Blogs (4) >>
Fri 22 Mar 2024 16:10 - 16:35 at Meeting Room E146 - Software Engineering & Soft Skills Chair(s): Mia Minnes

Computer science graduates seeking a career in software engineering often find themselves inadequately prepared for the challenge demanded by technical interviews, as the interview questions frequently transcend the scope of standard data structures and algorithms courses. Thus, after spending four years pursuing a specialized degree, many graduates begrudgingly purchase technical interview crash courses and allocate an additional two or three months in interview preparation, effectively studying the equivalent of what otherwise could have been an advanced course in applied algorithms and data structures. This paper outlines our journey in designing and evolving a structured computer science course aimed at bridging this academia-industry divide. We detail our collaboration with industry experts to enhance course outcomes and present a retrospective analysis spanning five years of continuous improvement efforts. This course primarily targets third and fourth-year undergraduate students and covers the precise topics found within technical interviews, with a focus on both implementation and running time analysis. Student performance from the most recent offerings indicates a significant improvement in the course learning outcomes, and indirect assessment reflected this success, with students feeling both confident and empowered to excel in interviews and beyond.

Fri 22 Mar

Displayed time zone: Pacific Time (US & Canada) change

15:45 - 17:00
Software Engineering & Soft SkillsPapers at Meeting Room E146
Chair(s): Mia Minnes
15:45
25m
Talk
Software Engineering Education Must Adapt and Evolve for an LLM EnvironmentOnlineGlobalIn-Person
Papers
Vassilka Kirova Nokia Bell Labs, Cyril S. Ku William Paterson University, Joseph Laracy Seton Hall University, Thomas Marlowe Seton Hall University
DOI
16:10
25m
Talk
From Degree to Developer: the Creation and Evolution of a CS Course Designed to Bridge the Academia-Industry GapOnlineIn-Person
Papers
Jonathan Cazalas Florida Southern College, Christian Roberson Florida Southern College, Zeeshan Furqan Discovery Inc
DOI
16:35
25m
Talk
Exploring Student Motivation in Integration of Soft Skills Training within Three Levels of Computer Science ProgramsOnlineGlobalIn-Person
Papers
En-Shiun Annie Lee University of Toronto, Luki Danukarjanto FOCUS.inspired, Sicong Huang University of Toronto, Sadia Sharmin University of Toronto, Shou-Yi Hung University of Toronto, Tong Su University of Toronto
DOI