Closing the Gap between Software Engineering Education and Industrial Needs

“We used the established process for performing systematic literature review (SLR) studies in SE [2] and systematically gathered a set of 33 papers on this subject published between 1995-2018.”

“We calculated the average of (1, 9, 12), which equals 7.”

“6 HARD SKILLS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH: HAVE YOU GOT SOFT SKILLS? (RQ 3) It is widely discussed in the community that hard (technical) skills alone do not make a great software engineer [8] and soft skills are equally important (if not more).”

“One of the studies, [P16], specifically focused on industry expectations of soft skills in IT graduates.”

“This may highlight the establishment of SE (and its education) as a separate engineering discipline that relies on other sciences such as computer science, mathematics and economics and adopting ideas from those subjects by developing new approaches to solve problems in engineering software [7].”

“Our research method is meta-analysis [4] which is a form of synthesis that combines the quantitative data from primary studies (the pool of 33 papers in this work).”

“Also in the context of a large software company in Turkey, with which one of the authors was affiliated with, an industrial training program for potential new hires was recently conducted [9] based on the insights”

“Some studies even reported quite bold findings, e.g., survey data of an American study [P9] showed that “ soft skills are significantly more important than hard skills for entry-level positions ”.”

“2 2 THE REVIEW PROCEDURE In our review and mapping, we followed the established process for performing systematic literature review (SLR) studies in SE [2] and also used our experience in conducting SLRs in the past [3].”

“Some of the authors have had experience in such ideas [6].”

“[P26] also highlighted the need for “ more exposure to real life, exercises, team assignments or industry projects ”.”

“Herrmann and Liebehenschel discuss their experiences in a study (Herrmann and Liebehenschel, 2011) focusing on effort, communication, feedback, adaptability , and volatility when performing requirements engineering for SPL.”

“In software engineeringrelated programs, this entails having an understanding of the common principles and theory in computer science (ACM/IEEE, 2013, 2014) and technical competencies and knowledge demanded by the industry (Radermacher et al., 2014; Garousi et al., 2019).”

“This situation is challenging for engineering and information and communication technology (ICT) also: Gaps between industry expectations and perceptions of graduates’ skill sets are taking place (Chillas et al., 2015; Garousi et al., 2019; Ramadi et al., 2016; Stal & Paliwoda-Pękosz, 2019).”

“Note that we do not have SE Economics KA in the graph below, since we do not have knowledge gap data for this KA in the SLR.”

“However, to be successful as a developer, it no longer suffices to be technically proficient (Garousi et al., 2019).”

“Narrowing down to the field of Software Engineering, the value of such non-technical skills is highlighted in many works [8, 11, 14], including IEEE’s Software Engineering Competency Model [1].”

“…de Computaci´on e Inform´atica, y espec´ıficamente de Ingenier´ıa de Software, enfrentan dificultades al inicio de su carrera profesional [1]–[6], debido a la brecha que existe entre los conocimientos y habilidades adquiridos en la educaci´on universitaria y aquellos requeridos por la…”

“Several studies [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20] have identified various barriers and challenges to integrating sustainability into the computing education curriculum.”

“To evaluate team cohesion in the context of software engineering teams, use of The Group Environment Questionnaire was reported in the past [25, 26].”

“The preponderance of evidence in social science research indicates that EL not only improves student’s engagement and student’s overall performance but narrows the gap between the theoretical concepts taught in the classroom and the skills needed for graduates to succeed once they join the professional workforce (Acce…”

“…is an essential soft skill and represents a key difference between the skills possessed by graduates and those expected by employers in the software industry (Ahmed, et al., 2012; Chen, Pratt, and Cole, 2016; Jia, Chen, and Du, 2017; Hiranrat and Harncharnchai, 2018; Garousi et al., 2020).”

“Authors in [35] focused on closing the gap between software engineering graduates and the job industry’s needs, by proposing the adoption of better teaching methods (universities) on soft skills and better hiring efforts (employers).”

“Despite its widespread usage and importance in the industry [2], code review practice is often not explicitly addressed adequately in typical Software Engineering or Computer Science curricula [3].”

“According to [24], the skill gap pertains to the mismatch be-tween skills acquired in higher education and those demanded by the software job market.”

“It is paramount in a fast pace software industry to prepare students with the technical skills they need in practicing software engineering in industry [2].”

