Developing personal and professional skills in software engineering students

Although industry acknowledges university graduates possess strong technical knowledge, it continues to lament the lack of commensurately strong personal and professional skills that allow graduates to apply their technical knowledge and to become effective members of the workforce quickly. This chapter outlines a research-backed course design that blends experiential learning to create an industrial simulation, the rewards of which go well beyond the usual benefits of group-project capstone design courses. The simulated industrial context facilitates the graduation of software engineers who possess the requisite personal and professional attributes. Innovations include combining two cohorts of students into one, engaging industry partners through the provision and management of projects, and implementing proven education approaches that promote the development of personal and professional skills. Adoption of the suggested practices will help institutions produce 'work-ready' graduates repeatedly, year after year, even by software engineering academics who may not have received teacher training and who may not possess significant industry experience themselves.