MSE studio project: The viewpoint of a UC student

This paper is a reflection on how the studio concept is applied in the Master of Software Engineering (MSE) in the joint program between University of Coimbra (UC) and Carnegie Mellon University(CMU). The partnership is sponsored by the Portuguese Government through the CMU Portugal program. The original MSE concept of James Tomayko was based on the ideas of Donald Schon on the education of the "reflective practitioner". It evolved over time, with contributions of faculty and students. Some of the improvements were made by Mary Shaw with the introduction of the Methods course, others by David Root, Mel Rosso-Lloppard and Gil Taran, addressing current concerns on Studio structure and exporting the program to foreign partners such as the University of Coimbra. One of the key concerns we have seen is on the identification of what is good and should be repeated and what is not so good and should be changed. Students are asked to contribute to this effort, this paper is the author's contribution to the effort of continuous improvement made by the MSE.