Promoting and Teaching Responsible Leadership in Software Engineering

As software and computer technology is becoming more prominent and pervasive in all spheres of life, many researchers and industry folks are realizing the importance of teaching soft skills and values to CS and SE students. Many researchers and leaders, from both academic and non-academic world, are also calling for software researchers and practitioners to seriously consider human values, like respect, integrity, compassion, justice, and honesty when building software, both for greater social good and also for financial considerations. In this paper, we propose and wish to promote teaching soft skills, values, and responsibilities to students, which we term as “Responsible Leadership”. We describe what we mean by teaching Responsible Leadership and describe what many of the researchers and faculty are doing to teach soft skills to students and that they can incorporate some material to introduce Responsible Leadership to students through both dedicated soft skills and ethics courses as well as other computer science courses and through existing clubs and organizations at universities

Integrating Traditional CS Class Activities with Computing for Social Good, Ethics, and Communication and Leadership Skills

Software and information technologies are becoming increasingly integrated and pervasive in human society and range from automated decision making and social media and entertainment, to running critical social and physical infrastructures like government programs, utilities, and financial institutions. As a result, there is a growing awareness of the need to develop professionals who will harness these technologies in fair and inclusive ways and use them to address global issues like health, water management, poverty, and human rights. In this regard, many academic researchers have expressed the need to complement traditional teaching of CS technical skills with computer and information ethics (computing for social good), as well as communication and leadership skills. In this paper, we describe our goals and some possible class activities we have developed and refined over the past few years with encouraging results, to help CS students understand the potential uses of computing for social good. In these carefully planned project assignments, we seamlessly integrate traditional approaches to develop technical skills with broader professional responsibility and soft skills. We then discuss the lessons learned from these activities and briefly outline future plans.Comment: 34th Annual Workshop of the Psychology of Programming Interest Group (PPIG 2023), pp. 169-177, Lund, Sweden, August 202

Integrating Traditional CS Class Activities with Computing for Social Good, Ethics, and Communications and Leadership Skills

Software and information technologies are becoming increasingly integrated and pervasive in human society and range from automated decision making and social media and entertainment, to running critical social and physical infrastructures like government programs, utilities, and financial institutions. As a result, there is a growing awareness of the need to develop professionals who will harness these technologies in fair and inclusive ways and use them to address global issues like health, water management, poverty, and human rights. In this regard, many academic researchers have expressed the need to complement traditional teaching of CS technical skills with computer and information ethics (computing for social good), as well as communication and leadership skills. In this paper, we describe our goals and some possible class activities we have developed and refined over the past few years with encouraging results, to help CS students understand the potential uses of computing for social good. In these carefully planned project assignments, we seamlessly integrate traditional approaches to develop technical skills with broader professional responsibility and soft skills. We then discuss the lessons learned from these activities and briefly outline future plans

Injecting 'Soft Skills' in the ICT Curriculum

Industry, government and various professional organisations emphasize the need for the ICT graduates to be able to communicate in the global work environment. The elegant injection of ‘soft skills’ in the ICT curriculum is what differentiates good contemporary ICT programmes. This paper presents a joint pilot work in this area between the New Bulgarian University (NBU) and the University of Western Sydney (UWS). This blended learning approach aims to develop broad social intelligence knowledge and skills in the IT graduates, applicable by future IT specialists working in companies, ranging from small and medium enterprises to corporate global players

Загальнопрофесійні компетентності в освіті техніків з інженерії програмного забезпечення

The research work analyzes the problem of forming software engineering technicians' soft skills, approaches to defining the list, detail and the maturity level of software engineering technicians' soft skills and basic ways of their formation, in particular: development of new academic programs or individual innovative courses, the problem-oriented approach, the AGILE approach, gamification of learning, development of interdisciplinary courses, etc. The obtained data enable developing methodological recommendations to form software engineering technicians' soft skills when studying the humanities and social sciences and experimentally investigating their efficiency.Дослідницька робота аналізує проблему формування загальнопрофесійних компетентностей техніків-розробників програмного забезпечення, підходи до визначення переліку, деталізації та рівня зрілості компетентностей техніків з інженерії програмного забезпечення та основні шляхи їх формування, зокрема: розробка нових академічних програм чи індивідуальних інноваційні курси, проблемно-орієнтований підхід, підхід AGILE, гейміфікація навчання, розробка міждисциплінарних курсів тощо. Отримані дані дають змогу розробити методологічні рекомендації для формування компетентностей техніків програмної інженерії при вивченні гуманітарних та соціальних наук та експериментальному дослідженні їх ефективність

