Helle Bundgaard is Teacher of the Year at the Department of Anthropology

"She really is one of those teachers who makes a real difference to your professional development and who you don’t forget. It’s so nice that we can have equal and important conversations with her. And it’s really inspiring to have a teacher who has produced – and produces – so much great text."

These are some of the words in an evaluation of Associate Professor Helle Bundgaard's teaching, and according to Professor and Head of Department Ayo Wahlberg, they don't stand alone. As he pointed out at the Department Day on 13 September, when the Teacher of the Year award was presented:

"We are therefore thrilled to award the 2024 Teacher of the Year Award to Helle Bundgaard for her deep-felt concern and care towards our students and their learning, not least those students who may be struggling in one way or another," he said when presenting the award.

Broad pedagogical commitment

Ayo Wahlberg also stressed Bundgaard's broad commitment to new pedagogical approaches: She has developed and disseminated ethnographic forms of writing, most recently with the elective course 'Ethnographic Text'. Alongside the course, she and her colleague Anne Line Dalsgård have written a textbook with the same title, which is also relevant for researchers.

Another focus of her work has been the teaching of anthropological methodology. An interest that has also led to a book on anthropological projects, in which she, together with Hanne O. Mogensen and Cecilie Rubow, introduces anthropological project design and ethnographic fieldwork.

Or in the words of Ayo Wahlberg:

"In fact, not only is this an award that recognises Helle’s extraordinary efforts and achievements in the past year; this award marks our gratitude for the longstanding and lasting impact that Helle has had on our education programmes."

Read Ayo Wahlberg's entire speech to Helle Bundgaard.