Awarded for his real-world teaching strategy

Dominique Pioletti, an associate professor at EPFL's School of Engineering, has won the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching 2019. Students enrolled in his Master's-level biomechanics class get to work directly on problems encountered by doctors. Dominique Pioletti's first visit to EPFL came at the age of three when he accompanied his father, an Italian immigrant truck driver. At the time, the campus was still a building site. Fast forward to today and Pioletti, whose mother is Swiss, goes to the School every day in his role as an associate professor. On sunny days, he likes to make the journey in his red 1960s Fiat 500 - a car he'd long dreamed of owning before he finally got his hands on one. "Every time I get behind the wheel, it's like a new adventure," he says. "I can never be sure it's going to start." Pioletti, whose background is in physics, enrolled as a student at EPFL in 1987. A self-confessed risk-taker, he enjoys the thrill of teaching. "I thrive on pressure," he explains. "The students are demanding and you get instant feedback. As a researcher, it's important to remain grounded." Pioletti spends a lot of his time teaching. Last year, he introduced an innovative new practical element to his Master's class on the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system , giving students a chance to work directly on clinical problems encountered by doctors. Pioletti has received the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching 2019 in recognition of his project-based model, the implementation of new lab sessions, and of the overall standard of his teaching. Putting knowledge into practice