Providing new graduate opportunities in software engineering experiences with a UK Master's Level Conversion Course

The forces that operate within the software industry are outlined and the case is made for postgraduate software engineering education that is flexible in terms of attendance patterns and responsive to the market in terms of curricula. The developments within a postgraduate "conversion" course at the University of Sunderland over a nine year period with regard to both patterns of delivery/attendance and curricula are then described (including the origins of the course and the development of five different delivery mode). The 1992 modularisation and the 1995 review of the course are described. The structures of the pre- and post-review versions of the course are outlined, and particular details are given of the approaches adopted towards the treatment of software engineering (SE) in the two versions of the course. The reasons behind the changes that were introduced are given and information is provided on the innovative teaching and learning approaches adopted within the revised course. Finally a critical appraisal is presented with regard to the changes introduced in the course and questions are identified that educationalists and industrialists need to address with regard to such courses.