Prof. Maciej Matyka: my motivation is my students [IDUB Teaching Award]
Applications are open until 31 August for the third edition of the IDUB Teaching Award. We speak with a previous recipient of the IDUB teaching award – dr hab. Maciej Matyka, prof. UWr, from the Institute of Theoretical Physics – about teaching in the field of physics.
We speak with a previous recipient of the IDUB teaching award – dr hab. Maciej Matyka, prof. UWr, from the Institute of Theoretical Physics – about teaching in the field of physics.
You’ve received the IDUB teaching award twice. What teaching activities formed the basis for these awards?
Dr hab. Maciej Matyka, prof. UWr: Most of the points I received were for books I’ve written. I’m the author of several titles, two of which I was able to include in both of my applications: Symulacje komputerowe w fizyce (Computer Simulations in Physics, 2nd edition) and Kombinacje C++ (C++ Combinations), both published by Helion. I suspect it was these that tipped the scales in my favour and led to the awards. They brought in a lot of points, but I won’t hide it – they were also a huge amount of work. That’s why I’m really pleased that my efforts have been recognised in this way.
The IDUB award committee assessed applications based on a number of criteria. But what are you personally most proud of when it comes to teaching? Perhaps something outside the list of achievements considered in the IDUB competition?
Without a doubt, it’s my students’ successes. This year, for the first time, one of my PhD students defended their thesis – we learned together how to navigate this journey successfully and without too many bumps. I’m very satisfied with how those four years went, especially considering that, as a newly minted habilitated doctor, I had no idea where to begin or how to manage the collaboration. In fact, before we started, I had a lot of doubts – but today, I have none.
Last year, another of my PhD students received an award from the Polish Physical Society for their master’s thesis, which I supervised. And this year, my undergraduate student (now a master’s student) co-authored a paper with me that was published in Physical Review E. Thanks to this collaboration, he travelled to a conference in the US, where he presented his poster and won an award for it. That’s the most rewarding part. I benefit a lot from working with them, but each of their successes gives me more motivation for meetings, discussions and sharing ideas – something I try to do with everyone I collaborate with.
How can we encourage young people to study such a demanding subject as physics?
To be honest, I never thought I’d study physics myself. I ended up here somewhat by chance – and I stayed. Maybe that’s the way?
What do you think is most important in the relationship between a university teacher and a student?
Trust, meetings, openness – and a touch of gentle humour. But if I had to choose, I’d say trust is the most important.
Do you observe any generational changes among successive cohorts of students joining our university – changes that call for different teaching methods or a different approach than with earlier groups at the start of your academic career?
That’s a great question – it lets me share a particular view. It’s not that students are changing – it’s us who are growing older, gaining experience. Meanwhile, the students who come to us are still the same – with the same level of experience, knowledge, and ability. I would never say, “students used to be different, the school-leaving exams used to be harder, or maths used to be more advanced.” I really dislike statements like that – they’re unfair to entire generations of students and pupils. They don’t give people a chance and they close off opportunities. I’ll stand by this view firmly. So to answer briefly – no, I haven’t noticed any generational changes in students, but I’ve seen plenty in myself.
Where do you draw inspiration from for improving your teaching methods?
I try to teach as well as I can. Exploring new formats and tools is one way to avoid stagnation – to keep from dozing off during your own lectures. I can’t prepare an entirely new lecture series every year, but I do try to deliver at least one new or differently structured lecture each academic year.
You work in computational physics, specifically computer simulations of physical phenomena – a field that changes rapidly. How do you manage to stay up to date?
The fact that I teach subjects related to computational physics gives me the motivation to constantly refresh my knowledge. The rule of “one new lecture per year” helps with that. I also work in this field as a researcher, so staying current is simply part of the job.
Writing books helps too – trying to gather a piece of knowledge in one place forces you to review various approaches and engage with them. I have a different problem, though – I keep discovering new “classic” concepts in my field that I didn’t know before, that are worth exploring, and… that I simply don’t have time for.
Then we wish you as much time as possible to pursue them.
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Applications for the third edition of the teaching award are now open! We encourage you to take part in the competition!!!
The IDUB Teaching Excellence Awards competition, “The Best Among the Best – In Pursuit of Teaching Excellence”, is one of the initiatives under the “Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB)” programme, financed by the Polish Minister responsible for higher education and science for the years 2020–2026. The competition aims to enhance the quality of education and promote best practices in teaching at the University of Wrocław. Across the two previous editions, a total of 75 laureates have been recognised.
Academic staff from all units of the University of Wrocław are eligible to apply for the IDUB Teaching Excellence Award, provided they are employed on a full-time basis in a teaching, research-teaching, or research position on the day the competition is announced. Full details on how to apply for the award can be found on the IDUB website.
Read about other winners of the IDUB teaching award:
Prof. dr hab. Dagmara Jakimowicz, Wydział Biotechnologii
Added by: E.K.
Date of publication: 24.07.2025
