Miriam Blaauboer (AS) named Educator of the Year 2024

At a festive ceremony, Dr Miriam Blaauboer (Faculty of Applied Sciences) was chosen as TU Delft Educator of the Year. Early next year, she will represent the university in the national competition.

In an annual tradition, student associations from all faculties nominate a candidate for the TU Delft Educator of the Year award. This year’s nominees were: Stéphanie Cazaux (AE), Miriam Blaauboer (AS), Ana Rocha (ABE), Martin Leijten (CEG), Anurag Bishnoi (EEMCS), Jordan Boyle (IDE), Cornel Thill (ME), and BibBin Pearce (TPM).

The jury, led by Teaching Academy director Annoesjka Cabo, focused on several criteria: how inspiring the educator is to students, the use of innovative teaching methods, links to current developments, a clear structure that connects with other courses, and fostering an inclusive learning environment.

After thorough deliberation, the jury selected Miriam Blaauboer as the winner. She received a EUR 5,000 cheque to further her educational development, along with an additional EUR 1,000 for personal use.

Empathy

Blaauboer has been involved in teaching for 15 years, contributing to both the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in Applied Physics. Her standout courses include the Honours Class on Electromagnetism for bachelor’s students and Fundamentals of Quantum Information in the new MSc programme on Quantum Information Science & Technology (QIST).

Her nomination highlights her teaching style as follows: ‘Miriam stands out as an educator thanks to her crystal-clear explanations, sparkling enthusiasm, empathy towards students, and disarming friendliness. She delivers her lectures with such energy that it inspires students to dive deeper into the topics.’

As the TU Delft Educator of the Year, Blaauboer will automatically represent the university in the national ISO (Dutch National Student Association) Teacher of the Year 2025 competition on 7 April. In 2019, AE lecturer Calvin Rans won the national award after his 2018 TU Delft victory.