"The students think his lectures are interesting and the learning outcome high. They find that Christian always answers them with a genuine understanding. This is something they have valued greatly", says Ida Rad and Sander Ringstad in the student organisation BISO, which selects the winner.
The popular lecturer at BI – Campus Bergen is praised for the effort he has put in over time, and especially after two years affected by the pandemic, restrictions, and lots of digital teaching.
"I am surprised, honoured, humble and proud! Surprised, because it has been challenging for both students and lecturers in recent times. Honoured, that the students have noticed the work I put in, and that they appreciate what I bring to the table. Humble, because I share the “stage” with a lot of very talented colleagues that are widely known to be outstanding lecturers. Proud, because I have succeeded in doing something I try hard to achieve; making students understand and become interested in learning more about difficult concepts", says Andvik.
HAPPY: Associate Professor Christian Andvik at BI - Campus Bergen. Photo: Veronika Stuksrud.
Simple learning philosophy
Two years of covid teaching has made Andvik more positive to new teaching methods and tools, but at the same time demonstrated to him how important it is for students to experience a social learning arena.
"Learning is about so much more than just a (video) lecture. It’s about exploring, struggling, and achieving together with others. My claim is that while it has become easier to attend lectures, it has become more difficult to maintain attention".
Andvik describes his own learning philosophy as “simple”. The main thing he wants to achieve is making the insights he is teaching more accessible and less scary for his students.
"I try to achieve this through direct communication with my students, setting clear expectations, and (hopefully) funny, interesting, and open lectures where I recognise that things may be difficult, but that we can become better through practice and genuine interest. Caring for our students is highly emphasised at Campus Bergen, and for me, this translates well to my own teaching and learning philosophy".
Bergen dominates
Andvik has several years of experience as a student and PhD research scholar at NHH in Bergen. He has been a lecturer at BI since 2019.
"The best thing about being a lecturer is meeting students, learning about what they do, and being pushed to increase my own understanding through explaining difficult concepts in various ways. The worst thing is realising I am not as young as I thought I was".
This is the fourth time in five years that the award for best teacher is given to an employee at BI’s campus in Bergen.
"Who knows, maybe the rain makes us better lecturers?"