How to feel at ease teaching in a top university as an industry professional

A few months back I had an onboarding meeting with a highly experienced industry professional. He’d be teaching a course to our students as external faculty. And he had many questions about the students’ expectations and if he was doing it the right way like the “real” professors. In our conversation, we touched on a few core principles.

Be clear about your expectations.

You have a treasure trove full of experiences and yes, please do share some of them. But it is more important that you have a clear vision of what you want your students to be able to do, or do better, after they participated in your course. Communicate what you expect from students, what you expect from yourself, and what your ambition is with teaching them.

Work with what students bring into the room.

Students are not like empty pages. They have life experience and possibly prior knowledge about what your are teaching. Once you make the effort to get to know some of their stories that are relevant to your course, it’ll be much easier to connect with them and teach with impact. Before your first class, let them share what they already know. This way, your teaching starts even before you meet them.

Share the story of your professional journey.

Students already know you are the expert. But how did you become who you are? This, they don’t know. So tell them! They’ll better understand that a) you’ve been a student once, too, and b) they can imagine themselves taking a similar journey. Build rapport by being personal and approachable. Work on creating trust in the classroom and you’ll feel comfortable. Students will, too. Then it is going to be a fun ride. Enjoy it.

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