Closing the gap between software engineering education and industrial needs

According to different reports, many recent software engineering graduates often face difficulties when beginning their professional careers, due to misalignment of the skills learnt in their university education with what is needed in industry. To address that need, many studies have been conducted to align software engineering education with industry needs. To synthesize that body of knowledge, we present in this paper a systematic literature review (SLR) which summarizes the findings of 33 studies in this area. By doing a meta-analysis of all those studies and using data from 12 countries and over 4,000 data points, this study will enable educators and hiring managers to adapt their education / hiring efforts to best prepare the software engineering workforce

Assessing the Changing Employment Profiles in the Telecom Sector: Implications for Education and Training

Telecom sector in India has been growing very fast and changing very rapidly in service delivery mechanisms used, target segments addressed, technogical platforms for service delivery etc. Globally also the growth scenario is very positive. This means that this sector offers employment opportunities that are attractive. In order to exploit these opportunities, the sector needs people with the approppriate employment profiles that match the changing requirements both in atributes and numbers. However, the current education system is not equipped to provide the requisite profiles. This paper identifies and quantifies the skill gap both in terms of focus areas and numbers by segmenting the sector. It suggest directions in which the change must happen. It also reviews innovative approaches in the private and government sector in India and abroad with a view to assess the adapatability of these approaches on a larger scale in India.

Education alignment

This essay reviews recent developments in embedding data management and curation skills into information technology, library and information science, and research-based postgraduate courses in various national contexts. The essay also investigates means of joining up formal education with professional development training opportunities more coherently. The potential for using professional internships as a means of improving communication and understanding between disciplines is also explored. A key aim of this essay is to identify what level of complementarity is needed across various disciplines to most effectively and efficiently support the entire data curation lifecycle

IT Program Curriculum Recommendations Based on a Survey of Knowledge and Skill Requirements for Entry-Level IT Workers

This paper provides an updated view of the importance of various skills and traits for entry-level IT workers as perceived by the IT industry based on a web-based survey administered to IT managers nationwide. The survey consists of 47 skills and traits that include personal and interpersonal skills, as well as technical skills. This study finds that the top 12 skills and traits are personal and interpersonal skills with honesty and integrity ranked most highly. The top 5 technical skills are operating systems, security, hardware, networking, and database, which have been part of the IT core for many years. The noticeable change in technical skills is the low ranking of programming. Based on the analysis of the survey, several ideas for curriculum recommendations for IT-related programs are provided

Basic Skills and Competences of Higher National Diploma Computer Science Graduates: An Analysis of Stakeholders Views

This study was motivated by the general opinion or statements from the public and specifically from professional bodies and industries in the country suggesting that tertiary curricula currently being implemented by academic institutions in Nigeria do not provide what is needed by the industry or labour employer. The main objective of the study is to identify skill and competency gaps in the training of Higher National Diploma graduates of computer science or information technology in Nigeria and to provide recommendations on how the identified gaps could be address in the training curriculum. A three-round Delphi questionnaire where the respondents were asked to rate the items on the scale of their importance was used for the study. The results suggest that, there was significant difference in the views of academic and industry participants in the ranking of the skill and competency attributes based on the scale of preference. The current curriculum also aligned with the needs of the industry in terms of the generic skills. The study among others, recommend two generic skills (21 and 25) considered to be of importance by the industry participants be given serious consideration during review of curriculum to improve the employability of the graduates. Keywords: Basic Skills, Curriculum, Employability, Computer Science DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-16-03 Publication date:June 30th 202

Knowledge and Skill Requirements for Entry-Level IT Workers: A Longitudinal Study

This paper provides an updated view of the importance of various skills and traits for entry-level IT workers, as perceived by the IT industry, based on a web-based survey administered to IT managers nationwide. The work presented in this paper is an extension of two previous studies based on a survey conducted in 2006. A new survey was conducted in 2010 that consisted of 48 skills and traits including personal and interpersonal skills, as well as technical skills. This study finds that the top 12 skills and traits for entry-level IT workers are personal and interpersonal skills with honesty and integrity ranked most highly. The top 5 technical skills have not changed considerably in the past five years. They are operating systems, security, hardware, networking, and database, which have been part of the IT core curriculum for many years. Based on the analysis of the survey, several recommendations for curricula for IT-related degree programs are provided