Software Engineering Education: Converging with the Startup Industry

Startups are agents of change that bring in innovations and find solutions to problems at various scales. An all-rounded engineering team is a key driver for the ability to execute the entrepreneurial ambition, from building a minimum viable product to later stages of product vision. Software engineering education provides students with the knowledge to transition to mature companies with defined structure in place successfully. However, the fluidity, risk, time-sensitivity, and uncertainty of startups demand a dynamic and agile set of skills to rapidly identify, conceptualize and deliver features as per market needs. This requires the adoption of latest development trends in software processes, engineering and DevOps practices with automation to iterate fast with low governance and the ability to take on multiple roles. This paper presents a study of the dynamics and engineering at startups and compares it with the current curriculum of software engineering.