The awarding of the "Prizes for Outstanding Teaching" is based on suggestions from students and university presidents as well as on an external jury recommendation. Elias Weiß and Viktoria Mayer from the student council of Neu-Ulm University also nominated Prof. Dr. Michael Gutiérrez and are pleased about his honour: "Likeable, competent and engaging - all descriptions that apply to Professor Gutiérrez. He quickly turns what at first glance appears to be dry learning content into a journey on which we work together to reach our goal. His burning passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter, as well as for teaching itself, leaves no head cold. On behalf of the entire student body, we therefore congratulate him on this well-deserved award." President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser is very proud of the honour and the significance of the award for the university: "Excellent teaching - especially in digital times - is extremely significant for our university and for students. We are very pleased to honour Prof. Gutiérrez, who makes an outstanding contribution to the teaching and learning culture at HNU."
Professor Dr. Michael Gutiérrez's focus is on quantitative methods and production and logistics. In addition, he offers a Summer and Winter School on the current topics of climate change and climate protection as well as nature conservation at his home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Gutiérrez is very popular with his students, which is why he already came second in the nationwide "Professor of the Year" competition in 2019. A total of over 2,100 professors were nominated here in four categories. "I would like to sincerely thank all students for their positive feedback, which overwhelms me," Gutiérrez said. "I am equally pleased about their valuable cooperation in the courses, which also allows me to learn a lot. My concern, in collaboration with my outstanding colleagues, is to continue to provide students with the best possible preparation for professional life."
Other award winners
The "Prizes for Outstanding Teaching" are awarded every two years. This year, in addition to Prof. Dr. Michael Gutiérrez, Prof. Dr. Achim Förster from the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences also received the award. The prize money of 5,000 euros each goes to the respective university alone. In addition, the new competitive support programme for innovation and research in teaching, the "Teaching Support Prize", was awarded for the first time. The first prize winner is Prof. Dr. Birgit Rösel from the OTH Regensburg.
