By Line Nyrup Odgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Lars Horn / Baghuset. Illustration: Alberte Spork 

"Sine manages to create a learning environment typified by immersion, critical reflection and active participation. She is a teacher who is passionate about her subject and manages to pass on this interest to the students,"

Such are the words of appreciation from the students who nominated Sine Agergaard as Teacher of the Year at the Faculty of Medicine.

Sine Agergaard is a professor in the Department of Health Science and Technology where the students emphasize that her teaching manages to make even complex academic points vivid, relevant and applicable.

In class, the students feel both challenged and supported, and the combination of her academic strength and her compassion makes her a person the students look up to.

"If I can be half like Sine – academically and personally – then I will be completely satisfied," says one student.

Professional identity in focus

"I am honoured and very grateful to receive the award as Teacher of the Year at the Faculty of Medicine. There are many talented teachers and committed students at our faculty who could also deserve an award. I see it as a recognition of those of us who are committed to both research and teaching every single day," says Sine Agergaard.

Sine Agergaard organizes her teaching based on the experiences she has seen over the years make a real difference to the students' learning.

"It is important for me to create a space where students feel that they aren’t just a number, and where they are actively invited in. I am also happy to adjust things along the way if they come up with suggestions," she explains.

Sine Agergaard works consciously to bring the outside world into the classroom – through current cases, guests from outside or field studies – making the material concrete and relevant. At the same time, she wants to challenge the students by pointing out gaps in our knowledge and the need for innovation.

"It's about strengthening their professional identity and giving them a sense of how they can use their knowledge in practice as future professionals," she says.

For Sine Agergaard, the relationship with the students is one of the biggest driving forces in her work. It is precisely in interacting with them that she finds the energy to refine her teaching and create learning spaces that make a real difference.

With the award as Teacher of the Year at the Faculty of Medicine, Sine Agergaard is now a candidate for the title of Teacher of the Year at AAU, which will be announced at AAU's Annual Celebration on 17 April 2026.