Engineering education in a context of VUCA

Nowadays the world is very dynamic and thus we are faced with scenarios with a high degree of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). This reality affects engineering educators that need in many circumstances to promote more active learning approaches that transfer to the students the responsibility of learning. The aim is to allow students to get better prepared to face the market, after their studies. Such learning strategies encompass many challenges, both for educators and students. This manuscript discusses the major changes that have been introduced in a university course that promotes entrepreneurship in the field of software engineering. The promotion of entrepreneurship within universities asks for effective approaches that must be frequently evaluated and changed. The course is analyzed along two major VUCA angles: (1) how to adapt it to satisfy the students, and (2) how students can be stimulated to learn how to behave in VUCA contexts.This work has been supported by FCT - Fundaçõo para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Estudio descriptivo de las prácticas de diseño y arquitectura de desarrollo de Software en las compañías Startups. // Descriptive Study about design and architecture practices in Startups.

Esta investigación inicia con la interrogante sobre la existencia de prácticas de diseño y arquitectura en las compañías Startups y presenta un breve estado del arte sobre estas prácticas. La metodología utilizada es la revisión bibliográfica y los resultados obtenidos muestran que estas Compañías si tienen prácticas definidas; y además, las recomiendan detallando sus casos de estudio como muestra de su efectividad.   ABSTRACT This work begins with the research question about design and architecture practices in Startups and it show a brief state of the art. The methodology used was the literature review and the results show us that these companies not only have incorporated this practices; and also recommend them detailing their case studies as a demonstration of their effectiveness

Making Lab Sessions Mandatory -- On Student Work Distribution in a Gamified Project Course on Market-Driven Software Engineering

Unfair work distribution in student teams is a common issue in project-based learning. One contributing factor is that students are differently skilled developers. In a course with group work intertwining engineering and business aspects, we designed an intervention to help novice programmers, i.e., we introduced mandatory programming lab sessions. However, the intervention did not affect the work distribution, showing that more is needed to balance the workload. Contrary to our goal, the intervention was very well received among experienced students, but unpopular with students weak at programming.Comment: To appear in the Proc. of the 32nd International Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T

The importance of software engineering code of ethics in a university of technology teaching environment

Computing educators contribute immensely to the development of software engineering graduates, not only in terms of teaching technical skills, but also in ethical development. Positive consideration of software engineering codes of ethics by teachers promotes inclusion in teaching of software development courses.  The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived importance of codes of ethics by lecturers who teach software development courses in a university of technology in South Africa. The data was collected using an online survey from 103 educators from two computing departments in a South African UoT; and 44 responses were received. Data was analysed using a t-test to evaluate the difference in responses; and the Pearson Chi-square test was applied to assess the level of association between variables of interest for more conclusive results in addressing the objective of the study.  The results of this study indicated that the majority of participants were males; female participants amounted only to 18.2%. Results also reported the majority (95%) of the participants agreeing that lecturers should teach their students the importance of ethical behaviour. SEs have the ability to do good or cause harm with the software products they produce; and SEs have an obligation to reflect on the ethical impact of their software products (p-value<0,05). In addition, an association was presented between the importance of a software engineering code of ethics to a lecturer, and the obligation for SEs to consider ethical implications of their systems. Another statistically significant association between gender and the importance of a software engineering code of ethics to lecturers was shown by the results of the study. This study recommended that the institution consider finding permanent ways of inculcating a culture of ethical conduct into its staff members, encouraging educators to take up professional memberships with professional bodies. These measures will ensure that software development educators are trained to maintain high standards within their profession, embracing the use and adherence to code of ethics in software development

Promoting entrepreneurship among informatics engineering students: insights from a case study

Universities seek to promote entrepreneurship through effective education approaches, which need to be in permanent evolution. Nevertheless, the literature in entrepreneurship education lacks empirical evidence. This article discusses relevant issues related to promoting entrepreneurship in the software field, based on the experience of a 15-European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System course. This course seeks to instil in the students the recognition of the need to reconcile technical and business visions, organisational and commercial aspects, most of which have never been addressed previously. A series of semi-structured interviews made it possible to obtain relevant insights about the teaching–learning process underlying this course and its evolution over a seven-year period. Materials related with this course have been analysed, namely guidelines produced by the teachers and deliverables produced by the students. This article discusses the dimensions that were identified as fundamental for promoting entrepreneurship skills in the field of software, namely teamwork, project engagement, and contact with the market

