Teaching Profile: Robin N Barone
- Casey Laird
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Engaging with real-time problems through founder interviews, group collaboration, and tech solutions
Adjunct Professor
Nexus: What do you teach?
Robin: I teach Proptech and the Digital Evolution of Real Estate in the Shack Institute of Real Estate. I started at NYU SPS in 2012 with continuing education non-credit (CENC) and have taught credit undergrad and graduate courses since 2018.
Nexus: What teaching practice, activity, or technology do your students benefit from the most?
Robin: I invite live guest speakers innovating in specific areas to my classroom to explore real time innovations that reflect the current market. I also record interviews with founders, investors and tech buyers every semester. I have over 100 interviews recorded at this point so every class learns from past lessons. We also have written case studies on lessons learned. We have documented business lessons around integrity of data sources, discovering early customers, fundraising, and also driving behavior change in an organization.
Nexus: What best practices in teaching might you recommend to faculty?
Robin: My recommendation to faculty is to focus on real time issues, integrate comprehensive lessons, and leverage group collaboration:
Real-time issues: We choose real-time problems based on student interests and professional applicability, then work on the formulation of tech-based solutions.
Comprehensive lessons: I find a combination of video pre-class prep, a live lesson, followed by a group activity to be the best way to provide a 360 view on the topic. Some of my more effective class exercises have been role playing around ethics with a current court case and developing AI policies.
Group collaboration: I organize group activities that invite original thinking on course content and allow for presentation skills to develop. For example, in my class we do group innovation reports where the class is divided into teams to study an asset class and present on the current market at the end of the semester.
Nexus: Do you have any testimonials or feedback from your students about their experience that you can share with us?
Robin: Yes, a few students recently shared these:
“Thanks for a great semester - it was a nice way to wrap up my NYU program with something different and thinking outside the traditional box.”
“I thought the class was very thought provoking and really enjoyed all the founders you had on and chat. I thought it was great to see things from the perspective of entrepreneurs that have had success and know the struggles that come with it being that as I am someone who is of an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Nexus: Who was your most memorable teacher and why?
Robin: The late NYU real estate professor Larry Fiedler - for his character, discipline, passion for the industry, love of nurturing relationships, and support of women advancing their careers.
Nexus: What is a surprising fact about you that your students might not know?
Robin: I have a travel book company for children ages 5 to 7 years old that is sold in every major retail chain.
Bio:
Robin Barone is an educator, writer, and entrepreneur who has visited over 60 countries and lived abroad. Robin serves as an adjunct instructor at NYU and has authored successful white papers. Prior to founding Diplomat Books, Ms. Barone worked in finance where she was known for her ability to formulate win-win solutions. Robin is also the founder of the networking group “Prop Tech for Real Estate Professionals” where innovative ideas are introduced to an exclusive community.
Ms. Barone earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.S. from NYU, and M.B.A. from INSEAD.
Her leadership style is described as curious, collaborative, and considerate. When she is not writing or traveling, she can be found skiing, rowing, or playing tennis.
Comments