Pernas combines in her teaching and development of teaching a research-based approach, current themes and student orientation. She has linked her teaching to her own research, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, learning analytics and gamification. She uses technology, such as escape room games, diversely in her teaching in order to strengthen the students’ commitment and the development of their generic skills, such as problem-solving and collaboration.
López Pernas has shown innovativeness in the planning and implementation of teaching, and her working life-oriented approach is reflected in the contents and pedagogical solutions of her teaching. The guidance of students in the ethical and critical use of artificial intelligence strengthens the quality and topicality of her teaching. López Pernas has shared her skills in the development of teaching and promoted the replicability of teaching solutions extensively, e.g., through publications, textbooks and projects.
Hanna Kauppinen: The principles of streamlined teaching, a clear pedagogical structure and support provided for the learning of students are emphasised in Kauppinen’s teaching. Kauppinen’s teaching is practical and working life -oriented, and she utilises the learning environments and programmes offered by both the university and the various partners in a justified manner. Her teaching methods are suited to the subject that is being taught, and the commitment of the students to the learning process is visible at all stages of teaching.
Kauppinen observes inclusivity in her teaching and develops her activities actively based on feedback. She also shares her expertise with colleagues and builds communality through, e.g., teacher meetings organised year of study -specifically and student collaboration.
Sirkku Ikonen-Hwang, Tiina Linjama, Iija den Herder, Liisa Muukkonen and Tuuli Paajanen: The Psychology and Logopedics teacher team has developed, together with the Wellbeing Services County of North Karelia, a multidisciplinary evaluation course, during which students implement genuine evaluation processes for clients in the social welfare and health care sector.
The course combines working life -orientation, authentic learning situations and student-oriented guidance. The course offers students the opportunity to put theory into practice in genuine customer situations, to develop their key working life skills and to deepen their understanding from the perspective of another discipline. The teaching has been designed and implemented in multiprofessional collaboration, and the organisation of clinical training emphasises the sensitivity of client meetings and the safety of the learning experience.
The developed model provides a replicable and modifiable basis for teaching in also other fields. The students have provided positive feedback, and the team’s future plans are based on the received feedback. They have identified areas for development and presented plans for sharing their expertise.
Kaisa Huhta and Seita Vesa: Huhta and Vesa have developed the Legal research skills and career development course that focuses on the supervision of doctoral students and the development of their academic expertise. Student-orientation and reflective learning are at the core of the course. Teaching is built on a combination of lectures, workshops and online assignments, and supports the growth of the doctoral researchers into independent researchers through individual counselling and peer support.
Teaching is designed flexibly, taking into account the individual needs of the students, and provides practical support and tools for writing and academic career planning. In addition, the course provides the instructors with a platform for community-based development of guidance. Huhta and Vesa have shared their expertise and course practices both nationally and internationally, and have also presented plans for the future.
For further information, please contact:
Director of Learning Environment Development Kari Korhonen, [email protected], +358 50 432 3826