Approaches to Incorporating IT Entrepreneurship into the Information Systems Curriculum

The success of tech company IPOs such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snap has not been lost on today’s Information Systems (IS) majors. The demand for entrepreneurship education has grown rapidly from a just a few college classes in entrepreneurship in the 1970s to the over 3,000 colleges and universities providing entrepreneurship curriculum today (Davidson, White, and Taylor, 2012; Morris, Kuratko, and Cornwall, 2013). Information Systems (IS) students interested in launching their own tech startup can benefit from the common body of knowledge found in general entrepreneurship coursework. However, such coursework generally does not take into account the specific characteristics of IT services and software. This translates into the need for a special set of entrepreneurial skills for developing and launching an IT startup. While there has been some research into software and IT entrepreneurship in the fields of software engineering and computer science, little curricular guidance exists for IS students wishing to launch their own tech startup. This paper explores current approaches to teaching the IT and software entrepreneurial skill set. Experience with a dedicated course in tech startup entrepreneurship is described. A sample syllabus for IS majors is provided. The paper concludes with lessons learned and suggestions for implementing an entrepreneurship component as part of an undergraduate IS program

O-CDIO : Engineering Education Framework with Embedded Design Thinking Methods

Technology and its applications have an ever-increasing role in our daily lives. Healthcare, logistics, commerce, manufacturing, and even social interaction, all have aspects of technology embedded in them. The complexity and importance of the technical systems we use varies, yet they are becoming increasingly versatile and more important to the functionality of entire systems and their services. At the same time, the complexity of understanding the future needs of the role that technology plays in such systems and what they are supposed to deliver varies from linear to chaotic. This has had a fundamental impact on the engineering profession. The more complicated, complex or even chaotic a system is, the more innovative and cooperative an engineer needs to be. Thus, engineers also need to understand people. This thesis presents a novel engineering education model, O-CDIO, which is based on an existing framework known as the CDIO framework. The O-CDIO model is derived from the results of the university level engineering education reform enacted in a multidisciplinary science university in Northern Europe, and from the scientific discourse within the domain of the engineering education research and literature. The timeline for the research was fall 2011 to fall 2015. The model that was developed emphasizes the need to educate engineers to become problem definers in addition to educating them to become problem solvers. This can be achieved by integrating human-centered design thinking methods and challenges into engineering courses from day one to graduation. The results of the piloted courses in the reform process show that transferable working life skills, such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, prototyping skills, and tolerance towards ambiguity, were enhanced. These skills are widely seen as necessary for