August 8th

The emerging role of Artificial Intelligence in teaching 21st Century skills in Software Engineering

Maria Virvou (Professor at University of Piraeus, Greece)

Abstract:

The rapid growth of Information and Computing Technologies (ICT) has a critical impact on what has been labelled the 21st century skills that students should acquire to become competent in the new society challenges and careers. In this respect, Software Engineering has gained even greater importance in education, as society increasingly relies on experts in this area. Universities are striving to provide such expertise, albeit with varying degrees of success, as the discipline itself is constantly evolving and presents inherent difficulties. Artificial Intelligence has played an important role in assisting Software Engineering Education for many decades in the context of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). The research on ITSs has achieved significant advances in personalization, adaptivity, collaborative learning and error diagnosis in many domains including programming and it is still evolving by incorporating techniques, such as neural networks, machine learning, fuzzy logic, decision theories and cognitive theories. However, the most recent advances of AI involve Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, which among other things, are widely available to students and teachers of Software Engineering and other disciplines. Recent advances in AI not only assist the process of Software Engineering Education but they are changing the targeted skills that students are required to gain for the 21st Century software engineering jobs. Indeed, Artificial Intelligence has become a game changer in Software Engineering education for three reasons: Firstly, it exerts a significant influence on the software engineering methodologies themselves, necessitating their inclusion in the curriculum of AI empowered Software Engineering. Secondly, it offers a range of supportive tools that greatly aid in teaching the technical aspects of software engineering, particularly programming skills. And thirdly, AI has inherent limitations, such as potential inaccuracies and a lack of explainability. These limitations highlight the need for a balanced approach to education that goes beyond technical skills. Soft skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and ethical considerations, become increasingly important in the context of AI-driven software engineering. This keynote address presents a critical analysis of existing developments on AI in Software Engineering education and provides best practices that are sourced from the author’s extensive previous and current research. By examining significant findings, the keynote address seeks to identify key insights into future advances and challenges.

This keynote address presents a critical analysis of existing developments on AI in Software Engineering education and provides best practices that are sourced from the author’s extensive previous and current research. By examining significant findings, the keynote address seeks to identify key insights into future advances and challenges.

Short Biography:

Prof. -Dr. Maria Virvou is currently a FULL- PROFESSOR, HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATICS, DIRECTOR OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES and DIRECTOR OF THE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING LAB, UNIVERSITY OF PIRAEUS, GREECE.

She has received a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from the University of Sussex, U.K., a M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University College London, U.K. and a four-year degree in Mathematics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is the AUTHOR/CO-AUTHOR of over 350 research papers published in international journals, books and conference proceedings and of 6 books and monographs in Computer Science published by Springer and other publishers. She is currently EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of the Springer book series “Learning and Analytics in Intelligent Systems” and “Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Software and Systems Engineering”. She has been EDITOR of over 30 collections of papers in conference proceedings or books, published by major academic publishers, such as IEEE, Springer and IOS Press. She has also been EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of the SpringerPlus Journal (Springer) for the whole area of Computer Science. Additionally, she has been an ASSOCIATE EDITOR of many other journals. She has been the GENERAL CO-CHAIR/ INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKER of over 30 international conferences.

Prof. -Dr. Virvou has received an honorary award by UNESCO in honour and recognition of her outstanding scholarly achievements and contributions to the field of Computer Science. According to Scopus she is ranked 1st author worldwide for the area of “user modelling” out of 133,723 documents and “educational software” and 3rd author worldwide for the area of “e-learning” out of 110,000 documents. According to Microsoft Academic Search exploring entity analytics of 262,751,231 authors she has been ranked as the top 1st author in the Computer Science area of Educational Software. Moreover, she has been ranked among the top 40 researchers worldwide in publications for the Computer Science area of Multimedia and the top 50 authors in the area of User Interface and Human Computer Interaction. She is among the top 2% of the most influential scientists worldwide in the area of Artificial Intelligence, according to Ioannidis, J. P., Boyack, K. W., & Baas, J. (2022) “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators”, PLoS Biology, 18(10), e3000918.

August 9th

10-Year Experience with the Nationwide IT Educational Program, enPiT

Katsuro Inoue (Professor at Nanzan University, Japan)

Abstract:

Launched in 2012, enPiT (Education Network for Practical Information Technologies) is a nationwide educational network in Japan, aiming to provide practical IT subprograms to undergraduate and graduate students. Over a span of nearly 10 years, the efforts of almost 200 universities and over 200 companies have resulted in more than 6,000 graduates. In this presentation, we will introduce the activities and results of enPiT.

Short Biography:

KATSURO INOUE received the Ph.D. degree from Osaka University, in 1984. He was an Associate Professor with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, from 1984 to 1986. After becoming an Assistant Professor at Osaka University, in 1986, he was a Professor, from 1995 to 2022. He is currently a Professor at Nanzan University. His research interests include software engineering, especially software maintenance, software reuse, empirical approach, program analysis, code clone detection, and software license/copyright analysis.

Keynote Speakers