Competencias de comportamiento, determinando la existencia de una brecha entre la academia y el mercado laboral de TI

In order to identify the relevant behavioral competencies for IT professionals and determine if there is a gap between the competencies developed by academia and those required by the job market in Costa Rica, an analysis was carried out involving four stakeholder groups: literature, job boards, the graduation profiles of IT programs in public universities, as well as the directors and academic coordinators of these universities. During this analysis, 45 behavioral competencies were identified, of which only three coincided in their categorization as having a high or moderate degree of importance. It is worth noting that a homogeneous set of competencies was not found for all the investigated groups.Con el objetivo de identificar las competencias de comportamiento relevantes para los profesionales de TI y determinar si existe una brecha entre las competencias desarrolladas por la academia y las requeridas por el mercado laboral en Costa Rica, se llevó a cabo un análisis que involucró a cuatro grupos de interés: la literatura, las bolsas de empleo, los perfiles de egreso de las carreras de TI en universidades públicas, así como a los directores y coordinadores académicos de dichas universidades. Durante este análisis se identificaron 45 competencias de comportamiento, de las cuales solo tres coincidieron en su categorización como de alto o moderado grado de importancia. Cabe destacar que no se encontró un conjunto homogéneo de competencias para todos los grupos investigados

The Perceived Influence of Non-Cognitive Skills on the Student Post-Secondary Journey

Learners typically enter higher education by meeting the academic threshold placed on them by their institution; however, their ability or inability to traverse the multi-interactional elements of post-secondary life are what underlie the premise of this research study. Over 320,000 students begin their post-secondary journey at a Canadian institution each year (Statistics Canada, 2019), and of those students, approximately 20-25% will withdraw before their second year (Grayson & Grayson, 2003). Of the students who choose to attend a community college in the Greater Toronto Area, 29-45% will never complete their program (Lopez-Rabson & McCloy, 2013). However, questions have been raised as to learner preparedness when entering higher education and whether today’s learners possess the non-cognitive skill levels needed to handle their new learning environment and to adequately engage with the resources designed to support their transition, success, and retention (Adams, 2012; Savitz-Romer & Bouffard, 2012). As a result, this study explored the current level, value, and role of non-cognitive skills in today’s college learners, along with the impact these skills have on their post-secondary journey. More specifically, the how and what stakeholders have experienced with non-cognitive skills were explored to understand its impact on student post-secondary experiences, academic and social development, engagement, and ultimately the decision-making process and ability to persist to graduation. Qualitative data were collected in the fall of 2019 at an Ontario community college located in the Greater Toronto Area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as the research method. In total, the lived experiences of nine college stakeholders consisting of three students, two staff members, two faculty members, and two administrators were analyzed and interpreted to gain the perspectives of those who occupy the Ontario college ecosystem. Although not generalizable, results showed that staff, faculty members, and administrators perceived non-cognitive skills to be lacking among today’s college learners at a recognizable level. This, in turn, was said to contribute to student difficulties with juggling new responsibilities, coping with tragedies, forming new friendships and social circles, participating in academic and social activities, and making controlled decisions. These skill deficiencies were also found to contribute to students questioning their place within higher education and to situations where bumps along the college journey cannot be overcome. Student participants of this study held varying views regarding current skill levels. Student stories revealed perceptions of non-cognitive skill levels among the student population as lacking, good, and unknown. Nonetheless, non-cognitive skills were found to have a positive impact on a learner’s post-secondary journey and all stakeholder groups identified a need for institutions to work toward developing these skills among their student population. Three recommendations were offered to build community awareness and create skill-development opportunities. The recommendations encouraged institutions to: 1) plan, integrate, and embed non-cognitive skills development in all facets of college life from student services to the classroom; 2) raise non-cognitive skills awareness and development through exposure and education; 3) provide upfront disclosure of the essential skills needed for program and student success