Software Engineering Education – An Australian Higher Education Perspective

Software engineering, as a discipline, emerged in the wake of the software crisis since both software developers and the inadequacy of conventional development methods failed to tackle the complexity of large-scale software development projects. This not only resulted in spending of more time and finances than what was originally estimated for developing a particular software but also the end product, in case if got realized, turned out to be of much lower quality. Software engineering, therefore, came to the rescue with its initial boost from the NATO Software Engineering Conferences (of the NATO Science Committee) in 1968 and 1969. As a systematic and intelligent approach to software development, software engineering utilizes the engineering principles, methods, techniques, and tools for designing, developing, and maintaining state-of-the-art software possessing key characteristics, including but not limited to, being highly safe, secure, reliable, usable, and accessible. Being a skilled software engineer mandates possessing a diverse range of technical and practical skills, and which needs to be imparted in an ideal world via a software engineering-based educational program. In particular, the key aim of this paper is to discuss the prevalent trends of software engineering education in the Australia's higher education landscape.