future engineering. The preliminary results also show that the courses provide an opportunity for self-discovery, increased self-efficacy, and result in an increase in entrepreneurial thinking. There were clear limitations to this research. The piloted courses had no control groups. The reflections on and comparisons of the results were achieved by considering the results of similar studies and the literature. Although some of the courses were run for three consecutive years, this research has very little longitudinal evidence. Future research should focus on implementation of the O-CDIO model as a whole, with longitudinal research set as one of its goals.Teknologian rooli maailmanlaajuisesti verkottuneessa teollisuudessa ja yhteiskunnassa on merkittävä ja ennustettavissa olevan tulevaisuuden ajan myös kasvussa. Se on myös enenevissä määrin sekä monimutkainen että moniulotteinen. Terveydenhuolto, teollisuus, koulutus, liikenne, ja internet, jopa sosiaalinen kanssakäyminen ovat esimerkkejä aloista ja ilmiöistä jotka ovat jollain tavalla riippuvaisia niiden sisältämän tekniikan toimivuudesta. Samaan aikaan teknologioiden ja tekniikan roolin ymmärtäminen sen eri konteksteissa on haastavampaa. Tekniikalla ei ole itsetarkoitusta. Sen tehtävä on aina palvella. Tämä asettaa uudenlaisia haasteita diplomi-insinööreille ja heidän kouluttamiselle. Tekniikan koulutus yliopistotasolla on maailmanlaajuisesti kyennyt vastaamaan sille asetettuihin haasteisiin. Tosin lähes poikkeuksetta muutos on syntynyt ulkoisen muutostarpeen aiheuttamana. Mitä monimutkaisemmaksi ja moniulotteisemmaksi tekniikalle ja teknologioille asetetut vaatimukset kehittyvät sitä monipuolisemmaksi pitää myös koulutuksen muuttua. Tämä tutkimus ja tieteellinen raportti perustuu suomalaisessa monialayliopistossa tapahtuneeseen tekniikan koulutuksen muutosprosessiin, tuloksiin sen aikana pilotoiduista kursseista ja alan kirjallisuuteen. Tutkimuksen tuloksena syntyi tekniikan koulutuksen malli joka johdettiin edellä mainituista tutkimuksen tuloksista, olemassa olevasta tekniikan koulutusmallista nimeltä CDIO ja kirjallisuudesta. Mallin ydinidea on kouluttaa diplomi-insinööreistä ongelmanhahmottajia ongelmanratkaisijoiden lisäksi. Tämä tapahtuu integroimalla ihmis- ja käyttäytymistieteisiin perustuvia opettamismetodeja läpi koko koulutuksen ensimmäisestä päivästä valmistumiseen asti. Reformin aikana tehdyt tutkimukset osoittivat että opettamismetodit saavuttivat niille asetetut oppimistavoitteet. Työelämätaidot kuten viestintä-, ryhmätyö-, ongelmanratkaisu- ja prototypointitaidot lisääntyivät. Alustavat tulokset myös osoittivat että opiskelijoiden reflektointikyky ja positiivinen suhtautuminen yrittäjyyteen lisääntyivät. Lisätutkimuksen tarve aiheeseen liittyen on ilmeinen. Tutkituissa kursseissa ei ollut mahdollista käyttää kontrolliryhmiä eikä O-CDIO mallia ole missään vaiheessa testattu kokonaisuudessaan. Lisäksi pitkän ajan vaikutuksia ei voitu tutkimuksen ajallisista kestosta johtuen testata. Pisimpään samanlaisena pysyneeltä kurssilta saatiin tutkimusaineistoa kolmelta eri vuodelta. Lisäksi tämän raportin kirjoittaja vastasi myös lähes poikkeuksetta tutkittujen kurssien ideoinnista, kehittämisestä ja opettamisesta. Tämä on otettu analyysivaiheessa huomioon mutta silti vaikuttaa tutkimustuloksiin. Luonnollinen lisätutkimuksen aihe on tutkia O-CDIO mallia kokonaisuudessaan todellisessa tekniikan koulutuksen kehyksessä ja riittävällä aikajänteellä.Siirretty Doriast

