The academic/industry gap in systems programming and operating systems
SIGCSE '79 Proceedings of the tenth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
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Most existing EDP Programs do not maintain the close coordination with industry required to keep programs relevant and up to date. As a result, students, unprepared for the sophisticated problems they encounter in industry often must struggle to make the formidable adjustment required. Cooperative education programs which attempt to coordinate classroom instruction with on the job training have in many cases not realized their potential because the student's academic training is too unrealistic to be of significant help on the job. Our efforts in the classroom must be directed towards preparing students to deal with the demands that will be made on them as professionals in the computer field. Emphasis must be placed on teaching students methods and techniques for solving their own problems rather than mearly conveying facts and information. A suggested method for conveying the realism of industry in the classroom is to replace the traditional student-teacher relationship with one of employee-supervisor. Students working on individual projects hold private meetings with the instructor in place of class lectures. The complete design, programming, documentation and oral presentation of a worthy EDP Project becomes the total responsibility of the student with the advice and guidance of the instructor. Companies participating in the coop program may also be given the opportunity to suggest projects. In addition to allowing a potential coop student to gain some familiarity with an employers needs, it conveys a desire on the part of the school to keep programs sensitive to the needs and changes in industry. Courses and programs as these which allow for industrial input in our curriculum development are essential to keep pace with the rapid growth and changes that characterize this dynamic field.