The Lund Students’ Prize for Excellence in Teaching is awarded for outstanding contributions to education. The student unions have, following a nomination process, proposed three recipients of the prize. The prize winners receive a diploma and a salary rise in accordance with the local collective bargaining agreement. In addition, a grant of SEK 25,000 each is awarded to the departments to enable study trips for the prize winners.
The prize-winners will be honoured at the annual academic ceremony on 23 January 2026:Lund University’s annual academic ceremony 2026
Olof Sandgren
Senior lecturer at the Department of Clinical Sciences in Lund at the Faculty of Medicine.
The students reasoning was as follows: “Olof is passionate about teaching; he includes and engages students in their education from day one. He is adept at contextualising the education to the relevant field and often incorporates current societal debates into his teaching. He is also skilled at blending theory and practice in a way that strengthens the teaching. Olof is a teaching practitioner who listens to the needs and wishes of students and promotes an environment in which everyone dares to take part.”
“It is the greatest prize I can imagine. I feel incredibly happy and honoured.”
What do you think is the most important thing about teaching?
“Teaching has to get students and lecturers thinking along new lines and seeing new perspectives – a way of challenging ideas that have been thought to be self-evident.”
Karin Nykvist
Senior lecturer at the Centre for Languages and Literature at The Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology.
The students reasoning was as follows: “Karin Nykvist is skilled at constantly renewing and developing her teaching as well as creating an egalitarian and inquisitive learning environment. She has an outstanding ability to link the theoretical foundations of literary studies with its practical application. Her enthusiasm for the subject sparks students' interest in it and in the humanities more broadly. Karin has an inclusive approach and one thing students particularly appreciate is her ability to see every student as an individual.”
“I cannot imagine a better prize; I am incredibly happy and grateful.”
What do you think is the most important thing about teaching?
“Curiosity and attentiveness are probably most important to me, both in terms of books and in people. I also want to contribute whatever I can to the students’ development as literary scholars and, in a wider perspective, to a society in which art and literature are acknowledged and make a difference, and in which critical independent thinking is a given.”
Hannah Herde
Associate senior lecturer at the Department of Physics at the Faculty of Science.
The students reasoning was as follows: “Hannah has an active teaching style that promotes student participation and encourages all students to actively take part in discussions. She really cares about her students and continuously seeks feedback from them. She implements the feedback quickly and transparently. Hannah is good at contextualising what she teaches, so that students understand how it is relevant. Something students particularly emphasise is that Hannah is very inclusive and sees all students as equals, regardless of their level of education and background.
“I am deeply moved. The learning environment that the students on the course and I have built together has made such an impression on the students that they nominated me for the prize.”
What do you think is the most important thing about teaching?
“The most important thing is to listen. I try and encourage my students to share how they experience our learning activities and work environment, then use their feedback and engage in dialogue about how learning works. We learn when we leave our comfort zones and we need open and inclusive environments in order to do that.”
Read a longer article at the Faculty of Science: Hannah Herde honoured for bold and inclusive teaching