Professor with tenure at the Department of Health Technologies, Ivo Fridolin has been teaching and supervising students for decades. His experience ranges from programme director in biomedical engineering and physics to leading international research projects. Currently, his main course is Electromagnetic Fields and Waves in Medical Engineering, and he also lectures in several other subjects.

Learning as a way of life

According to Fridolin, learning is much more than memorising facts. “Learning is a way of living. When something doesn’t work, you need to do it differently. Adaptation and creativity help you move away from ignorance,”
he says. In his view, learning is a process in which effort, repetition and persistence lead to new connections and deeper understanding.

Fridolin compares a teacher to a doctor: a doctor does not heal a person directly but creates the conditions for the body to heal itself. It is the same with learning — the lecturer can provide knowledge, experience and guidance, but the student must do the actual work. “Wisdom cannot be poured into one’s head with a ladle,” he notes. The role of the lecturer is to inspire and motivate, while responsibility rests with the student.

He believes that learning should come not only from positive experiences but also from failures. “Negative experiences often stay with us longer and teach more because they make us reflect on what to do differently next time,”
he says. However, he emphasises that failure should not become a state of being — it is valuable only when it follows effort and provides an opportunity for real growth.

If Fridolin had to describe himself as a lecturer, he would choose three words: understanding, curiosity and perseverance. One must understand both the complexity of the world and the student’s situation. Curiosity is the emotional force that drives discovery and enjoyment in learning. Perseverance ensures that learning is not just a moment of inspiration but a process of repetition and effort.

General competences – the foundation of the learning process

Fridolin believes that TalTech’s general competences – self-management, critical thinking, cooperation, communication and ethics – are well designed and cover the skills needed for successful learning and work. The challenge, he says, lies not in their definition but in how to truly integrate them into teaching and students’ everyday learning.

Self-management. In the very first lecture, Fridolin tells students that learning requires time and personal responsibility. “If you don’t create the right conditions for yourself, learning simply doesn’t happen,” he says.

Critical thinking. He encourages students to analyse sources and claims instead of accepting them blindly. For example, he has asked students to assess reports containing scientifically questionable claims and interpret them through the lens of the subject matter.

Cooperation. Fridolin considers group work and discussions essential so that students don’t study in isolation. Supporting one another makes it easier and more effective to master complex subjects.

Communication. Building a trusting atmosphere is central to his teaching. Oral exams allow him to see whether a student can truly explain what they know rather than merely repeat memorised definitions. Learning, he stresses, is not about rote memorisation but the ability to express understanding in one’s own words.

Ethics. In biomedical engineering, the work directly affects people’s health and lives. Therefore, Fridolin considers it essential to help students understand ethical responsibility. He also discusses academic integrity and warns against plagiarism and the misuse of artificial intelligence.

At the top of this “competence pyramid”, Fridolin sees creativity, which becomes attainable only once the foundation has been built. Only then can knowledge be applied creatively to solve real-world problems.

“General competences are like a healthy lifestyle – everyone knows their value, but they must also be practised,” he says.

What inspires him as a lecturer?

“The greatest satisfaction comes when a student not only listens but reflects their own understanding and experience back to me. That’s a dialogue,”
Fridolin says. It is important to him that students see learning not as an obligation but as part of their personal growth and life.

He recalls his own most inspiring teachers: Professor Ivar Tammeraid, whose thoroughness and passion for teaching left a lasting impression; Associate Professor Avo Ots, who showed that a lecturer doesn’t have to know everything, but openness, honesty and sharing sources matter most; and Professor Jaakko Malmivuo of Tampere University, an international role model who integrated research and teaching into a compelling whole.

Fridolin believes that learning is a marathon, not a sprint. He structures his courses so that students encounter the same topic multiple times — in lectures, assignments, labs and finally in the exam. “Only repetition from different angles creates lasting connections and true understanding,” he says.

The key words for ideal learning, according to him, are curiosity, substance and vision. Learning should not be limited to exam preparation – it should create a foundation for solving future challenges. “The role of a university of technology is to connect knowledge with real-life problems and help students truly grow into the shapers of the future,” he concludes.

Learn more about good learning and teaching at taltech.ee/en/learning