Armin Halilovic Teacher of the year at KTH
Armin Halilovic, Associate Professor of mathematics who teaches at the CBH’s Department of Basic Natural Sciences in Flemingsberg, has been named Teacher of the Year for the entire KTH by the Swedish University’s Student Union (THS).
“I feel proud and I was surprised, a little bit anyway,” says Armin Halilovic.
It is not the first time Armin Halilovic is praised for his educational efforts. In fact, he has been chosen teacher of the year on various programmes six times before. But now THS has appointed him Teacher of the year at KTH as a whole.
When we meet in Flemingsberg the day before the awards ceremony, Armin Halilovic admits that he is actually a little nervous and complains about his newly cut hair which he feels is slightly too short. He was chosen Teacher of the year two weeks ago and knew about the nomination for longer than that, but he didn’t dare hope for too much.
“It was a big thing, but I didn’t think I would be chosen because I think there are so many good teachers at KTH,” he says.
There sure are a lot of good teachers, but few have been teaching for as long as Armin Halilovic. He came to Sweden from Bosnia in 1994 and started working at KTH in August 1996. But his teaching career started much earlier.
“I started teaching my friends when I went to high school, and then at university I worked as a student assistant. After that, I started working as a teacher in mathematics in 1977. Before coming to Sweden, I worked as a university lecturer in the city of Tuzla in Bosnia,” says Armin Halilovic.
How did you know you wanted to teach?
“I was always good at explaining mathematics, ever since I was a student. As a student, I also organized summer courses for other students who had problems with the mathematics at university, and everyone was happy with my explanations,” he says.
During his more than 20 years at KTH, Armin Halilovic has taught a large number of programmes, he has taught at every level; from first-year students to doctoral students, and he has conducted researched in functional analysis. But when it comes to the secret to becoming a good teacher, he is not sure.
“I do not know. I think about it sometimes. But I just teach in a natural and relaxed way and try to explain in a way that the students understand. There are many good mathematicians who are not very good at explaining things. So maybe it is experience and maybe even some talent, says Armin and laughs.
On Wednesday, December 18, he received the award for “Teacher of the Year”, a walking trophy in the form of a silver apple and a diploma from the Technical University Student Union with the motivation:
“Armin teaches the basics in several ways and creates interest in his subject by connecting the abstract to everyday examples and simulations so that everyone can keep up, while at the same time challenging the students who need more advanced examples. He complements course books with his own material that is appreciated by many students, even outside his courses and sometimes outside KTH.”
Text: Jon Lindhe