Professor Samin Aref, a faculty member in U of T’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, was interested in creating short-form video content to be shared in his Engineering Economics course to help explain the fundamentals of business plans. Instead of presenting the material on his own, Samin decided to invite a panel of experts to attend a lecture on campus.
This was Samin's first experience with facilitating a panel discussion that would also be captured on camera, with support from ETO for video pre-production (recording logistics) and post-production (editing).
We asked Prof. Aref a few questions about his experience after the project was complete, and this is what he had to say!
You invited industry experts to come in for a panel discussion during a lecture. Why did you decide to record the panel discussion, and what did you learn from the process?
The students in my Fall 2025 class benefitted from interacting with the panelists who were Dr. Pranav Khanolkar (U of T), Dr. Amir Ebrahimzadeh (Manulife), and Matthew Doyle (UofT Hatchery). This content is also invaluable to over 360 engineering students from three programs who will learn about Business Plans by watching the videos.
What factors influenced your decision to use two cameras when recording the panel discussions?
We needed to capture the voice of both panelists, myself, the moderator, and the students who asked questions.
What would you do differently if you were to do another similar video project?
I learned that if I have an idea for improving my class that requires recording or media production, I should definitely give it a try, and that I can rely on the expertise and support of the ETO for handling the technical sides of making that idea possible. Next time I do this, I will reach out for support further in advance, so I’m not asking for help on short notice when schedules may already be full.
If you're interested in seeing an example of one of the videos produced, watch the Business Plan panel discussion below.