UBC Okanagan recognizes Jannik Eikenaar with a Teaching Excellence and Innovation Award

Prof. Jannik Eikenaar — Professor Jannik Eikenaar teaching his students through Zoom.

May 13, 2021

Edited: June 29, 2022

Jannik Eikenaar is a passionate teacher who is dedicated to supporting his students and making the School of Engineering’s learning spaces more inclusive, diverse, and engaging. He is a difference-maker not only in his own classrooms but also those of his colleagues.

The UBC Okanagan Teaching Excellence and Innovation Award recognizes teaching excellence and innovation at Okanagan campus. Successful award winners are exemplary role models who have and will continue to have significant impact on the culture of teaching and learning on the Okanagan campus and beyond.

Dr. Eikenaar’s positive approach to teaching is both impressive and inspiring. As his appointment as one of the inaugural Marshall Bauder Professors in Experiential Learning and Leadership demonstrates, Dr. Eikenaar is successfully building on the experiences within his classrooms to lead in both our School and our Faculty.

He consistently demonstrates excellence by engaging his students through innovative, active learning strategies and activities while modeling respectful engagement and fostering an inclusive learning environment. Dr. Eikenaar also promotes the idea of psychological safety in teamwork, allowing students to feel they are able to contribute effectively in a group work environment. He serves as one of the School’s two Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Advisors.

Dr. Eikenaar began teaching at the School of Engineering in 2014 as an Instructor. He regularly teaches required courses in Engineering Communication and Technical Communication at the Year One and Year Two levels, including for the Vantage College Applied Science cohort, and occasionally teaches a graduate-level elective.

His contributions to teaching on campus were judged as outstanding in a field of exceptional nominees. For his incredible work, Dr. Eikenaar was recognized at the Teaching Awards Ceremony during UBC’s Celebrate Learning Week.

At the event, other School of Engineering instructors and teaching assistants were recognized. Tina Olfatbakhsh, Reza Sourki, & Sandun Tharaka Wanniarachchi was awarded Provost Teaching Assistant & Tutors Excellence Awards. Mehran Shirazi, Peyman Yousefi and Yang Cao were recognized for championing accessibility & wellbeing in the classroom.