Three nominations for the Best Teacher Awards 2026 at IE&IS
Three IE&IS researchers have been nominated for the Best Teacher Awards 2026. Their teaching connects research, collaboration, and a strong focus on student development.
The Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences is strongly represented in this year鈥檚 Best Teacher Awards. The nominations reflect how teaching and research come together in daily interactions between lecturers and students. The winners will be announced during MomenTUm on Friday September 25.
In the bachelor category, Bram De Moor and Yvonne de Kort have been nominated. In the master category, Maral Mahdad is one of the candidates.
Connecting with students is vital
Bram De Moor is part of the Operations, Planning, Accounting, and Control group and teaches operations management to bachelor students. Students praise him for making complex topics feel simple and intuitive, and say his approachability makes a real difference in the classroom. When students feel they can come to you, learning really takes off.
Experiencing light
Yvonne de Kort studies how light and technology influence behavior and wellbeing and is part of the Human Technology Interaction group. Her work focuses on how light affects mood, alertness, and everyday functioning.
鈥淲hat continues to inspire me is when students start following their own questions. That is when learning becomes personal and curiosity really starts to grow.鈥�
Creating together
Maral Mahdad鈥檚 work focuses on organizing for innovation, innovation ecosystems, sustainable transitions, open and collaborative innovation. As a teacher, she brings these themes into the classroom by treating education itself as a shared learning ecosystem: one shaped by students, teachers, industry partners, and society.
鈥淭his nomination does not feel like something that belongs to me alone. Education is something we build together. It is that shared effort 鈥� between students, teachers, and the wider learning community 鈥� that gives it meaning.鈥�
A shared moment
These nominations highlight the importance of teaching within the department and the commitment of lecturers to their students. MomenTUm will be the moment when that shared effort becomes visible.