How the First Year of a Work-based Degree in Software Engineering Prepares Students for Industry

This Practice Work-in-Progress paper presents a work-based undergraduate degree program in Software Engineering, designed in consultation with industry. Work-based learning is often seen as a means of ensuring university graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to succeed in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the program has prepared students for working in industry. To this end, the students were surveyed after they had completed their first semester, and returned to their workplace for two months. Qualitative analysis of survey data revealed the aspects of their first year courses that apprentices valued most in the workplace. These aspects included exposure to multiple programming languages and existing codebases, as well as knowledge of Software Engineering tools and practices. Underpinning many of the students’ responses, however, was the increased confidence that their university instruction afforded them in the workplace.