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1. Implementing interdisciplinary sustainability education with the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus

   Romulo, C; Venkataraman, B; Caplow, S; Ajgaonkar, S; Allen, CR; Anandhi, A; Anderson, SW; Azzarello, CB; Brundiers, K; Blavascunas, E; et al (July 2024, Humanities social sciences communications)

   Growth in the green jobs sector has increased demand for college graduates who are prepared to enter the workforce with interdisciplinary sustainability skills. Simultaneously, scholarly calls for interdisciplinary collaboration in the service of addressing the societal challenges of enhancing resilience and sustainability have also increased in recent years. However, developing, executing, and assessing interdisciplinary content and skills at the post-secondary level has been challenging. The objective of this paper is to offer the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus as a powerful way to achieve sustainability competencies and matriculate graduates who will be equipped to facilitate the transformation of the global society by meeting the targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The paper presents 10 curricular design examples that span multiple levels, including modules, courses, and programs. These modules enable clear evaluation and assessment of key sustainability competencies, helping to prepare graduates with well-defined skillsets who are equipped to address current and future workforce needs. 

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2. Engineering Curriculum in Support of Industry 4.0

   https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v17i01.17937  

   Eppes, Tom A.; Milanovic, Ivana; Jamshidi, Reihaneh; Shetty, Devdas (January 2021, International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (iJOE))

   The paper discusses how multiphysics simulations and applications are being used to build essential skills in preparation for entry into an Industry 4.0 workforce. In a highly networked and collaborative human/machine cyberspace, some important competencies for engineering graduates include the ability to: (1) explore design options and results easily between suites of software, (2) predict and visualize performance of complex problems in the beginning phase of the design process, and (3) identify and optimize key parameters prior to fabrication. We describe how integrated project- and inquiry-based learning in the context of a simulation environment and across the curriculum is improving student readiness and transition into industry. Our paper offers a template of how to transition into a curriculum that produces newly minted engineers better equipped to engage in complex design. Examples of project assignments, assessment methods, and student work are discussed as well as future plans. 

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3. Alignment of Data Science Programs with ACM Competencies

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3641555.3705016  

   Rivera_Alvarado, Alicia Marely; Zimmer, Michael (February 2025, ACM)

   The rapid expansion of data science programs across a wide range of academic disciplines - including computer science, engineering, business, and other applied data domains - presents a challenge for standardizing curricula in line with established competencies. This paper critically examines whether university data science programs are aligned with the ACM Competencies for Undergraduate Data Science Curricula. Using a systematic review of 788 data science program offerings and 9,322 course titles, we assess levels of alignment with ACM's eleven competency areas. Additionally, we evaluate the inclusion of additional common skills course offerings, such as math/statistics, data analytics, and capstone courses. Our findings highlight significant variability in programs' adherence to the ACM competencies. This underscores the need for greater interdisciplinary collaboration towards integrating computing, statistics, and domain-specific coursework into the broad range of data science curricula, ensuring that data science graduates have a well-rounded, interdisciplinary skill set suited to the diverse applications of data science. 

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4. Interpreting the ABET Computer Science Criteria Using Competencies

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3478431.3499293  

   Raj, Rajendra K.; Kumar, Amruth N.; Sabin, Mihaela; Impagliazzo, John (February 2022, 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE 2022)

   Since the early 21st century, ABET’s accreditation criteria have focused on learning outcomes (what students learn) rather than what professors teach. Such accreditation criteria bring to bear the need for programs to establish clear learning objectives and assessment processes that ensure that program graduates have the requisite technical and professional preparation. To this end, ABET defines student outcomes as “what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation,” further noting that these outcomes “relate to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the program.” With the recent release of Computing Curricula 2020 (CC2020), the competencies of computing program graduates have received additional attention. CC2020 describes competency as “comprising knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are observable in accomplishing a task within a work context.” ABET’s student outcomes thus largely correspond to the CC2020 competencies of program graduates. This paper is a first attempt to reconcile the two notions in the context of computer science. It presents the relevant background and discusses student competencies and their assessments that focus on competency-based learning in computer science. The contributions of this paper are (1) forging an improved shared understanding of computing competencies and (2) an interpretation of ABET’s student outcomes to improve the competency, including dispositions, expectations of computer science graduates. 

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5. Managerial and Professional Skills and Dispositions from Professionals’ Interviews

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3537674.3554751  

   Duan, Suzhen; Exter, Marisa; Tagare, Deepti; Sabin, Mihaela (September 2022, Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference on Information Technology Education)

   Employability should be a primary objective for computing programs, as the majority of IT and other computing graduates go to work in industry upon graduation. Furthermore, students want to be prepared for a career, not just an entry-level job. However, literature has shown a gap between employers’ needs and undergraduates’ preparation in non-technical areas. Competencies (skills, knowledge, and dispositions) can be a common language used by both employers and educators. The more we learn about competencies employers expect, the more we can ensure programs match their expectations. This study focuses on competencies required by managers, by interviewing ten directors/managers, project managers, and product managers who had prior experience in computing-related roles. Each was asked to discuss competencies most important to their current position. Emerging themes identified the most important managerial skills (project management, evaluation of candidates, mentorship, managers’ own technical skills and knowledge, adjusting management style as needed, and appropriately assigning team members), professional skills (communication, problem solving, and relationship building), and dispositions (lifelong learning; adaptability/flexibility; being self-driven; self-awareness; being helpful, positive and pleasant; valuing communication and collaboration; having passion for technical work; and perseverance). Implications for education are discussed. This study is part of a larger NSF-funded project related to investigating the competencies required by computing professionals, and the design of educational resources to promote the development of these competencies. 

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