is it normal to work as an university professor in engineering but have no real professional experience (in the industry)? I work as a university assistant professor, I teach engineering-related subjects.
However, I have no real professional experience in engineering (in the industry), I've never worked as an engineer or something, and in my country, you can't work in 2 positions obviously (you can't have 2 salaries) even if you are teaching at university, the only option is to start your own firm! and I don't think it's a good idea to start my own firm (my own business) without professional experience in the field.
BUT, sometimes students ask questions about the real world, about real problems and I find it sometimes &quot;awkward&quot; not to answer their questions because I don't have professional experience (in the industry).

so is it normal to work at university without experience in the industry? does not this make me look less compared to the rest of my colleagues?
if so, what are my best options to get some professional experience in the field?
finally, how should I answer students' questions if I stayed without experience in the industry?
What are my best options to get some professional experience in the field?

You could get a secondment to a company to do specific (applied) research for example.
When I was a student, some of the best professors had spent time in both industry and academia. One I remember had used temperature sensors to record brake disk temperatures on a testing rig - they were glowing... So he was slightly amused at how we were finding it difficult to calibrate a temperature sensor for use between ambient and 100 deg C... He got us sorted though.