Software Engineering Education in India: Issues and Challenges

Learning Software Engineering principles, processes, methods and tools is a prerequisite to becoming a Software Engineer. The technological advancements and revolution in this new century are probing the boundaries of education and training in software engineering. This work tries to locate the shortcomings in existing approaches to Education in Software Engineering (ESE) in respect to today's technological advancements. We hereby proposed a new model for Education in Software Engineering to bridge the industry-academia gap.

Contribution: Results and conclusions on the use of transactive memory system (TMS) in software engineering (SE) education in student project teams that consist of undergraduate and postgraduate students are documented. This can be valuable for the adoption of this learning approach and team formation by other universities and institutes. Background: Preparing students for the SE industry requires bringing them in close collaboration to real-world tasks. This is usually performed via students carrying out software projects, working in teams. In such environments, the knowledge sharing and the interactions within the team are worth investigating, as they can affect the outcome of the student collaboration and can provide insight on how the collaboration is valued by the team members. Research Questions: 1) What is the effect of TMS on students in SE education? 2) Do parameters, such as gender, affect TMS development? 3) Does the inclusion of a project manager with more expertise affect TMS? Methodology: Students were divided into teams working on SE projects. Teams consist of both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Data from students on TMS for consecutive academic years were gathered. Findings: TMS is present in student teams and some of its scale items are affected by parameters, such as the team composition and the project type. TMS also affects performance.

Most graduates of baccalaureate computing programs (at least in the United States) take jobs in the computing profession immediately upon graduation. These jobs generally involve software development or maintenance activities, and therefore demand certain software engineering skills and knowledge.It appears, however, that typical undergraduate computing programs are at present inadequately preparing their students in the area of software engineering. This was in evidence at the 1991 International Conference on Software Engineering, in comments made at plenary sessions and in a special workshop on directions in software engineering education. It is also evidenced by recent attempts to encourage development of software engineering programs at the undergraduate level, separate from those in computer science or computer engineering.The purpose of this panel is to explore the following question: “What software engineering knowledge and skills should be required in a typical baccalaureate computing program, assuming the program is preparing its graduates for immediate entry into the computing profession?” In addressing this question, the panel will consider the recent report of the ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Curriculum Task Force, proposed software engineering curricula for undergraduates, and accreditation criteria.

In the Software Engineering Education (SEE) context, virtual worlds have been used in order to improve learning outcomes. However, there is a gap in the literature in order to characterize the use of the Metaverse for SEE. The objective of this work is to characterize the state of the art of virtual worlds in SEE and provide research opportunities and challenges to fill the limitations found. We conducted a systematic literature review, and we established 8 research questions that guided the study, as well as performed data extraction. We report on 17 primary studies that deal mostly with immersive experiences in SEE. The results show some limitations: few Software Engineering (SE) topics are covered; most applications simulate environments and do not explore new ways of viewing and interacting; there is no interoperability between virtual worlds; learning analysis techniques are not applied; and biometric data are not considered in the validations of the studies. Although there are virtual worlds for SEE, the results indicate the need to develop mechanisms in order to support the integration between virtual worlds. Therefore, based on the findings of the review, we established a set of components grouped by 5 layers to enable the Metaverse for SEE through fundamental requirements. We hope that this work can motivate promising research in order to foster immersive learning experiences in SE through the Metaverse.

Within the last few years constructivism has attracted both computer science and software engineer educators, because of its potential for improving academic learning. Currently, however, the application of constructivism is limited to examples in specific contexts so that it is difficult to transfer them to other institutions or even other courses. To apply effectively constructivism to software engineering and computer science education, instructors need a generic pedagogical model for translating constructivist principles into practice. This paper reports on the application of a pedagogical model for translating constructivism into a Web-based course in object-oriented software engineering.

University Extension is an educational, cultural, and scientific process that establishes the exchange between academic and popular knowledge. Project-Based Learning (PjBL) consists of allowing students to confront the issues and problems of the world through a real project. PjBL has been adopted in Software Engineering (SE) teaching to motivate and engage students in studying and applying processes and methods. In this work, the university extension was integrated with the PjBL in teaching SE in a postgraduate course to bring students closer to real practices of software development, meeting a demand from the State of notorious value for society. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders, artifacts were delivered, and students received feedback from the professor and the stakeholders. Through a questionnaire, the students provided feedback about the practical activity, the learning method, and their perceptions regarding their evolution and dedication to group work. We can highlight the following findings: (i) the use of PjBL together with extension and the development of a real project was promising for the evolution of learning; (ii) greater motivation of the students, who evaluated: (iii) the learning method as satisfactory, and (iv) the practical activity and their evolution of learning as good and excellent. Our main contribution is the lessons learned that might guide future experiences that adopt PjBL in SE teaching and extension.