PANORAMA DE PESQUISA SOBRE COMPETÊNCIAS DE STARTUPS

Purpose:  The aim of this paper was to contextualize the research scenario about startup competencies. Design/methodology/approach:  The systematic literature review was built from the content analysis of 71 papers from Web of Science and Scopus database. The papers were analyzed from descriptive, bibliographic, methodologic, results and citation characteristics. Findings:  From the results, it is observed that the USA is the absolute stand in studies related to startups and competencies. However, other nations also have developed relevant studies. Studies related to startups and competencies still are at a very theoretical stage, which creates a demand for the development of studies that collect and provide scientific data to the market about these enterprises. Research, Practical & Social implications:  Eight competences were mapped, being constituted by three fundamental stages for the construction of a startup.  Originality/value:  This article is an academic contribution that allows an understanding about research developed on startups and their competencies, considering data from two reference research databases.Propósito: El objetivo de este estudio fue contextualizar el panorama de investigación sobre las competencias de las startups. Metodología: La revisión sistemática se construyó a partir del análisis de 71 artículos de las bases de datos Web of Science y Scopus. Los artículos fueron analizados a partir de las características descriptivas, bibliográficas y metodológicas de los resultados y citas. Conclusiones: A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se encontró que EUA es un punto destacado absoluto en los estudios sobre startups y competencias. Sin embargo, otras naciones también han desarrollado estudios relevantes, especialmente países con economías de mercado más robustas. Los estudios relacionados con startups y competencias aún se encuentran en una etapa teórica, lo que crea una demanda de estudios que brinden datos cualitativos o cuantitativos sobre estos emprendimientos al mercado. Implicaciones de la Investigación: Se mapearon ocho competencias que están presentes en las tres etapas del ciclo de vida de startups. Originalidad/valor: Este estudio es una contribución académica que permite una comprensión de startups y sus competencias, considerando datos provenientes de dos grandes bases de datos.Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi contextualizar o panorama da pesquisa sobre competências de startup.   Desenho/metodologia/abordagem: A revisão sistemática foi construída a partir da análise de 71 artigos dos bancos de dados da Web of Science e da Scopus. Os artigos foram analisados a partir de características descritivas, bibliográficas e metodológicas dos resultados e citações.   Resultados: A partir dos resultados obtidos, verificou-se que os EUA são destaque absoluto em estudos sobre startups e competências. Porém, outras nações também tem desenvolvido estudos relevantes, especialmente países com economia de mercado mais robusta. Os estudos relacionados a startups e competências ainda se apresentam em estágio teórico, criando uma demanda por estudos que forneçam dados qualitativos ou quantitativos acerca destes empreendimentos para o mercado.   Pesquisa, implicações práticas e sociais: Foram mapeadas oito competências que se apresentam nos três estágios do ciclo de vida das startups.    Originalidade/valor: Este artigo é uma contribuição acadêmica que permite uma compreensão acerca das startups e suas competências, considerando dados oriundos de duas bases de dados referenciais de pesquisa

Promoting entrepreneurship among informatics engineering students: insights from a case study

Abstract Universities seek to promote entrepreneurship through effective education approaches, which need to be in permanent evolution. Nevertheless, the literature in entrepreneurship education lacks empirical evidence. This article discusses relevant issues related to promoting entrepreneurship in the software field, based on the experience of a 15-ECTS course. This course seeks to instil in the students the recognition of the need to reconcile technical and business visions, organizational and commercial aspects, most of which never addressed previously. A series of semi-structured interviews made it possible to obtain relevant insights about the teaching-learning process underlying this course and its evolution over a 7-year period. Materials related with this course have been analysed, namely guidelines produced by the teachers and deliverables produced by the students. This article discusses the dimensions that were identified as fundamental for promoting entrepreneurship skills in the field of software, namely teamwork, project engagement, and contact with the market

Propuesta de modelo de gestión de innovación para la organización Brialtex

Con los avances tecnológicos a nivel nacional y mundial, las organizaciones están en la obligación de innovar en cuanto a sus productos, servicios y procesos, de tal forma que sean más competitivos a nivel global y estén en capacidad de cumplir con las exigencias del consumidor. De acuerdo con el control que se viene manejando por la pandemia de COVID-19, es elemental contribuir al comercio implementando diferentes tipos de innovación. Tomando como referencia las afectaciones a causa de la crisis sanitaria y partiendo de que Brialtex es una organización que tiene actividades empresariales o productivas referentes al sector textil, de alta trayectoria que está a la vanguardia, como resultado de la investigación se realiza una propuesta para implementación de un modelo de gestión de innovación que contribuye de manera satisfactoria en sus procesos en pro de mejorar su competitividad no sólo a nivel regional sino también a nivel global.With the technological advances at national and global level, companies are in the obligation to innovate in terms of their products, services and processes, so that they are more competitive globally and are able to meet the demands of the consumer. According to the control being managed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to contribute to trade by implementing different types of innovation. Taking as a reference the affectations caused by the sanitary crisis and considering that Brialtex is a textile company of high trajectory that is at the forefront, as a result of the investigation a proposal is made for the implementation of an innovation management model that contributes satisfactorily to its processes in order to improve its competitiveness not only at the regional level but also at the global level