Pieter Slaman wins 2024 LUS Teaching Prize
Pieter Slaman, Assistant Professor at the Institute of History and the University’s university historian, has won the 2024 LUS Teaching Prize.
Slaman received the award during the opening of the academic year on September 2nd 2024 in the Pieterskerk. He was presented with the prize – a place in the Leiden Teacher Academy and 25,000 euros to be used for innovation in teaching – by Birte van der Heide, of the Leiden University Student Platform (LUS).
Every year the LUS honors a lecturer who has made an exceptional contribution to teaching. The lecturers are nominated by their students, after which the LUS attend the nominees’ classes and talk with students to determine a top three. They then organize a public lecture, during which the three finalists can showcase their talents. The other two nominees this year were psychologist Sepideh Saadat and anatomist Marcus de Ruiter.
Big heart for students
Van der Heide from the Leiden University Student Platform said of Slaman, who was also nominated for the LUS Teaching Prize in 2022: “His students indicate that he creates a very nice atmosphere. He is very open-minded. He can speak passionately about the university’s history but what struck us most is that he has a big heart for his students. He really supports his students and he knows how to really involve students during his interactive lectures.”
Van der Heide stated that “all three nominees have really been able to do something for their students. They have not only imparted knowledge to them, but also inspired them and sparked their curiosity. However, we found that one teacher excelled in enthusiasm and passion. This teacher has a big heart for his students, which we have heard from many of them. And through interaction and humor, he knows how to involve all his students in his lectures. He also knows how to inspire his students to follow their own path. The winner this year is: Pieter Slaman!”
We light a fire
Slaman was delighted to accept the 25,000-euro prize for educational initiatives and gave a moving and encouraging acceptance speech: “We light a fire in lecture halls every day. Students bring fuel from all corners of the world to stoke that fire. The teacher’s role in this is actually quite limited, giving some theory and directions, and guarding the students’ safety and inclusion. It’s the students who do most of the work. And when they do this diligently, and the flames are blazing high, I can lean back with a smile on my face. I am a happy person.”
Slaman continued: “This fire has been burning for 449 years and we can only feed it temporarily. I dedicate this prize to all who make it possible every day for us to do our work as teaching staff, such as the study coordinators, the education administration, and the secretariat. And of course my students, who do the work and have now given me an honor that will keep me going for a lifetime. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.”