“This approach allows us to provide students with project-based learning closer to the software development approach practiced in the industry [9].”

“Recognizing this gap, several studies have been undertaken to harmonize SE education with industry needs [1, 13, 18].”

“We believe that a software studio model has a strong potential to help build student competencies [21] and help bridge the gap between computing education and the needs of the modern software industry [9].”

“Many countries such as Australia [9], Malaysia [10-12], India [13], Russia [13]; Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey [14] and Saudi Arabia [15-24] are trying to reduce the gap between the two systems with the assistance of talented researches and The Ministry of Higher Education.”

“Unfortunately, many learners enrolled in Higher Education degrees are not fully exposed to a realistic interpretation of this until they graduate and begin their careers, thus creating a gap between taught programmes and industry [9, 18].”

“Garousi, et al. [11] conducted a systematic literature review on the gap between SE education and industrial requisites.”

“…landscape of the software industry, there is a demand for recruiting recently graduated or soon-to-graduate engineers for different reasons, including financial resources, talent formation, and team building (da Silva et al. 2013; Radermacher et al. 2014; Garousi et al. 2019; Smite and Moe 2023).”

“Durante uma seleção de novo colaborador, mesmo para vagas de estágio, as empresas estão analisando também capacidades que atuam no espectro comportamental e social do ser humano (soft skills) que não dependem de diplomas ou certificados [1, 11].”

“As a consequence, SE students are having a harder time choosing the suitable career path, learning all the needed skills, and finding the right courses that provide those skills at their correct levels of expertise [6].”

“[20] conducted a systematic literature review on the gap between SE education and industrial needs.”

“…gap can be examined from the perspective of companies (employers) (Cappel, 2002; Geetika & Venkatraman, 2017), from the perspective of graduates (Abbasi, Ali, & Bibi, 2018; Wilton, 2011), and from the perspective of universities (Cappelli, 2015; Garousi, Giray, Tuzun, Catal, & Felderer, 2020).”

“The ability of professionals to collaborate, communicate, manage time, negotiate, solve problems, make decisions, and so forth, are sometimes more essential skills than knowledge of new technologies (Acuna et al., 2006; Garousi et al., 2020; Mat-turro et al., 2019).”

“This finding is in line with studies such as [15], which indicate that this soft skill contributes to professional performance in the software market.”

“[16] discuss software engineering programmes in a general sense, concluding that most programmes still focus more on theoretical topics, causing a discrepancy between practical skill requirements and the skills taught in class.”

“It has been proven that deficiencies exist on technical skills such as configuration management and non technical skills like leadership and communication [4].”

“Unfortunately, traditional approaches to software engineering education in these academic settings often limit students’ exposure to and engagement with real-world projects, failing to fully harness their potential and creativity [5, 6].”

“Restrictions apply. advances [24], [25], [26] and professional skills [27], [28], which can be influenced based on the characteristics and realities experienced by different societies.”

“…between skills and dispositions elicits use of pedagogies that promote authentic learning [45] such as real-world, hands-on experiences [18,24], service learning opportunities [27], student-initiated and open-ended projects [36,37], and team projects [42], and innovative assessment…”

“Several studies have been conducted to show the widely noted "gap" between software industry expectations and computer education obtained at universities(Akdur, 2019; Garousi et al., 2020a; Kapoor & Gardner-McCune, 2020; Tahir et al., 2022).”

“The technical skills that industry representatives report the graduates missing most often relate to software development tools and configuration management [16, 14, 3, 4].”

“…development, [17] shows representation and scientific reasoning used for the description of knowledge, [18] shows different elements needed to describe a given knowledge in engineering, and [19–21] show the usage of skills, attitudes, abilities, and capabilities to describe knowledge for BOK.”

“Garousi (2020) [25] investigated the gap between software engineering education and industry needs, highlighting the importance of work-based learning as well as close collaboration between universities and industry sectors to reduce skills gaps.”

“…organizations (Government, Academia and Industry) has become increasingly used, both for the qualification of education professionals (academics), through applied research, and for the application and development of scientific solutions within of organizations (government and industry) [10][26].”

“Incorporating product management capabilities could enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing while focusing on skill development aligns with industry needs towards adaptable and innovative graduates [9].”

“Technical skills involve discipline-specific knowledge [ 42 ], that is, particular engineering or computing skills.”

