Software development projects as a way for multidisciplinary soft and future skills education
Krzysztof Podlaski, Michal Beczkowski, Katharina Simbeck, Katrin Dziergwa, Derek O'Reilly, Shane Dowdall, Joao Monteiro, Catarina Oliveira Lucas, Johanna Hautamaki, Heikki Ahonen, Hiram Bollaert, Philippe Possemiers, Zofia Stawska
TL;DR
The paper investigates how a short, intensive, multinational software development project can deliver soft and future skills in a multidisciplinary setting. It combines problem-based and active learning within a MIMI-inspired framework and uses the KYSS instrument to quantify effects across multiple skill categories. Results show statistically significant gains in communication, cooperation, digital skills, and self-reflection, while other areas show limited short-term change, highlighting the need for longer interventions to affect creativity, critical thinking, and flexibility. The work provides objective evidence that intensive, international, multidisciplinary projects can enhance key soft skills and offers a replicable assessment approach for HEIs seeking to integrate such training into curricula.
Abstract
Soft and future skills are in high demand in the modern job market. These skills are required for both technical and non-technical people. It is difficult to teach these competencies in a classical academic environment. The paper presents a possible approach to teaching in soft and future skills in a short, intensive joint project. In our case, it is a project within the Erasmus+ framework, but it can be organized in many different frameworks. In the project we use problem based learning, active learning and group-work teaching methodologies. Moreover, the approach put high emphasizes diversity. We arrange a set of multidisciplinary students in groups. Each group is working on software development tasks. This type of projects demand diversity, and only a part of the team needs technical skills. In our case less than half of participants had computer science background. Additionally, software development projects are usually interesting for non-technical students. The multicultural, multidisciplinary and international aspects are very important in a modern global working environment. On the other hand, short time of the project and its intensity allow to simulate stressful situations in a real word tasks. The effects of the project on the required competencies are measured using the KYSS method. The results prove that the presented method increased participants soft skills in communication, cooperation, digital skills and self reflection.