Digitized teaching and obesity medication win awards
Every year the University of Copenhagen rewards the best teacher, outstanding innovation and the extraordinary effort to develop a positive and attractive study environment. Two out of three awards in 2017 went to Copenhagen Science City partner Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
Digital modernization of courses
The 2017 UCPH teaching award recipient was Flemming Fryd Johansen, Professor MSO at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. A quality specified in his nomination was his relentless efforts to introduce modern digital solutions in his courses. As examples of this, he live streams his classes and keeps a blog about basic pathology.
Combining basic and applied research
Recognised as the most innovative in 2017 was “The Holst Team”, Professor Mette Rosenkilde, Ph.D. student Lærke Smidt Gasbjerg, former Postdoc Alexander Hovard Sparre-Ulrich and Professor Jens Juul Holst. The team secured the Innovation Award 2017 for combining basic and applied research.
Startups and collaborations
For decades, the team focused on fundamental findings about the hormone GLP1 that is involved in governing blood sugar levels and is associated with weight loss. Metabolitic ailments is one of 12 research fields where scientists in the Greater Copenhagen area perform world class research with international investment potential. Based on their findings the team has laid the ground for new pharmaceutical companies and collaborated with existing ones such as the Danish company Novo Nordisk, explains Thomas Bjørnholm, Prorector for Research and Innovation at the University of Copenhagen.
“They get the prize because they managed to show how you turn excellent research into innovations that change lives”, says Bjørnholm.
The Study Environment award 2017 went to the association “Argument”, based at the Faculty of Law.
Find more information about the three awards in this film: