An academia-industry collaborative teaching and learning model for software engineering education

Teaching and learning environment limited only to classrooms and labs at universities may not suffice for software engineering students to develop practical and professional skills that are central to students' future roles as industry professionals. It is important to introduce the state of the arts industry professional practice into software engineering education program. An academia-industry collaborative teaching and learning model has been developed and employed in a capstone software engineering course for a sustained period. A standard software development methodology, called Process MeNtOR, provided by the industry collaborator has been used to guide student project development. A set of teaching and learning strategies with strong industry involvement has been employed to inspire student learning enthusiasm, to develop student practical professional skills. As a result, student career prospects have been enhanced. Formal student surveys, informal student and industry feedbacks have demonstrated these achievements