Dependable and Certifiable Real-World Systems – Issue of Software Engineering Education

Embedded software and dedicated hardware are vital elements of the modern world, from personal electronics to transportation, from communication to aerospace, from military to gaming, from medical systems to banking. Combinations of even minor hardware or software defects in a complex system may lead to violation of safety with or even without evident system failure, a major problem that the computing profession faces is the lack of a universal approach to unite the dissimilar viewpoints presented by computer science, with its discrete and mathematical underpinnings, and by computer engineering, which focuses on building real systems and considering spatial and material constraints of space, energy, and time. Modern embedded systems include both viewpoints: microprocessors running software and programmable electronic hardware created with an extensive use of software. The gap between science and engineering approaches is clearly visible in engineering education. This survey paper focuses on exploring the commonalities between building software and building hardware in an attempt to establish a new framework for rejuvenating computing education, specifically software engineering for dependable systems. We present here a perspective on software/hardware relationship, aviation system certification, role of software engineering education, and future directions in computing

A requirements engineering and management training course for software development professionals

Devising a course for software professionals working in industry depends on several factors. In order to create a course that fulfils professionals’ expectations, it is important to take account of the skills of the participants, the time available, and the specific topics to be covered. This paper presents the curriculum of a course in requirements engineering and management intended for software developers with a first-level academic degree in computing and experience in developing real software solutions. This context requires the course to concentrate on topics that were not taught in the participants’ previous education and that can have a positive impact on their daily practices

Promoting the Use of Numerical Computing Tools among Students of Agricultural Engineering

[EN] This paper presents a didactic methodology for introducing students in the application of numerical computing tools for reference evapotranspiration estimation. Students learn a specific application of this software within their field of future professional competencies. Specifically, the session focuses on the application of these tools for assessing reference evapotranspiration according to two standard non-calibrated methods, as well as on proposing an improved version for the local climatic scenario. Through this specific practical application, students should become aware of the computing possibilities offered by this software in this specific subject in comparison to the time-consuming conventional procedures usually adopted. The lecturer should stress the generalizability of the training acquired by the students for solving specific real problems that they might find in other subjects, as well as in their professional future as agricultural engineers.Martí Pérez, PC.; Fuster García, E.; Royuela, A.; Turegano Pastor, JV. (2017). Promoting the Use of Numerical Computing Tools among Students of Agricultural Engineering. International Journal of Information and Education Technology. 7(1):60-65. doi:10.18178/ijiet.2017.7.1.842S60657

Research and Education in Computational Science and Engineering

Over the past two decades the field of computational science and engineering (CSE) has penetrated both basic and applied research in academia, industry, and laboratories to advance discovery, optimize systems, support decision-makers, and educate the scientific and engineering workforce. Informed by centuries of theory and experiment, CSE performs computational experiments to answer questions that neither theory nor experiment alone is equipped to answer. CSE provides scientists and engineers of all persuasions with algorithmic inventions and software systems that transcend disciplines and scales. Carried on a wave of digital technology, CSE brings the power of parallelism to bear on troves of data. Mathematics-based advanced computing has become a prevalent means of discovery and innovation in essentially all areas of science, engineering, technology, and society; and the CSE community is at the core of this transformation. However, a combination of disruptive developments---including the architectural complexity of extreme-scale computing, the data revolution that engulfs the planet, and the specialization required to follow the applications to new frontiers---is redefining the scope and reach of the CSE endeavor. This report describes the rapid expansion of CSE and the challenges to sustaining its bold advances. The report also presents strategies and directions for CSE research and education for the next decade.Comment: Major revision, to appear in SIAM Revie

Teaching telecommunication standards: bridging the gap between theory and practice

©2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Telecommunication standards have become a reliable mechanism to strengthen collaboration between industry and research institutions to accelerate the evolution of communications systems. Standards are needed to enable cooperation while promoting competition. Within the framework of a standard, the companies involved in the standardization process contribute and agree on appropriate technical specifications to ensure diversity and compatibility, and facilitate worldwide commercial deployment and evolution. Those parts of the system that can create competitive advantages are intentionally left open in the specifications. Such specifications are extensive, complex, and minimalistic. This makes telecommunication standards education a difficult endeavor, but it is much demanded by industry and governments to spur economic growth. This article describes a methodology for teaching wireless communications standards. We define our methodology around six learning stages that assimilate the standardization process and identify key learning objectives for each. Enabled by software-defined radio technology, we describe a practical learning environment that facilitates developing many of the needed technical and soft skills without the inherent difficulty and cost associated with radio frequency components and regulation. Using only open source software and commercial of-the-shelf computers, this environment is portable and can easily be recreated at other educational institutions and adapted to their educational needs and constraints. We discuss our and our students' experiences when employing the proposed methodology to 4G LTE standard education at Barcelona Tech.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Latin American perspectives to internationalize undergraduate information technology education

The computing education community expects modern curricular guidelines for information technology (IT) undergraduate degree programs by 2017. The authors of this work focus on eliciting and analyzing Latin American academic and industry perspectives on IT undergraduate education. The objective is to ensure that the IT curricular framework in the IT2017 report articulates the relationship between academic preparation and the work environment of IT graduates in light of current technological and educational trends in Latin America and elsewhere. Activities focus on soliciting and analyzing survey data collected from institutions and consortia in IT education and IT professional and educational societies in Latin America; these activities also include garnering the expertise of the authors. Findings show that IT degree programs are making progress in bridging the academic-industry gap, but more work remains

Experimenting with Realism in Software Engineering Team Projects: An Experience Report

Over Several years, we observed that our students were sceptical of Software Engineering practices, because we did not convey the experience and demands of production quality software development. Assessment focused on features delivered, rather than imposing responsibility for longer term `technical debt'. Academics acting as 'uncertain' customers were rejected as malevolent and implausible. Student teams composed of novices lacked the benefits of leadership provided by more experienced engineers. To address these shortcomings, real customers were introduced, exposing students to real requirements uncertainty. Flipped classroom teaching was adopted, giving teams one day each week to work on their project in a redesigned laboratory. Software process and quality were emphasised in the course assessment, imposing technical debt. Finally, we introduced a leadership course for senior students, who acted as mentors to the project team students. This paper reports on the experience of these changes, from the perspective of different stakeholders