Multiple benefits may be gained from academic staff undertaking pracademic experiences as part of their continuing professional development. A pracademic experience may increase collaborations between practitioners, academics and their tertiary institutions in terms of research and teaching. Academics can demonstrate the relevance, significance, and impact of their empirical research which then can support the practitioner’s narrative to stakeholders. Teaching practices may improve as critical curriculum gaps are identified and the curriculum aligned with current professional practice.

This paper promotes the proposition that a pracademic experience may also assist an academic to model, scaffold and coach employability skills to students. To provide evidence of the potential benefits from these collaborations, a case study, based upon the author-academic's experiences transitioning into the role of an insolvency file accountant, is included within the paper. The various benefits derived by the academic, the host practitioner, and the academic’s home university from engaging in the pracademic experience are discussed.