Jakob Haglöf is new excellent teacher at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Just a minute & Congratulations… Jakob Haglöf, teacher of analytical pharmaceutical chemistry, educational developer AND Recently appointed excellent teacher at the Faculty of Pharmacy.
(Image removed) Jakob Haglöf, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
What do you rank as your core teaching competence?
“A consistent effort to stimulate each student's commitment, keep their interest and to clarify the use that the knowledge will provide them in their future careers. It requires a great deal of perceptivity and flexibility to individual needs, but in return provides a stable foundation for a positive spiral where students will help each other to development.”
What characterises the teachers you hold in high esteem?
“The ability to follow up and analyze how they approach their task and to turn it into continuous improvement. It is an approach that also characterises skilled researchers – since both the world and the student group are in constant change, we must be open to reevaluate established patterns and try out new ways.”
Is a faculty always receptive to new ideas?
“As a young PhD student, you are inevitably placed among already planned courses and arrangements. Initially, it may be easier to adopt to prevailing templates, but the fact that someone before us has pointed in a certain direction does not necessarily make it the right path for everyone else. In fact, we perform our best when we thrive in our work, and as teachers we must create our own dynamic interaction with the students where everyone has the space to contribute to a common goal.”
What is your goal with teaching?
“It varies with the context, but since a professional degree is the goal for most students at the Faculty of Pharmacy, my subject, analytical pharmaceutical chemistry, will not likely be the sole focus during their future working life. Therefore, I want to provide them a basic set of tools and the knowledge when and how to use them. At advanced levels, however, there is room for open-ended questions and for each student to carve out their own answers.”
What values has the pandemic and its digital framework added to your teaching?
“Online, student reactions are far more obvious, which in turn has illuminated the need for variation and dynamics. If you lecture continuously for more than ten minutes, you can easily lose a significant part of the group. Thus, we need tools to engage in the moment, and here, for example, Zoom's digital group rooms and Mentimeter's interactive functions offer important utilities. Of course, we reasoned about this before covid, but the pandemic has helped intensifying the conversation.”
Finally, pedagogy is advancing its position in academia, what is the next step?
“Pedagogical competence will remain difficult to compute in comparison with all key figures in research. Likewise, the prospect of linking large grants to the department is attractive when recruiting, but the fact that we can now access pedagogical experts opens up for a more scientific approach in professionalising the role of teaching. I also hope that we can approach the American awareness that leading researchers and scientific communities can be crucial arguments in attracting new students. Certainly there are many ways forward!”
FACTS
- Jakob Haglöf, teacher in analytical pharmaceutical chemistry, has 3000+ hours of teaching experience and is, according to an external reviewer, a:
Highly appreciated teacher among students
Valuable and generous teacher and colleague
Great source of inspiration for the faculty
- Excellent teachers at the Faculty of Pharmcy
2021
Jakob Haglöf, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
2020
Christian Sköld, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
2017
Anja Sandström, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Jörgen Bengtsson, Department of Pharmacy
2016
Mathias Hallberg, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
2013
Ann-Marie Falk, Department of Pharmacy
Emma Lundkvist, Department of Pharmacy
Maria Swartling, Department of Pharmacy
MORE INFORMATION
KONTAKT
(Image removed) Jakob Haglöf, Excellent teacher
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
jakob.haglof@ilk.uu.se
Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: private