I tried last time to bring in a guest speaker but it didn’t work logistically or budget wise.
It would be great to have some sponsored projects, and I of course know a bunch of people at various brands, but again I think it would be difficult budget and time wise. Most projects are pretty short and there isn’t really $ to fly people in, and being in Ottawa there isn’t any brands close by, and anyone coming from Boston (probably closest concentration of brands) needs to normally fly though Toronto so it makes it impossible to do it there and back in a day.
Something to think about though and a good suggestion. I’ll maybe do some digging and see if I can figure something out.
In the end though, they really are getting industry involvement with my experience, so I’m not to worried about them being out of touch with the real world. In fact, I think I’m probably harder on them and more “realistic” than an outsider might be.
It’s also a pretty short course (12 weeks) and they are coming into it with no footwear experience so by the time they get up to speed near the final project there isn’t much time left to do anything that would at industry level. That said, the final projects I got last year were really great and considering where they started I think lots of the student could have a better shot at getting an industry job then a lot of people I’ve interviewed in the past who only had self-taught skills.
R