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Software development projects sourced from external organizations can serve as an excellent platform to help build student competencies because they often provide an environment where students can practice applying their knowledge and skills in an authentic context. However, there are many challenges and risks that can jeopardize the successful execution of such projects. In this report, we discuss some of the lessons learned about the pain points encountered by computing faculty with over a decade of experience running a software engineering studio where teams of undergraduate students work on long-term projects sourced from external partners. Our experience is based on working with a mix of project partners with a major emphasis on non-profit and community organizations and non-technical project partners. We focus on a strategy to carefully screen prospective projects to reveal possible challenges in order to avoid or minimize risks that could impact student learning outcomes.
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This content will become publicly available on February 18, 2026
How to Teach Software Engineering for Societal and Social Impact
In this panel, the presenters will discuss their collective experience of teaching software engineering courses and/or running software engineering projects that help students learn about and experience the impact of computing on society and the social good. While the benefits of practical experience in software engineering are generally indisputable, the logistics and management of such projects are often discouraging for faculty, leading many to exclude live clients from software engineering courses. The presenters will demystify and discuss the realities of running client-oriented classes and projects in the contexts of our institutions, which vary greatly in size and student demographics and represent both public and private colleges. In particular, we will discuss various approaches used to identify, design, create, and evaluate software engineering projects for societal and social impact. Project duration ranges from one semester to two or more, and participation in team projects is modeled as pre-professional training, complete with software tools, interpersonal dynamics, and evaluation methods.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2315322
- PAR ID:
- 10590525
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 9798400705328
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1691 to 1692
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Pittsburgh PA USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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