2025 Distinguished Teaching Award recipient gives students a clear picture of their future role as professionals

In May 2025, you learned that you had been chosen for the Distinguished Teaching Award in the area of medicine and pharmacy. Were you surprised?
“Yes, I was really surprised – and incredibly happy and proud! I’m still in a bit of shock, actually. I was also totally fooled in the moment the award was made and slightly nervous when Coco [Norén, Deputy Vice-Chancellor; editor's note] stormed in and started talking about cutbacks at Practicum.”

Practicum is a training environment at Uppsala Biomedical Centre where students from various medical and pharmacy degree programmes receive training in the practical components of their courses.

Students and teaching staff can nominate teachers who have made outstanding pedagogical contributions that promote student learning in one or more specific nomination categories. Five awards each worth SEK 20,000 are made each year.

Do you know who nominated you?
“Not exactly, but I suspect a number of my colleagues who might have seen my commitment to Practicum and the training pharmacies. Perhaps they wanted to highlight this, as well as my work with incorporating outpatient pharmacy and communication training around the use of medicines.”

You received the award for your strong commitment to creating authentic training pharmacies and for skilfully integrating your research as well as your own experience into the teaching. Through practical exercises in patient-centred drug communication, you help students acquire a clear picture of their future professional role.

What strategies do you use?
“Gosh! I don’t know if there is any ‘strategy’ as such, but I think a lot of it is about just being present, showing your commitment and daring to try new things – together with the students.”

In your role as teacher, what do you think is most important when teaching your students?
“Sparking their curiosity and providing them with knowledge that they can take directly into the real world – knowledge that can actually make a difference to patients and, in our case, to customers in pharmacies. It’s important to me that my teaching is firmly rooted in what’s happening in society.”

Do you also contribute to your colleagues’ educational development?
“I work in a team of teachers who are all very committed educators. We talk a lot about teaching and the development of courses, so I hope – and believe – that I contribute something to those dialogues.”

Do you have any concrete tips/advice/thoughts on teaching and learning?
“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with a lot of highly skilled educators over the years at several different universities, and have learned a lot from them. For me, it’s very much about letting one’s passion for the subject area shine through in one’s teaching, establishing relevance early on and including elements that involve active student participation in environments that resemble their future professional lives. And strengthening professional pride right from the start!”

What will you do with the award money?
“It may sound a bit materialistic, but it will probably go to a pair of earrings and an outdoor sofa.”

Ulrika Hurtig