René Smits is Lecturer of the Year

Although Professor René Smits (66) has retired to emeritus status in August, he still has a lot of knowledge to pass on to present-day students of the Master Law & Finance. Also beyond academics, he is actively involved in matters such as European law and sustainable finance. On 19 October, he won the title of UvA Lecturer of the Year: 'I consider that without connection, the process of transferring knowledge and learning cannot be realized.' Congratulations! How was the ceremony? . 'Amazing. Actually, I expected that Vincent Odekerken of the medical faculty would win the prize, given the great pressure on health care in these Covid 19-ridden times. The moment one of the jury members, Taimoor Baig, announced that the chosen teacher had kept in touch with students even after the lectures, a bell started ringing. Yet it was a surprise, both this time and during the previous presentation of the faculty title , in May. Before the results of the jury were announced, all faculty winners came together in a Zoom meeting. I learned a lot from the conversations with them. We discussed dual teaching, both online and physical, and exchanged views on how academics are regarded in times of myth formation and misinformation. And, of course, it was very interesting to meet with a scientist, a physician, a practitioner of humanities and others. At the closing of the Education Day, Rector Karen Maex spoke about "connection", which really appealed to me, because that is exactly what I consider important as a teacher and what the jury indicated as my strong point.' So, connection is central in your lectures. How do you achieve that as a teacher?