State Teaching Prize 2003 for Professor Becker

Badische Neueste Nachrichten (BNN) from March 26, 2004:

A university professor used to write formulas on the blackboard with a broken piece of chalk. The students had to transfer the calculations to their own notepads at lightning speed before a wet sponge wiped away the knowledge on the blackboard. In the meantime, however, multimedia presentations from notebooks have replaced writing on the board. Anyone who has missed something can easily download the lesson material from the Internet in the evening. Professor Dr. Jürgen Becker from the Institute for Information Processing Technology (ITIV) at the University of Karlsruhe combines modern forms of presentation with traditional teaching methods in his lectures. Because the lecturer sets an example for other professors at universities, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts awarded him the 2003 State Teaching Prize yesterday. The prize is endowed with 10,000 euros and has been used for both teaching and research for over ten years.
"With his positive charisma, Jürgen Becker always inspires his students during his lectures," said Science Minister Peter Frankenberg, who presented the state teaching award winner with his certificate yesterday. According to the Minister, the lecturer's visible enthusiasm for his teaching field was very helpful in motivating the exam-ridden students and preparing them for everyday working life. Particularly in this day and age, when Bachelor's and Master's degree courses are being introduced, it is important not only to bombard students with theoretical knowledge, but also to involve them in practical industrial research," he emphasized.
And this is precisely what the award winner Becker succeeds in doing time and again in his lectures, said the Minister. The 40-year-old studied computer science at the University of Kaiserslautern and also worked there for several years. In 2001, he accepted a professorship at the Fridericiana in Karlsruhe. With his professorship for "Embedded Electronic Systems", he took over the management of his research area at ITIV. According to Frankenberg, the lecturer revised and continued the concept of his predecessor's lecture "Design of Electronic Systems II". "His lecture on digital technology is always varied with modern slide presentations and explanatory lectures," reported the Minister. "However, the additional tutorial hours and the internet presence with accessible scripts were also very helpful for the students."
In his speech, Frankenberg also referred to the University of Karlsruhe's excellent position in the various university rankings and the worldwide recognition of the degree courses here. This is a very great success," he said. "And we owe this above all to motivated university lecturers like you, Mr. Becker."