ACM/IEEE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMPUTING CURRICULA AND THE NEEDS OF THE POLISH CS INDUSTRY

Due to the rapid development of CS (Computer Science) and the limitations of the Higher Education (HE) dedicated to CS specialists, a deepening gap is observed between the needs of the CS industry and the supply of CS specialists in the labour market. Therefore, universities should educate CS professionals in the competencies required by the market. University curriculum should be dynamically adapted to the rapidly changing needs of the CS industry. That is one of reasons why university-industry cooperation is necessary.

Two organizations (Association for Computing Machinery – ACM and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - IEEE) carry out research and on this basis set standards for Computing Curricula. The results are then used by many universities all over the world. Computing Curricula has been divided by ACM/IEEE into five different sub-disciplines. These are curricula proposals which should be used in the process of adapting HE in the field of CS to the requirements of local and global industry.

This paper presents the research methodology and the results of surveys carried out among the CS industry in the region of Lublin, Poland, which are designed to indicate the directions of change in training undergraduates in CS at the Lublin University of Technology (LUT). The survey contains, according to ACM/IEEE Computing Curricula, two types of topics: related to the computer science field and beyond this area, such as business models or soft skills.

The study attempts to determine by using the ACM/IEEE curricula standards the CS knowledge areas in which specialists are needed for CS industry. The study also covers areas that are extended the most recent ACM/IEE Computing Curricula Areas, Disciplines and Standards. The research results indicate the directions of the development of the CS curricula at the LUT in relation to the ACM/IEEE curricula. The research methodology and studies results can be useful for other universities facing the problem of adapting curricula to the needs of the contemporary CS market.