In Conversation with Dr. Imran Cheema, Awardee Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence 2021-22 - Press Release issued by Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Lahore -- May 17, 2022 (PPI-OT)

Following is the text of press release issued by Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

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One of the winners of this year's Vice Chancellor's Awards for Teaching Excellence is Dr. Imran Cheema, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE). Dr. Cheema's teaching philosophy is grounded in his overarching aim to 'stimulate joy in his students' learning experiences' and cultivate 'ah ha' moments where their learning becomes visible. As one of his students proudly shared, "He inculcated this sense of intellectual and scientific curiosity which was highly infectious; he would encourage me to cross boundaries in my intellectual journey and expand my knowledge."

Dr. Cheema's excellence in teaching electrical engineering has been recognised by students and colleagues for its academic rigour and how he engages students to help them learn complex mathematical and scientific concepts. Whether he is using real-life examples, visualisations and demonstrations or metaphors, he aims to reach all his students to help them learn. Dr. Cheema's incorporation of varied assessment techniques and his responsiveness to regular student feedback on his teaching and course design help to ensure that student learning is at the heart of his teaching. He is without a doubt one of LUMS most highly effective instructors, and a caring mentor who enthusiastically inspires students to love complex subjects of engineering and science.

During a conversation with Dr. Cheema, we learnt more about his thoughts on winning this award, and his diverse experiences in the classroom.

How would you describe your teaching style? What 'innovative pedagogical approaches' do you practice to keep students excited about learning electrical engineering?

My classes are generally mathematically rigorous. For the students to make physical sense of math, I always provide related intuitions coupled with metaphors or analogies, which are well-established ways of enhancing students' learning experiences. I show animations in almost every class to illustrate concepts and do in-class experimental demonstrations or take students to my research labs to improve their understanding of concepts. To keep students engaged, I utilise demonstrations and initiate interactive discussions towards learning concepts. I regularly use technology in my classes in the form of Microsoft Surface Pro, on which I...