Education for Professional Practice: Runestone Model

Abstract: Nowadays, types of production and process technology are present in most ofsectors of the economy. The rate of progress is very fast and the manner in which technology is deployed and used undergoes continuous change. This is perhaps especially true for Information Technologies, where computers now have a great influence on our society. Therefore education in Computer Science should respond to the nature of the discipline and also be very dynamic. In higher education, the transition from University to the beginning of professional career is a crucial moment for students. Education in Computer Science is focused on technical skills. Typically not much attention is given to the non-technical skills needed for life as a computing professional. This thesis studies the current state of education in Computer Science, and how it trains students for their future professional career and factors that increase their successfulness and competitiveness in Industry. Universities typically provide students with an excellent technical education. But, nowadays the profile of professionals in Computing requires also other complementary aspects. For this study, the thesis investigates an innovative approach to integratingprofessional practice into University education. The Runestone project, a coursegiven since the mid 1990's is a collaboration between the Universities of Uppsala (Sweden), GVSU Allendale, MI (USA) and Turku (Finland). This course, with its international perspective, hopes to train to the students not only in technical skills but also in non-technical skills representative of modern professional practice. The course encourages the students to realise the importance of these other aspects, understanding the function of a professional with a wider perspective. The thesis studies the 2007 offering of the Runestone project. It analyzes theexperiences of teachers and students, drawing on interview and survey information. Data sources include interviews and survey responses from the teachers of the three participating Universities as well as students from the three countries involved. The thesis has two objectives: to study the attitudes of the teacher in regard to the intention of the course and the study of students as they gain experience as a result of the course. The part of the analysis dealing with the teachers is centred in the study of their vision of the current education of Computer Science, their motivations and objectives of the course, the structure, methodology and tools used for it, the course as international project and the importance of the learning of communication in team. The part of the analysis of student's experience and motivation is centred in their vision of the courses role in their future professional practice in computing, motivations for the course, acquired skills during the course, how they worked in a team and the course as an international project.