“We framed the discussion based on the perspective of distant collaboration [26] and the development of soft skills [16, 22].”

“According to our results, soft skills like teamwork, communication, and the ability to learn are common suggestions from the early-career professionals, which is in line with the job requirements distinguished by the work of Papoutsoglou et al. [17] and Garousi et al. [5, 6].”

“This is due to the mismatch between the graduates' skills and the skills required by the industry [1].”

“The recent literature reflects a growing interest in addressing this issue and proposes solutions to bridge the gap between SE curricula and industry practices [32], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47].”

“Reviewing 33 papers from literature, [27] identified the most crucial industry-requested skills and revealed knowledge deficiencies in graduating Software Engineering students.”

“It has been proven that deficiencies exist on technical skills such as configuration management and non technical skills like leadership and communication [4].”

“Moreover, the demand for competent professionals grows much faster than the capacity of academia to form these professionals and for industry to adapt their competency to its specific needs [Garousi et al. 2020].”

“Recent research, such as that conducted by Garousi et al. [6], has attempted to identify areas of improvements in SE education.”

“found knowledge gaps between industry expectation and software engineering education to include configuration management, design, architecture, and testing [7].”

“Since then, software engineering became a noteworthy discipline as the significance and importance of software to modern society has increased tremendously, software engineering education has been introduced to the university (Garousi et al., 2020; Maguire et al., 2019).”

“Within academia, research projects focused on employer feedback often face limitations due to insufficient and inconsistent funding, typically resulting in small sample sizes drawn from personal or local networks [6,8,10,11,16].”

“These guidelines [1], as well as their continuation in the more recent ACM/IEEE recommendations for computing curricula [22] and related research [21, 26, 28] fully resonate with our design, implementation, and research of the course studied in this article.”

“Another study conducted in 2019 found that relevant cross-disciplinary topics, such as software engineering economics [92], were not taught in the classroom, although cross-disciplinary topics that were not used frequently on the job, such as Calculus and Physics, are part of the computing…”

“This gap may hinder their professional readiness, as noted by Garousi et al. [9], whose research identifies empirical practice integration as crucial for bridging this educational divide.”

“While providing the necessary fundamental knowledge, traditional curricula frequently do not adequately reflect current industry practices, and the tasks that students solve are often far from “real-world” scenarios [2].”

“A literature review by Garousi et al. [7] emphasizes the importance of soft skills Gemuenden [14]. in the software industry, noting that 19 out of 33 reviewed studies highlight teamwork and communication as essential for success.”

“Collaboration between educational institutions and software development organizations in this regard would also promote alignment in what is being taught versus what is required ion the job [79].”

“Traditional approaches to computing education often limit students’ exposure and engagement with real world projects, thereby failing to fully harness their potential and creativity [10, 11].”

“With such efforts, we can move towards closing the gap between software testing education and industrial needs [29].”

“These are skills much needed in industry, but there is also a gap between technical skills that industry requires and what is usually taught at the university such as software design, configuration management, engineering practice and software processes, among others [13].”

“Garousi et al. [6] reaffirmed technical skills alone do not make a great software engineer, since soft skills may be even more important.”

“OSS-based learning is not limited to developing students’ technical skills but also addresses general soft skills such as problem-solving, critical-thinking, teamwork, and communication, which are often overlooked [7].”

“([16], [17], [18], [19]) claim that collaborative projects that include researchers in the industry have a positive impact.”

“Efforts to build closer cooperation between software engineering professionals and educators are still rare [4], making it difficult for recent graduates to transition to the working life [5].”

“Garousi et al [10] point out that hard skills are composed of domains of knowledge and technical skills.”

“Within computing and software engineering specifically, studies have repeatedly documented a gap between what programs cultivate and what industry expects, in both technical and professional competencies (Garousi et al., 2020; Radermacher and Walia, 2013).”

“[1], [4] Regional/cultural differences While this chapter focuses on technical skills, soft skills are widely recognised as critical to employability in software engineering.”

“The gap between mastering syntax and professional competency will continue to grow the longer it goes unaddressed [10].”

“…phenomenon of separation between *Address correspondence to this author at the College of Smart Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 211800, China; Tel: +86-25-58606585; E-mail: qianyan@njau.edu.cn learning and application among graduates (Trevelyan, 2019; Garousi et al ., 2020).”