Employers often remark that Computer Science graduates do not have the right skills to work on modern software engineering projects where agile practices, continuous integration, test-driven development, git workflows and regular code reviews are commonplace. To address this issue, we designed a course to introduce students to some of the realities of software engineering outside of academia. We describe the journey of building and running an industrial mentoring scheme for this course where students are assigned an experienced engineering mentor from industry who each guide a small team of six through an open source project. This sets the course apart from the more traditional engineering projects, where students build small and simple system from scratch. Instead we ask students to fix bugs and add features in a large and unfamiliar open source codebase, a game called stendhalgame.org. The mentoring scheme is a key part of enabling that, both in terms of motivating the students but also in providing guidance and advice on howto tackle these kinds of software engineering task. We reflect on the program, which has been taken by more than 2000 second year students over a nine year period. The main contribution is the combination of human mentoring with software that facilitates more meaningful discussions between mentors and mentees that would otherwise have not taken place. As far as we can tell, this is novel in the UK in terms of scale and approach.
Motivated by the increasing societal impact of technology and the emphasis on ethics within computing education, this paper presents the development and evaluation of a video-based assessment designed to improve students' understanding of legal, social, ethical, and professional issues while simultaneously developing soft skills such as teamwork, time management, researching information, and communication. Using a mixed-method approach, we explore the impact of this assessment on students' self-reported skill development across both their understanding of ethical issues and soft skills. Findings indicate that the video-based assessment was well received by students and supported not only the understanding of ethical concepts but also improved collaboration and communication skills.
Widening participation in computing science remains a persistent challenge in the UK, with recruitment and retention particularly difficult among underrepresented groups. Traditional school-based outreach often struggles to engage all learners, highlighting the need for innovative, accessible approaches that extend beyond the classroom. Creating engaging and inclusive STEM learning environments is a critical priority for educators, policymakers, and industry, as fostering diverse talent helps address skills shortages and wider societal challenges. The Library of Inspiration (LOI) responds to this challenge by drawing on literacy-based 'story sack' models and participatory design, the project develops take-home STEM kits for pupils aged 11-14 (S1-S3) in Scotland. Each kit combines hands-on activities, narratives, and diverse role models to spark curiosity, foster collaboration, and lower barriers to engagement, particularly for pupils from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds. Designed to complement the computing curriculum, the kits provide flexible, informal learning opportunities that extend into homes and communities. This workshop provides a hands-on forum to explore the LOI model. Participants will (1) examine evidence and insights from early pilot studies, (2) design new kit concepts for their own contexts, and (3) explore opportunities for collaboration and future funding to extend and adapt kit-based learning for inclusive computing education across schools, libraries, and community settings.
The Diverse Computing Pioneers Repository (DCPR) is an online, freely accessible repository of non-Western, lesser-known computing pioneers. The aim of this workshop is to discuss current decolonisation institutional goals with participants, exploring how DCPR can be integrated into their teaching practice and the wider institutional decolonisation efforts.
This hands-on workshop shows how Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)-structured, online, curriculum-embedded collaboration across countries-supports authentic sustainability briefs in computing education research. Workshop participants explore three key activities: (i) a power-mapping exercise (access, decision-making, knowledge validation); (ii) a COIL checklist covering communication norms, time zones, data stewardship and inclusion; and (iii) an assessment map recognising technical artefacts and intercultural process. Two student ambassadors share what helped and hindered confidence and collaboration; a remote contribution provides a decolonial lens, and an industry partner adds practical insight. Attendees leave with a 2-4-week brief, a first-draft map and a rubric sketch. Materials require whiteboards and/or shared digital boards.
