HÃ¥kon Otneim new excellent teaching practitioner at NHH
Proud NHH researcher after prestigious recognition: 'I'm now in very good company.'
Good times keep coming for Håkon Otneim this early summer.
Just one month after being promoted to professor, the 39-year-old can now also call himself an ‘Excellent Teaching Practitioner’. Otneim is a faculty member at the Department of Business and Management Science.
‘I have, of course, found myself in very good company, and not without a certain sense of awe. I hope to make a positive contribution going forward through ideas and development, both at the department and across NHH,’ says Otneim.
SALARY INCREASE
The ‘Excellent Teaching Practitioner’ scheme rewards efforts to develop teaching and contribute to a professional culture of teaching and learning.
The scheme was launched in 2019, and candidates must apply themselves. Those who receive the distinction are awarded a salary increase of NOK 50,000.
‘Otneim meets the criteria for Excellent Teaching Practitioner by a clear margin. He places student learning at the centre, reflects deeply on pedagogical approaches, and implements innovations in his teaching to strengthen student learning,’ the committee stated in its justification.
Otneim received the distinction from Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen during NHH’s summer gathering for employees on 18 June.
‘FLIPPED CLASSROOM’
‘It is gratifying to receive this kind of recognition. It was an interesting process, giving me the opportunity to think deeply and at length about my views on teaching, what I am satisfied with, and what I should do differently. That was extremely valuable, regardless of the outcome,’ says Otneim, who is a strong advocate of the ‘flipped classroom’ approach.
This means that students work through much of the theory on their own, while classroom time is devoted to problem-solving and discussion.
‘But in reality, my method is not to have one fixed method. Different students, levels, and subjects require different approaches,’ says Otneim.
‘After each round, the key is to figure out what worked and what did not, and then make it a little better next time.’