Available for all

Guest lectures and real-life cases already exist in most study programs at CBS.

However, during the last two semesters, CBS Business has offered to liaise between teachers and more than 50 partner companies wishing to connect with students by giving guest lectures and providing real-life cases.​

According to the project owner, Janie Huus Tange, one of the main reasons why CBS Business launched the project was to ease the process of getting guest lecturers for the teachers.

“Many CBS teachers already have a lot on their plates, and getting in touch with relevant guest lecturers for their courses can be very time consuming. Therefore, by taking over this process, we can make it easier for them to include guest lecturers in their teaching,” she says and adds:

“The students can then understand how to put their theoretical knowledge into practice so that the business world is not alien territory when they graduate. At the same time, our partner companies are eager to meet our students and exchange their experiences from the field for academic input.”

“So in many ways, all the parties benefit significantly,” says Janie Huus Tange.

As a pilot project, the service was first offered to five different CBS programs, but this semester the project has been expanded thanks to all the positive feedback.

“The companies have shown great interest. They have come up with even more guest lecturing proposals than our own teachers can take in,” says Relations Manager at CBS Business, Mette Schroll Bennekou.

“At the same time, teachers who have accepted the offer have told us about some great guest lecturer proposals and say that including guest lecturers in their courses is much easier through this service. This all fueled the idea of expanding the project even further, and that’s why the service is now available for all.”

A potential win-win situation

Associate Professor at the Department of Digitization, Attila Marton, is one of the teachers who has accepted the invitation from CBS Business and joined the project.

Before signing up, he already invited guest lecturers occasionally. But he usually ended up inviting the same people from his personal network into his classroom.

Therefore, he found the invitation from CBS Business very appealing.

“Having such a service liaising with a pool of business community professionals who are eager to talk to the students was great. Before, I had no access to a wider circle of people wanting to contribute to my teaching. So I was very happy about that,” he says.

According to Attila Marton, the project can be useful in a range of contexts and has several advantages for all those concerned.

“This is a potential win-win situation for everyone involved. In my case, just interacting with the professionals has been very informative for my teaching and for what is relevant in the industry,” he says and continues:

“On the other hand, one of the guest lecturers I worked with found the recommended reading list I give my students very helpful, as it described the academic side of her profession. So in many ways, we both gained from it.”

Brian Tange, Founder and CEO of the Danish company Hamsto, which mediates contact between parking and storage room tenants and owners, joined the project as a guest lecturer. And for him, it was a purely positive experience.

“I love to get out and share my experiences with young students at CBS. First of all, because I have some interesting insights from my professional life that I believe are useful for the students to hear about.”

“And secondly, I get a lot back from the students. Their energy, drive and curiosity inspire me. And finally, I like combining theory with practice. It raises the level of the whole lecture and we can all understand and learn from each other.”