b'Environmental geophysicsand two to three PhD students, which of course could be quite a challenge for a person with the ambition to always have an open door. Im sure this is not possible at todays universities with all the administrative burdens, registration of activities, and writing of applications for research money now put on the shoulders of the academic staff. In total, I supervised 40 Masters and 11 PhD students during the years 1986-2011.In the mid-1990s, I taught a course in Advanced Electromagnetic Methods, starting out in a seminar-like way with contributions from all participants: students, PhD students and staff, and then evolving into a more standard form. The course was primarily aimed at PhD students, but was also attended by ambitious Masters students. It was a no holds barred course, especially in the mathematical-physical foundation of electromagnetic methods. In the same way as for the third-year course in near-surface geophysics, I produced lecture notes for parts of the curriculum and a collection of assignments (with solutions). In some years there were too few students to run the course, but from the late 90s and in the 00s, there were typically four to seven participants every year.In the late 1990s more and more foreign students came to our department to study and, consequently, all the lecture notes, assignments and solutions were translated into English, with the lectures conducted in English as well. Most of the Figure 1.Field work at the camp: Setting up the TEM instrument and making sure all the pieces are therematerial - substantially edited, extended (photo courtesy: Anders Vest Christiansen). and updated - is now collected in a book that is available to all students in the more and more local investigationstake the third-year course in near-surfacedepartment. I always liked teaching and took place Only rarely was thegeophysics, including the field course,most years, beside the lectures, I also ran transient instrument on the shelf in thework as a student employee for thewhat we at European universities called instrument room The need to performcounty or a private company during theirthe exercise part of a course, basically TEM measurements grew very quickly,study, and write their theses about thewhere problems were given to students and private companies- some of themTEM method, having already obtained ato work out with the help of an instructor. newly started as spin-offs from thepromise to be hired after they finished.I often ran these instead of having a collaboration between public authoritiesSeveral were actually employed beforestudent do the work. It is my opinion and the University - adopted the methodthey finished. Without any top-downthat there is - at least - as much learning and offered it commercially. A total oforganisation and strategy, it was nopotential in the exercise classes as in the nine instruments (!) were acquired inproblem for the students to gain practicallectures, and I wanted to make sure that Denmark, which must be the worldexperience during their studies and thereall the important points from the lectures record in the category density of ground- was also no problem with academicwere mentioned in the exercise classes. based TEM instruments in one country.unemployment. All the activities wereI was also one of the instructors at the This was made possible by the steadyalso relevant for society and contributedfield courses, mostly with the transient stream of newly educated Masters andto economic growth to a degree thatmethod. I liked being with the students, PhD students who had specialised in theeveryone with similar ambitions todayand again, the learning potential - and method, making themselves availablelooks back at that time with envy. Mostthe potential for fooling around and to be hired by the private companies. Aof my time at the university I wouldhaving fun and good laughs - is huge typical story for such a student was tohave five to seven Masters studentswhen you are walking around in the field.OCTOBER 2022 PREVIEW 32'