’I approach teaching from the student’s perspective’

Melvin Drent, this year’s best master teacher, wants to be approachable to his students and help them get ahead.

TU/e’s best master teacher, Melvin Drent, hopes his students will look back on him later as the teacher who was always there for them. Even at night or during the weekend. "If, by doing this, I can help a motivated graduate student get ahead, I will," he says.

On the door of Melvin Drent’ s’office on floor 4 of Atlas is an A4 with a picture of Drent with a crown on his head and the text Best Master Teacher TU/e. A Monday morning surprise for Drent from his colleagues after he was named our university’s best master teacher during MomenTUm the previous Friday.

Drent, Assistant Professor in the Operations, Planning, Accounting, and Control (OPAC) group, smiles, "I guess there will be a cookie hour to celebrate this."

Double whammy

The Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences department can level up that cookie hour, as it provided both the best master and best bachelor teacher this year. In addition to Drent, Rudi Bekkers won the award for best bachelor teacher - a nice double whammy for IE&IS.

Drent happens to share his room with Karel van Donselaar , who was named best master teacher last year. "It’s kind of special that this comes together in this office," Drent says.

How does he explain the high density of educational awards? "Within our group, we feel that teaching is one of our core tasks, not something you do as an aside. We look at personal interest and research and link teaching subjects to that. That makes it easy to transfer knowledge with enthusiasm."

Teaching is one of our core tasks, not something you do as an aside.

Melvin Drent, best master teacher 2024

Drent’s research focuses on decision-making under uncertainty, using data-driven approaches in supply chain management, manufacturing operations, and after-sales services. This year, he received a Veni grant for his research on mathematical approaches to inventory management. Drent smiles and says with a sense of understatement that 2024 was a successful year for him.

"I enjoy doing research, but that tends to have a longer-term trajectory; you don’t see immediate results in practice. I can make an immediate impact when teaching students, which gives me great satisfaction. Fortunately, my work is a nice mix of research and teaching."

I always try to find appealing examples that enable students to understand the theory better.

Melvin Drent, best master teacher 2024

The 30-year-old Drent is always working on his subject and how to best land theory with students. "I studied here myself and now teach courses that I also took. I try to do that from the student’s perspective. How can they best pick up the material."

"I also want to teach students to be critical and dare speak up. If you have a good idea, bring it forward so we can discuss it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you can learn from them. And maybe I’ll learn something from them, too."

Get close to practice

Drent teaches two master courses: Multi-Echelon Inventory Management, which deals with inventory management within large inventory chains, and Integrated Financial and Operations Management. "I always try to find appealing examples that enable students to better understand the theory, such as ticket pricing or dynamic pricing in supermarkets. I also bring assignments close to practice, so students get a better idea of why they need to learn this."

Transferring knowledge has always been a part of Drent’s life. During his studies, he tutored fellow students at Calculus, mentored first-year students, and worked as a teaching assistant. He also taught students during his PhD.

Perfectionist

Despite his years of experience, he occasionally still feels tense when faced with a large group. "I am a perfectionist by nature; I don’t want anything to go wrong. That’s why I interact with students frequently, tailoring my teaching materials and methods to their needs. Much time goes into that, but it pays off more."

That attitude earned him the nomination for best master teacher. That Drent would win the award came as a surprise to him. He stood on stage between experienced and inspiring lecturers Hélène Aarts of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences and Andrea Fiore of Applied Physics and Science Education. "I didn’t dare hope to win. The fact that students nominated me and eventually elected me best teacher, I find an incredible honor."

I want to help students get ahead, even outside of office hours.

Melvin Drent, best master teacher 2024

The fact that Drent completed his master’s only seven years ago makes it easy for him to empathize with his students. "I am very approachable and always available. Both for my master’s students and for others. I want to help them, want to know how they are doing, what they are up against."

For him, that doesn’t stop after office hours. "I often email with my students in the evenings and at weekends. Especially as they near graduation, that collaboration intensifies. If they work through the weekend and need help, I give it. Then they can get ahead." Drent does not do this with all students, by the way. "They need to be motivated and hard-working."

Hierarchy

"Because I am still relatively young, students dare to speak out to me more easily. I don’t feel a hierarchy between us, although there is one, because I ultimately judge them. I try to keep a good balance so students don’t take advantage of it."

Until now, Drent has helped steer 20 master students toward the finish line. "I always write a personal speech for graduation because I know how special this moment is for students and their families. You always remember that; it’s nice to be a part of that. The other day, a former student brought a gift months after graduation to thank me for my help. It’s nice to receive such explicit appreciation."

Double Drent

Drent is half of a twin. He and his identical twin brother Collin studied at TU/e and obtained a doctoral degree. They now both work as Assistant Professors in the OPAC group. They work together on their research and also teach together. "We think in the same way: one word is enough. Students can sometimes be taken aback to discover that there are two of us."

Working at a university is flexible, varied, and challenging, and you get to work with young, motivated people. Where can you find such a job?

Melvin Drent, best master teacher 2024

With his enthusiasm for teaching and research, Drent hopes to excite students about an academic career, for he feels that too few students are now choosing to pursue a doctoral position.

"It’s very cool to work at a university. I get the freedom to work on interesting topics and don’t have a boss telling me what to do. It’s a flexible job. And I like the variety of doing research and teaching. Moreover, I get to work with young, motivated people. Where else do you find a job like that?"

From our strategy: about talent

Talent is what our university is all’about at all levels. This includes students, of course, but also professors, teachers, researchers and support staff. We see it as our task to help them further develop their talents. Our students are the next generation and we equip them to work on major societal challenges. Our teachers play an important role in this.