From my perspective, the industry partners validated that what the students are learning in the classroom really is important. Yes, good design is necessary. Yes, style and documentation do matter.
Yes, testing really is critical. Indeed, stand up meetings and pair programming do happen in real companies. The partners, through their own stories and through their critiques of student work, affirmed the necessity of the skills and technologies that students are learning.
My partners were able to fill in gaps in my own knowledge. From our Agile trainer, I learned how to apply Scrum to a web development project. He recommended that students use their first client meeting to have a simple discussion with their business owner about what was most important
to them, rather than on creating a detailed and complete set of requirements.
The students were then immediately able to begin developing websites to meet those priorities. The result was something tangible they could present to their business owner, classmates, and the industry partner, which in turn drove a meaningful discussion about what worked and what didn't. This had a dramatic impact on the students, who had a sense of satisfaction from the very beginning.