Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry through Students’ Contributions to the FIWARE European Open-Source Initiative: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Although many courses in computer science and software engineering require students to work on practical assignments, these are usually toy projects that do not come close to real professional developments. As such, recent graduates often fail to meet industry expectations when they first enter the workforce. In view of the gap between graduates’ skills and industry expectations, several institutions have resorted to integrating open-source software development as part of their programs. In this pilot study, we report on the results of the contributions of eleven students to the FIWARE open-source project as part of their final year project. Our findings suggest that both teachers and students have a positive perception towards contributing to the FIWARE open-source initiative and that students increased their knowledge of technologies valued by the industry. We also found that this kind of project requires an additional initial effort for the students as well as for the instructor to monitor their progress. Consequently, it is important that the instructors have previous experience in FIWARE, as many of the students need help during the process.