Meet Your Colleague: Kristine Telling

From Industry to Teaching
In 2024, after nearly ten years in the industry, it was time for something new. Or rather: Kristine was returning to something she had never quite let go of. Already during her studies, she developed a taste for communication through Det rullende universitet, where she visited upper‑secondary schools and gave young people an insight into engineering studies. That experience planted a seed: The joy of standing in front of a group and witnessing the moment when others understand and become curious.

After almost a decade working with product development, testing, and project management, the desire to work more with people than with products grew stronger. “I’ve always wanted to teach. The thought has never really left me,” she explains. And that thought led her to the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, where she has been employed as a teacher since March 2024.

“I’m at my best when I’m not bored”
Today, Kristine teaches the course Introduction to Project Work and Product Development at the Bachelor of Science. Here, theory and practice are combined, and the students work with CAD, 3D printing, and construction. A central element of the course is the development of a ball-launching mechanism, where the students go through the entire design process, test their constructions in the Game of Throws competition, and submit a project report as their exam.

For Kristine, the best part of the job is that she never gets bored. She thrives on variety and the opportunity to learn new things. “I need to be challenged. Not for the sake of the challenge itself, but because I simply don’t function if I’m bored,” she says. She values the balance between structure and freedom, and the chance to step away from the desk and interact with the students.

“I thrive in the contrasts”
As a new teacher, Kristine is still finding her footing. She has yet to repeat a course, and many things must be tried for the first time. But she looks forward to building on her experiences and creating even better teaching. “I thrive in the contrasts: Being able to geek out, but also be social; having structure, but also freedom. That combination works well for me,” she concludes.