‘Professor-for-a-Day’ : an Initiative to nurture communities of learning and practice in hospitality and tourism

Abstract

Inviting industry professionals as speakers to university classrooms for the benefit of future managers is essential to an applied field of higher learning. This study examines the role of ‘Professor-for-a-Day’ in nurturing communities of learning and practice in hospitality and tourism education at the university level. Data were collected (auto-) ethnographically over five years (2012–2017) in Hong Kong, through in-depth interviews with guest speakers from the industry, subject lecturers who invite industry executives to their classes, and students who are exposed to these industry professionals. Simultaneously, participant observations of, and documentary sources about, industry executives’ guest lectures are also used in the analysis and report. The research results reiterate and reinforce the role of industry professionals as guest speakers in building communities of learning and practice in an applied field of study. The implications of this discussion for applied higher education are then deliberated, the study’s constraints are acknowledged, and directions for future research are explored. 邀请业界人士作为演讲嘉宾进入大学讲堂，以便使今日之大学生（亦即明日之管理人员）从中获益，在应用型高等教育专业领域，屡见不鲜。本文以业界人士进大学讲堂‘当一天教授’为例，探索其在酒店及旅游高等教育中知行合一社区培育之作用。文章讨论的素材取自香港、历时五年（2012–2017）。作者围绕着‘当一天教授’之项目，以（自叙式）民族志的方式，对自己所在单位之业界演讲嘉宾、学院任课老师以及选(听)课之学生，进行深入访谈。与此同时，他（她）们还结合自己的课堂教学安排，对‘当一天教授’之项目，进行了参与式观察，并收集了相关的文本资料与二手数据。本文的研究结论，强化并强调了业界嘉宾进大学讲堂之作用。其意义主要表现为培育知行合一社区、增强体验式学习两个方面。作者还讨论了该文的研究局限以及未来探索的若干方向。