Conventional academic faculty members, in general, have little or no practical experience of being entrepreneurs themselves, and thus lack expertise in starting-up and running an enterprise. Therefore, including experienced entrepreneurs and practitioners in the teaching of entrepreneurship education can be fruitful. Guest lecturers, life case studies and interviews are some of the frequently used formats. Entire courses can be co-delivered or team-taught by academics and practitioners, which can be a learning experience for the teachers by gaining practical insights into entrepreneurial practice, and the practitioners benefit from academic reflection about their practices, networking with students as potential future recruits and gaining insights into up-to-date research methodologies and results. Students benefit from witnessing the explicit link between research and practice in the programme, fostering their analytical and reflective skills. Having teachers and practitioners in the classroom together also facilitates quality control, as not all practitioners are equally gifted in inspiring and interacting with students in a productive way.

Entrepreneurial individuals as educators in higher education can also be institutionalised, for example by introducing Industry Professorships or an ‘Executive in Residence’ programme, in which retired entrepreneurs spend significant periods of time (such as six months) at the higher education institution. In addition, such practitioners can be involved in developing or reviewing the strategy of the higher education institution on entrepreneurship co-operation as well as in reviewing programme content and models of teaching.[1]

[1] For additional information see the Guidance Notes on HEI-Business/External Relationships for Knowledge Exchange; Organisational Capacity, People and Incentives).