Technology-driven software engineering curriculum development

Abstract

A fundamental artifact of any academic research is the data used as the basis of that research effort. A group of researchers, from institutions in multiple territories, has embarked on an ambitious research project that is aimed at enhancing the teaching of software engineering in four-year undergraduate programs. The research project details a set of workshops, for which the objective is the capture of data that will be the basis of the research effort. The first of these workshops was held in August 2011. The workshop comprised software engineering educators and representatives from the information technology industry. The data collection task sought to identify a set of topics that are considered suitable for teaching software engineering, along with identification of the years and depth at which these topics should be taught. The topics are derived from the outcome goals of the course/program.