An academic program providing realistic training in software engineering

Abstract

An academic program at Harvey Mudd College, called the Clinic program, brings projects from industry on campus to be studied and solved by student teams. The objective of the Clinic is to provide students, working as small teams under careful faculty supervision, an opportunity to work on real world problems of sufficient magnitude and complexity. Under this program, students can acquire essential skills of software engineering, such as team work, software project management, software design methodology, and communication skills, in a realistic environment. Sample software projects undertaken by the Clinic are described. Experience so far has shown that the program is a viable transition from an academic to industrial world.