The Lecturer of the Year has asked us to meet him in at DTU Lyngby Campus in a prototype workshop with lathes and milling machines. We find Associate Professor Michael Deininger at DTU Construct among unfinished models and DTU’s eco-car, which is to be prepared for the Shell Eco marathon. Here, he is curiously putting questions to a team of undergraduate students who are developing a bicycle for people who have suffered a blood clot.
The situation turns out to be a classic example of Michael Deininger’s approach to teaching with all his courses being project-based and very hands-on. Large auditoriums do not work well for this type of teaching. He has to be able to speak individually with his students in a project room close to 3D printers and laboratories. The teaching is supplemented with activities, practical experiences, and guest lectures. And the students like this approach. At DTU’s Commemoration Day, Michael Deininger was named Lecturer of the Year 2022.
The nominations are made by students who are studying Industrial Design and User-centred Design in the Design and Innovation programme. The students describe him first and foremost as a lecturer who listens with an open mind and takes them seriously. This is especially evident in that Michael Deininger helps them further develop their ideas—even the outrageous ones. Moreover, they describe him as empathetic and humorous.
“I was very surprised when I was told that I would receive the Lecturer of the Year award. It’s a great honour and I think it can inspire me to make my teaching even better. I am passionate about teaching human-centered design. Here we’re talking about feelings and personal preferences, which aren’t often discussed in conventional engineering programmes,” says Michael Deininger.
It does not have to be perfect
Michael Deininger was born in Germany and moved to California to study industrial design. After three years, he moved to Michigan, where he worked as an industrial designer for the American design firm Henry Dreyfuss Associates for international clients such as General Motors, Johnson Controls, and John Deere.
Later, he got a job at the University of Michigan and became interested in health technology, as he felt that this was where he could best make a difference for other people. When his colleagues asked if he would be interested in using his industrial knowledge to teach students, he said yes. He enjoyed teaching and decided to expand his academic competences. First he took a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and then a PhD in Design Science. In 2018, he joined DTU.
“My teaching is probably different from the conventional engineering approach because I haven’t taken the straight career path. I’ve worked in manufacturing industry for 15 years and I’ve accumulated great knowledge in the areas in which I now teach at DTU. This means that I have a good sense of how to guide the students so that they can help solve the challenges faced by our society. Not only from an academic point of view, but also from what is needed in the professional world,” says Michael Deininger.
His latest initiative is a course on which he teaches students to develop prototypes. The mantra is that the students are to test their ideas in practice—they should practice and sometimes fail. It is not about being perfect, but about experimenting and learning from your mistakes in order to find the right solution.
Like jumping off a plane
On other of Michael Deininger’s courses, he selects projects to which the students can easily relate. This may, for example, be how to help disabled people get around DTU Campus, or how to avoid or reduce waste in Copenhagen. For example, if the students find a pizza box on the street, they need to figure out why it has not been place in the waste bin and develop a solution that helps those who do not dispose of their waste.
The idea is for the students to go out into the real world, identify a need, develop a concept, and get feedback. This ensures that they actually solve the user’s needs. For Michael Deininger, it is important that the students choose a target group that does not resemble themselves. It could be a person who is younger or older, has a different gender, a different nationality, or a disability. This way, it is not the same person who finds and solves a challenge. But it requires the students to talk to other people—and learn how to listen. And it can be terrifying.
“I have a teaching slide that says: ‘If what you’re doing feels like jumping off a plane—then you're doing it right.’ By making them go out into the real world, I might put my students in a situation they haven’t tried before. It helps them develop empathy for other people. And it’s an ability that’s important for becoming a socially responsible design engineer,” says Michael Deininger
Creating a better future for all
Over the years, the Design and Innovation programme has inspired students to design innovative and creative solutions that help solve some of the challenges faced by our society. One of the solutions that the students have developed is the sustainable waste bin DropBucket, which can be quickly set up for events and special occasions where there is a great need for waste bins.
DropBucket is a folding waste bin made of recycled corrugated cardboard with power liners that reinforce the material and make the corrugated cardboard water-repellent. It is inexpensive, lightweight, and mobile without compromising on stability and durability. A simple folding technique ensures that—before use—the bucket can be transported in a folded state, thus minimizing transport costs. As DropBucket is designed and conceived for mono-use, it can be deposited after use.
Another solution that solves a challenge to society is a design chair that can be disassembled and packed in a flat cardboard box to reduce transport costs and carbon emissions. The chair—which has won a 2021 SIT Furniture Design Award—can be easily assembled in a couple of minutes without the use of tools. Solid joints make it possible to quickly disassemble the chair again for transport or parts replacement, which extends its service life. However, the aesthetics or quality of the finished product is not affected by the chair being so easy to assemble and disassemble.
“On our courses, we talk a lot about what makes a product user-friendly and how it should feel and look. My role as a lecturer is to facilitate the students’ journey. To motivate and inspire them to think creatively and logically about the entire design process and—in particular—to understand what other people need. This is crucial when you’re designing products for other people,” says Michael Deininger.
“Unlike the conventional engineering approach, the students on our courses develop soft skills that are important when developing technology for people. Equipped with these skills, the students are ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow and create a better future for all.”
