Bavaria recognizes TUM computer scientist and clinician
Teaching Excellence Prize awarded to Gudrun Klinker and Bettina Kuschel
“The Teaching Excellence Prize at State Universities in Bavaria” is worth EUR 5,000. A total of 15 lecturers are recognized every year. Their names are put forward by their universities, and students’ votes are also very much taken into consideration.
More women studying informatics
Four years ago, TUM introduced the Bachelor course in “Informatics: Games Engineering”. It was largely the brainchild of Gudrun Klinker, Ph.D., Professor of Augmented Reality. The course uniquely combines the basics of informatics with computer game design, also incorporating other key disciplines in games development such as artificial intelligence, sensor technology and human-machine interaction. This content is often taught through practical, team-oriented projects which also aim to develop the students’ problem-solving and communication skills as well as creativity.
The course prepares students not just for a career in game development but also for many other fields of computer science. By combining an interesting specialism with an interdisciplinary and practice-oriented approach the course has also persuaded more women to study informatics.
Students on the hospital bed rounds
As head of student training at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of TUM’s Klinikum rechts der Isar, PD Dr. med. Bettina Kuschel decided to reorganize the one-week practical training module in the department. Small groups of medical students are now accompanied during their placement by doctors who have been released from their usual duties for this period. The doctors take the students with them on rounds, analyze and review individual cases with them and bring them along to operations. The students also practice diagnostics and practical treatment on special dummies.
For the end of the placement, Bettina Kuschel has introduced a practical test lasting half an hour during which the students are tested on four different scenarios, for example the simulation of a birth. Kuschel has not neglected the basic prerequisites for this teaching format either: She played a major role in the introduction of trainings of the lecturers.
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Teaching at TUM