Software engineering education: some important dimensions

Software engineering education has been emerging as an independent and mature discipline. Accordingly, various studies are being done to provide guidelines for curriculum design. The main focus of these guidelines is around core and foundation courses. This paper summarizes the current problems of software engineering education programs. It also proposes some important dimensions as integral parts of software engineering education: interdisciplinary skills, practice experience, communication, skills on continuing education and professionalism. In the current guidelines and studies these dimensions are not addressed specifically. Although there could be other dimensions to be considered in software engineering education, we believe that the proposed ones are very crucial as software engineering is evolving more rapidly than any other engineering discipline. This study also provides a survey of some major universities’ undergraduate software engineering programs to evaluate these dimensions.     

软件开发过程中的数据挖掘

传统的软件工程方法着眼于软件技术和软件开发过程本身,软件项目的成败取决于工程人员的个人素质.将数据挖掘技术引入软件工程领域可帮助缺乏经验的工程人员更有效地预测和管理项目进度,在不影响软件质量的前提下缩短软件开发周期,最终降低软件开发成本.     

Notes on advanced engineering education

This article reviews history, analyses principles and presents a modern interpretation of advanced engineering education (AEE). AEE originated in France, was adapted in Germany and reached its zenith in the second half of the twentieth century as part of technological efforts induced by the space race. AEE is an enhanced form of education aimed at producing inventors, thinkers and leaders capable of bringing new technological changes and scientific revolutions. AEE introduces a challenging educational environment that is generally addressed to the most enthusiastic and capable students; it is not necessarily suitable for the mainstream education. The role of AEE is projected to increase as the world becomes a global knowledge society.     

发展我国高等工程教育的探讨

从教育思想观念、体系、模式以及师资建设、人才培养等方面，提出正确发展我国高等工程教育的思路。     

软件工程专业人才培养模式的改革与创新

传统高等教育模式下的软件人才培养质量不高,难以满足市场需求,其主要原因是人才培养过程中缺少社会的直接参与,没有形成良好的人才培养和使用的反馈机制;为此通过校企联合创建了“3+1”人才培养新模式,将社会资源融入高等教育的人才培养过程,显著提高了软件工程专业的人才培养质量。     

软件构架设计在软件开发中的意义

软件构架是软件系统的核心,它对于整个软件系统的设计开发和使用具有深远的影响。软件构架并不会随着某个软件系统生命期的结束而终结。目前,大多数的软件设计者一直接受的是完全按照系统的技术需求表述进行系统设计,而忽略了软件构架对于整个软件的作用。本文对软件构架进一步描述,目的在于引起软件开发人员对于软件构架的重视。     

The design and evaluation of a cryptography teaching strategy for software engineering students

The present paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a cryptography module for final-year software engineering students. The emphasis is on implementation architectures and practical cryptanalysis rather than a standard mathematical approach. The competitive continuous assessment process reflects this approach and rewards experimentation. Students who excel at mathematics will invariably do well in cryptography. A key aim of the module is to try to extend this relationship to include good software engineers who may find mathematics more difficult. The approach is evaluated quantitatively by statistical analysis. The results of the statistical analysis show a significantly higher correlation between a student's performance in software engineering and cryptography than in mathematics and cryptography. These results indicate that this teaching approach is a better fit for software engineers than a standard approach.     

A triangular approach to integrate research,education and practice in higher engineering education

Separate approaches in engineering education, research and practice are not very useful when preparing students for working life; instead, integration of education, research and industrial practices is needed. A triangular approach (TA) as a method to accomplish this integration and as a method to provide students with integrated expertise is proposed. The results from the application of TA, both at the course and programme level, indicate that the approach is suitable for developing engineering education. The student pass rate for courses where TA has been used has been higher than for previous approaches, and the student feedback has been very positive. Although TA aims to take both theoretical and practical aspects of engineering as well as research and education into account, the approach concentrates mainly on activities and therefore leaves the goals of these activities as well as the values behind these goals uncovered.     

Integration of sustainable development in sanitary engineering education in Sweden

In the Swedish Act for higher education, as well as in the policies of technical universities, it is stated that sustainable development (SD) should be integrated into engineering education. Researchers argue that SD needs to be integrated into the overall course content rather than added as a specific course. In this paper, six engineering lecturers have been interviewed to give their views on how SD can be integrated into teaching water and sanitation engineers. Engineering lecturers seem unsure how to interpret SD in relation to their own specific courses. Students are said to request technical knowledge rather than fuzzy ideas of SD and lecturers struggle to open up the teaching to more problem-based perspectives. Sanitary professionals in work practice relate to SD as a core in water treatment processes and regret that responsibility for SD issues fall between traditional departmental structures in society.     

Environmental engineering education (E3) in the Gulf Co-operation Countries

The six members of the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—are facing enormous environmental challenges associated with rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, especially in the last three decades, due to its role as a global hydrocarbon energy centre. None of these countries have systematic and specialised academic programmes with the sole purpose of Environmental Engineering Education (E3). The current status of E3 in the universities across the region is surveyed and thus the individual and collective higher education policies towards environmental affairs are highlighted. The E3 policies of the regional universities are then compared to the benchmark status of the European and the US universities. The ABET criteria are used to evaluate non-E3 programs. The survey shows that the environmental engineering subjects were mostly taught under the umbrella of civil or chemical engineering departments in the GCC countries. An educational scheme for E3 in the GCC higher education institutes is proposed that is based on the evolution of E3 approach in the Western universities.     