This paper proposes a framework to support the development and use of tools that support the teaching of software and Web engineering. It describes the evolution of tools to support the teaching of software engineering from simple client-side tools that support drawing DFDs and UML diagrams to Web-based repositories that support process modelling. The paper specifically introduces the concept of and describes their use within the WWW. It also describes tools that automatically create automated walkthroughs for the World Wide Web (WWW) and their evaluation within a masters-level software engineering module. Conclusions are drawn about the general applicability of the framework and proposals are made for further work in this area.

Software engineering education must be guided by developments in software engineering and aim for professional and educational development of students. This position paper explores the historical and conceptual evolution of software engineering as a discipline central to modern integrated design, software systems, and process science, tracing the trajectory from early structured models, through waterfall, to Agile and AI-augmented paradigms, and looks at how changes in application mix and modes of use, technological complexity, and business and enterprise needs have shaped development methodologies. Special attention is paid to the role of generative AI on the software engineering process and the role of the software engineer, altering workflows, collaboration, and enterprise architectures, and further enabling automation, digital transformation, and autonomous systems, shifting responsibilities and skill sets upwards. The article then considers corresponding shifts in software engineering education, highlighting the need for curricula that intertwine process thinking, systems theory, and ethical engagement, integrate with generative AI technologies, and place greater emphasis on “soft skills”, in courses that combine development of professional expertise with conceptual capabilities and an enhanced capacity for life-long learning. It then presents a set of requirements, options, and guidelines for software engineering education in the era of generative AI.

Teaching software engineering (SE) in our universities and colleges is crucial as a means to help offset the software crisis. This paper describes an evolutionary approach used at one university to address the problems of teaching software engineering. Issues of difficulty in teaching software engineering, the evolution of software engineering techniques and our specific evolutionary approaches to teaching software engineering are presented. The nature of our courses, projects and laboratories in the curriculum is examined. Suggestions are presented on enhancements to existing approaches to software engineering education techniques, with an emphasis on guidelines for projects.

It is a common belief that good software tools are necessary to support both research and education in software engineering. The authors document their experience, in support of this belief, with two data flow testing tools named ASSET and ATAC and one mutation testing tool named MOTHRA. These tools have been in use at Purdue University in research projects related to software testing and reliability. The tools have also been used in both undergraduate and graduate courses in software engineering. >

Summary form only given. Today, software is being developed and maintained not just by engineers educated formally but also by people from widely different backgrounds including children, knowledge workers among many others. However, a number of studies indicate that most of these people are not equipped with enough software engineering skills leading to low-quality software. On the other hand, an analysis of literature reveals that the significant potential of learning theories (LTs) like Learning by Doing, Reflection, Model-based and so on has not been fully utilized by Software Engineering Education (SEE) and Training community. In this context, the main thrust of this poster is to emphasize the need for using vast amount of LTs (nearly 110) available to effectively and efficiently teach software engineering and help in producing quality software engineers. In this poster, we motivate the need for use of LTs in SEE, while summarizing significant ones and their use in SE. The poster also presents a mapping of key SE topics and their proposed LTs while emphasizing the role of context in using LTs. The poster further presents teaching Software Product Lines as an illustrative example. Finally, future work of this poster includes designing modeling languages to represent LTs and mapping them to topics in SWEBOK and GSwERC (software engineering curriculum).

This chapter addresses the application of computer games and simulations in order to explore reality in many educational areas. The Games-Based Learning (GBL) can improve the teaching and learning experience by training future professionals in real life scenarios and activities that enable them to apply problem-solving strategies by putting into use the correct technique stemming from their own skills. For that reason, GBL has been used in software engineering teaching. At Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, the authors have developed SimulES-W (Simulation in Software Engineering), a tool for teaching software engineering. SimulES-W is a collaborative software board game that simulates a software engineering process in which the player performs different roles such as software engineer, technical coordinator, project manager, and quality controller. The players can deal with budget, software engineer employment and dismissal, and construction of different software artifacts. The objective of this chapter is to describe the approach to teaching software engineering using SimulES-W and demonstrate how pedagogical methodology is applied in this teaching approach to improve software engineering education. The teaching experience and future improvements are also discussed.

