People - 21.09.2026 - 10:00
What makes excellent teaching? For students at the School of Economics and Political Science (SEPS-HSG), it is not only academic expertise and well-structured courses. Enthusiasm, interaction, openness and the ability to make challenging subjects understandable and relevant matter just as much.
This year's vote for the SEPS Excellence in Teaching Award was exceptionally close between two faculty members: Prof. Dr. Adrian Rinscheid and Prof. Dr. Tobias Sutter. In recognition of this remarkable result, SEPS is presenting the award to both.
Students particularly value Adrian Rinscheid for his passion for political issues and his highly interactive approach to teaching. His courses create space for discussion, different perspectives and critical thinking. Rather than simply conveying knowledge, he actively involves students in the learning process.
His openness towards students is a recurring theme in their feedback. He takes time for conversations during breaks and after class, genuinely seeks out their perspectives and sometimes implements their feedback as early as the following session. One small detail left a particularly lasting impression: his effort to learn the names of all participants – and how quickly he succeeded.
For Tobias Sutter, one quality appears again and again in the student feedback: his ability to make complex quantitative concepts understandable. Students appreciate the way he develops equations and proofs step by step rather than simply presenting finished solutions on slides, while consistently connecting theory with exercises, intuitive examples and applications.
One student’s experience illustrates the impact of this approach particularly well: initially apprehensive about Statistics I, the student found Sutter’s explanations so clear and engaging that they wanted to attend every lecture. His commitment to making learning accessible also shows in the small things: when the technology failed during one class, he simply rearranged the whiteboards around the room so that students could continue to follow his explanations.
Through the SEPS Excellence in Teaching Award, the School annually recognises faculty members whose teaching particularly engages, motivates and encourages students to think independently.
This year’s student feedback also demonstrates that excellent teaching can take many forms: through open dialogue, discussion and different perspectives, as well as through clarity, structure and the ability to make challenging material accessible.
Congratulations to Adrian Rinscheid and Tobias Sutter on this well-deserved recognition!
Mehr Informationen zum SEPS Excellence in Teaching Award.
