Submitted by Rachel Gardner on Thu, 07/03/2024 - 09:32
Congratulations to our colleague Dr Carl Henrik Ek who has won a 2024 Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching.
The Pilkington Prizes are awarded annually to individuals who make a substantial contribution to the teaching programme of a University of Cambridge Department or Faculty, or the University as a whole.
Senior Lecturer Carl Henrik has developed new courses at both undergraduate and master’s level that combine advanced machine learning and statistics with real-world problems. They are highly innovative in content, delivery and assessment. In particular, they include group work, programming-based assignments, presentations and oral examinations. His courses are praised by students for being very engaging and interactive.
As well as teaching for the Department, Carl Henrik supports students in the AI for the study of Environmental Risks Centre for Doctoral Training. Here, he has been able to break down complex machine learning topics and explain them using first principles that are understandable to students who do not have a background in computer science.
All his courses receive excellent feedback from students, who particularly like his ability to connect pure theory with real-world applications. He has been successful in gaining UKRI funding for a new Centre for Doctoral Training in collaboration with the University of Manchester, on Decision Making for Complex Systems. Carl Henrik’s dedication to teaching and his enthusiasm for it are widely admired.
Many congratulations to Carl Henrik. He and his fellow Pilkington Prize recipients will be presented with their awards at a ceremony in June.
