Teaching Prize 2025 awarded to Prof. Rüdiger Ehlers

"Innovative, future-oriented teaching is highly valued at Clausthal University of Technology. We express this through the Teaching Award, which we presented this year in the presence of all the deans," said Prof. Stefan Hartmann, part-time Vice President for Studies and Teaching.

The TU Clausthal Teaching Prize was established in 2013 and has been awarded annually since then - with a brief interruption due to the pandemic. The winner receives a one-off grant of 5,000 euros for teaching and operating resources.

"Embedded Systems Engineering I" wins over the jury

This year, the students submitted 37 proposals and thus nominated 22 professors. In the end, the jury, which was made up of three lecturers and three students, chose Prof. Rüdiger Ehlers and his course "Embedded Systems Engineering I". The course provides an overview of the subject area of embedded systems, i.e. microcomputers that perform control and regulation tasks in everyday household objects and machines.

"On behalf of the committee, I would like to congratulate you on the award. In addition to the technical aspects, the diligence in your work is clearly visible," praised Jürgen Lars Sackbrook, Head of the Centre for University Didactics, which is responsible for organizing the award.

"I am very grateful for this recognition. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all previous tutors who have supported the event with great commitment," said Prof. Ehlers. "In my course, I attach great importance to addressing students of computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, which is a challenge due to the very heterogeneous prior knowledge. That's why I'm particularly pleased about this recognition of my work."

Innovative range of courses honored

According to the jury, the course is characterized by a pandemic-related new development in which the university didactic constructive alignment approach was consistently implemented. In contrast to the subject-specific standard, the course begins with practical components, which are then followed by theoretical content. Modern microcontrollers are used in the practical exercises, with applications ranging from miniature devices to control units for autonomous driving.

The course is supplemented by a video-based introductory course in the C programming language. High-quality, edited and processed videos are available for students to download. Multilingual open access textbooks and Moodle exercises are used. The course also offers individualized exam feedback and is linked to the TU Clausthal leitmotif of the Circular Economy.

Ehlers has been Professor of Embedded Systems at Clausthal University of Technology since 2019. His research focuses on the design automation of embedded and hybrid systems, including reactive synthesis, the solution of provably difficult computational problems and the validation of systems that use artificial intelligence.

Contact:
TU Clausthal
Vanessa Jakubus
Phone: +49 5323 72-5028
Email: vanessa.jakubus@tu-clausthal.de