These comments acknowledge the contribution of the industry partner in helping students understand real-world practice. Additionally, three students explicitly noted that they heeded the partner’s advice and that their projects improved as a result.
I also observed that having an industry partner present “raised the bar” for the class. Students prepared better for weekly presentations, even dressing more professionally. They also did better quality work and were able to accomplish more during the term, compared both with previous iterations of the course and with other project-based courses. Student teams consistently incorporated suggestions they received from the industry partner into their projects. Importantly, since the critiques were public, students also heard and incorporated suggestions made to other teams.