Objective: This study aims to develop a comprehensive methodology for integrating cloud-based learning tools into software engineering education for students in higher education institutions (HEIs).Research tasks: The research encompasses exploring the psychological and pedagogical aspects of software engineering education in HEIs, investigating the influence of cloud technologies on higher education, designing a robust model for implementing a methodological system that incorporates cloud-based learning tools, and conducting an experimental implementation of the proposed model.Research focus: The research focuses on the teaching and learning process of software engineering disciplines among students in HEIs, specifically emphasizing the utilization of cloud-based learning tools.Research methods: The research methodology involves analyzing relevant scholarly publications, dissertations, conference proceedings, and seminars, along with studying the experiences of educators through surveys and questionnaires. Additionally, the research incorporates practical experimentation with cloud-based learning tools.Research findings: The study highlights the crucial need to prioritize fundamental knowledge acquisition in software engineering education, which can be facilitated by the mobility features inherent in cloud-based learning tools. Furthermore, it reveals a significant correlation between emerging trends in information technology and the development of methodological teaching systems. The analysis underscores the transformative impact of cloud technologies on learning tools and other key components of the methodological teaching system. The research successfully implements an experimental model that integrates cloud-based learning tools into the methodological system.Conclusions and recommendations: The findings demonstrate that cloud technologies profoundly influence the technological aspects of the methodological system while simultaneously shaping the objectives and curriculum of IT professionals. The developed methodological system, which incorporates cloud technologies, plays a pivotal role in fostering the foundational education of IT professionals.

This paper presents a graduate curriculum for software engineering education, as proposed by the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). In order to define such a curriculum, it is first necessary to define what is meant by the term “software engineer,” and what capabilities are expected in a graduate of such a program. The process of “software engineering” is examined in the context of requirements for software system development and management within the Air Force. These requirements help define the fundamental concepts and techniques, as well as the support tools, which must be integrated into an effective curriculum for software engineering. The program presented incorporates both the theory and practice of software engineering. The proposed curriculum for a Master of Science degree with a major in software engineering is based on AFIT’s experience with software engineering education and its ongoing contact with many Air Force agencies involved in software development. Many of AFIT’s student thesis efforts have involved large-scale software developments which often extend from student to student over several years. This paper presents this program, along with supporting discussion of program objectives and course content.

Most of the principles and concepts that need to be taught in Software Engineering courses are hard to share the realistic experiences because it is difficult to give the student practical exposure to the insight and processes involved. This paper presents an innovative framework tailored for the establishment of an immersive learning environment within the context of a Software Engineering Project course. The overarching objective is to effectively tackle the inherent challenges associated with teaching intricate software engineering concepts, notably Agile Scrum and Team Software Process (TSPi). Conventional pedagogical approaches often prove inadequate in providing a comprehensive and engaging learning experience for students, educators and stakeholders. In response, our study introduces a pioneering immersive learning approach, offering a robust solution to this educational gap. To gauge the framework's efficacy and pertinence, we conducted online surveys, specifically targeting third-year students enrolled in the Software Engineering Laboratory course and the project stakeholders involved. These surveys were instrumental in collecting valuable feedback on the practicality and impact of our approach in enhancing the teaching and learning processes. This study presents a thorough exposition encompassing the framework's conceptualization, implementation and iterative evolution. Our research outcomes reveal that our immersive learning approach has successfully met the predefined course objectives, effectively addressing the intrinsic challenge of imparting hands-on experiences associated with software engineering principles and concepts. As a significant contribution to the ongoing initiatives aimed at elevating software engineering education, our study underscores the importance of providing students with tangible exposure to vital concepts such as Agile Scrum and TSPi. Moreover, this paper delineates the collaborative journey involved in the creation, execution and refinement of the course framework. Ultimately, our research endeavours to evaluate the degree to which our innovative framework aligns with the objectives established by both students and stakeholders. By doing so, it underscores the transformative potential of our approach in reshaping the landscape of software engineering education, ultimately enhancing its effectiveness and relevance.