软件工程专业实训体系的构建与实践

培养应用型人才是高等教育人才培养的重要任务,校企合作建立软件工程实训基地是培养实用型软件人才的的主要途径.本文通过对软件工程专业人才培养模式的研究,阐述了软件工程实训的必要性和重要性,提出了软件工程专业实训体系的实训基地建设、教学模式及教学知识体系的构建方案.     

软件工程教学中存在的问题及教学策略探讨

软件工程是高校计算机专业学生的一门必修课程,文章分析了软件工程教学过程中存在的问题,并从教学内容、教学设计和教学评价体制三个方面对其解决策略进行了的探讨。     

Ethics and engineering education

In the US, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) recommends the study of ethics so that students acquire ‘an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility’. For the most part, teaching of the subject relies upon the use of scenarios – both hypothetical and ‘real’– and open discussion framed by the codes. These scenarios and this framing are seriously deficient – lacking in their attention to the complexities of context, almost solely focused on individual agency, while reflecting too narrow and simplistic a view of the responsibilities of the practicing engineer. A critique of several exemplary scenarios, and consideration of the demands placed upon today's professional, prompt reflection on the need for, not just a more expansive reading of the codes of ethics re what it might mean to be ‘responsible’, but a substantial reform of undergraduate engineering education across the board.     

软件工程专业实践能力改革研究与分析

指出当前软件工程人才实践能力培养中存在的问题,分析了CC2005规范和乔治亚理工学院计算机学院的教学改革,结合我国高校实际情况,提出加强综合性实践教学环节、培养交流表达能力等教学改革方法和课程．     

The significance of context for curriculum development in engineering education: a case study across three African countries

Curriculum reform is a key topic in the engineering education literature, but much of this discussion proceeds with little engagement with the impact of the local context in which the programme resides. This article thus seeks to understand the influence of local contextual dynamics on curriculum reform in engineering education. The empirical study is a comparative analysis of the context for curriculum reform in three different chemical engineering departments on the African continent, located in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. All three departments are currently engaged in processes of curriculum reform, but the analysis shows how the different contexts in which these efforts are taking place exert strong shaping effects on the processes and outcomes for that reform.     

我国高等工程教育转型:历史变迁与当代实践逻辑

纵观历史,我国高等工程教育经历了三次大的重要转型:清朝末期至民国时期层次化和制度化的工程教育转型,中华人民共和国成立初期国家化和工具化的工程教育转型以及改革开放以来以“一体两翼”为核心的工程教育转型。当代我国高等工程教育探索主要体现在工程教育理念、人才培养模式和工程教育目标三个方面,表现为国家、市场和院校之间非线性变迁的发展逻辑,政府规制与高校自治相统一的治理逻辑,国际化与本土化共振的行动逻辑,目标与需求一致的人才培养逻辑。这些转型逻辑对于新工科建设具有重要的理论价值和实践指导意义。     

项目驱动的软件工程进化式教学方法

将迭代进化的思想引入软件工程课程的教学中,提出项目驱动的进化式的教学方法。该方法以达到实用程度的软件项目贯穿教学过程的始终,根据该软件开发的三次迭代,将教学过程分为三个阶段,各阶段分别采用"教师引导学习、教师指导实践、学生独立实践"的教学方式,使学生对软件工程原理和方法达到从认知到理解再到应用的进化式掌握。     

Continuing engineering education through distance learning

The demand for distance continuing engineering education (CEE) is growing. This article describes the following with regard to CEE: the purpose; its importance, trends and unique challenges. Distance education can meet some of these challenges. Benefits and challenges of distance CEE are discussed along with the different types of distance CEE providers including universities, professional and trade organisations, corporate universities, for-profit education providers and government. Some recommendations are given for distance CEE. The specific focus here is on non-degree courses that are generally highly practical and focused.     

软件工程课程实验考核方法探索

软件工程是近来大学生必修的一门课程,它包含很多的基本原理、概念、方法与技术理论知识。怎样才能使学生学好这门课程,如何考核才能更好的检验学生掌握程度是教学的关键问题。该文结合软件工程课程特点,阐述了软件工程课程考核改革的原由,提出了以软件工程开发文档和结合文档联系软件工程知识答辩这种以实验为主的新的考核方法。该实验性考核方法以考促学,经过实践,提高了学生学习质量,取得了的良好的效果。     

面向工程教育的电工学实验教学改革方法初探

利用工程教育平台,结合虚拟现实技术对电工学实验教学进行了有益的探索实践研究。该方法编程简单,直观性强,通过编程实例来引导学生进行电工学实验。经过课堂实训,最后学生可以独立自主开展课外课程设计。实践证明,该方法是一种有效的电工学教学辅助手段。