Who is the university's best teacher?
Hail educational brilliance!
Nominate your teacher by November 15, 2026 at the latest.
Who can I nominate?
Nominate a teacher at Södertörn University who, through pedagogical skills and enthusiasm for their subject, has particularly excelled and made your studies more fun and smoother.
The jury makes its decision based on the nomination and how well the teacher meets the Gold Grips criteria.
- have a good ability to explain things
- show and spread enthusiasm for one's subject
- work in the students' best interests
- deliver inspiring and well-prepared lectures/seminars
- have a good ability to communicate and provide relevant information
- encourage and inspire students to get involved in educational and quality assurance work
- encourage students to get involved in student life
The nominee must meet at least one of the criteria above.
Examples of questions to reflect on when writing your motivation letter:
- How does the teacher design and implement the course’s teaching in a way that creates active participation and learning?
- How does the teacher create an inclusive environment where the voices of students are taken seriously?
- In what ways does the teacher encourage engagement and community both in and outside the classroom?
Who can nominate someone?
Students at Södertörn University can nominate teachers for the Golden Griffin. You can also have multiple students behind a nomination.
Who are the members of the jury?
The jury for the Gold Prize consists of SöderS’ chairman and the student and doctoral candidate representative.
Golden Griffin 2025
John Björkman, senior lecturer in education, was named the university’s best teacher in 2025
About Guldgripen
The Students’ Union’s Teaching Award
to Södertörn University’s best teacher
A student invests several years of their life in their future, and it is the primary responsibility of colleges and universities to ensure that this investment pays off. The quality of education must be the best possible, so that students are in the best possible position to progress into working life after graduation. For this to be possible, high demands are placed on teachers.
With the award Golden Griffin SöderS wants to highlight teachers who excel in their work. It is one thing for a teacher to have theoretical and practical knowledge, and another thing to be able to convey and create space for students to utilize this knowledge and to create encounters in the learning environment where students themselves are active in their learning. It is about creating an open and inclusive climate where students dare to ask questions, test ideas and reasoning, and for the teacher to guide, explain the incomprehensible so that it becomes understandable, without giving too many pointers.
There are many teachers who take pedagogy seriously and make a special impact on the students’ study time. Teachers that students remember as role models long after the studies have ended. These teachers are usually particularly passionate about meeting with students, and give them the space to challenge and develop themselves and their abilities. Teachers who see their own development in meeting with the students as equally important to achieving new knowledge and developing their pedagogy and themselves.
These fire-fighters raise SöderS by awarding the award Golden Griffin – The most pedagogical teachers at Södertörn University, according to the students themselves.
The nomination procedure
Students at Södertörn University nominate candidates for the Guldgripen award. The nomination must include the candidate’s name, the lecturer’s subject area and a well-written statement of reasons. Several students may sign a statement of reasons. Nominations may be submitted throughout the year, up until the closing date decided by the SöderS board. Proposals received after the closing date will be considered during the following financial year.