“SoftAware: International cooperation in the field of higher education for developing software talents” aims to create a transnational partnership between the major actors responsible for IT professionals’ enhancement, namely HE, research centres, employers, professional associations, social partners, VET providers and SMEs to foster the development of software talents across Europe. During the 2 years of implementation of SoftAware, the aim of the partners is to create stable networks of reference stakeholders for ICT and software development in 4 of the partner countries – Lithuania, Bulgaria, Portugal and Cyprus whose goal will be to foster the continuous update of the educational curriculum.
Project funding:
The European Union programme Erasmus+
Project results:
SoftAware strives to achieve the following objectives:
– Enable up-to-date content of software engineering education by (re-)designing the HE curriculum in several EU countries by systematically consulting a wide range of stakeholder groups and bringing in technical experts from companies in the ICT sector to help the design of lessons and educational materials;
– Strengthen ongoing dialogue and closer cooperation between industry and education to support mutual understanding of digital skills needs and encourage strong practical components in education;
– Stimulate work based learning in HE through creating opportunities for apprenticeships and other types of work-based learning in the field of ICT;
– Enhance HE students soft skills to foster professional career advancement.
In order to achieve these objectives the project envisages developing the following intellectual outputs:
IO1: Bachelor Degree Curriculum in Software Technologies: the aim of the curriculum is to equip software engineering graduates with the skills needed by the industry. It will incorporate industry best practice and state of the art technology.
IO2: SoftAware Open Online Courses: the output will comprise 3 open online courses building blocks of the international curriculum, developed in IO1. The selected 3 courses, namely, Synthesis and analysis of algorithms, Design and testing of software and Software Project Management will be the building blocks for the whole training programme. Their joint development will allow for more in-depth content, considering different stakeholders’ perspective.
IO3: SoftAware Soft Skills Toolkit for University Lecturers in Computer Sciences: the short e-learning training material will be aimed at academic staff and will focus on: the most demanded soft skills in the computer science industry today, the skills for the future labor market, tips for HE teachers and other staff to raise the awareness of students about the importance to develop their soft skills, examples how soft skills were booted with the support of teaches and other HE staff. The set of practical tools with exercises and case studies from real business situations will equip students with the most in-demand skills that employers are searching for: strategic thinking, teamwork, analytical skills, project management, making them suitable for current and future roles.
Period of project implementation: 2019-10-01 - 2021-12-31
Project coordinator: TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOFIA
Project partners: Kaunas University of Technology, VŠĮ Kauno mokslo ir technologijų parkas, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, PCX computers and information systems, European Center for Quality, Electrical Engineering Students' European association
