Across various countries and jurisdictions, we have seen reports of a “graduate skills gap”, with higher-than-desired graduate unemployment and underemployment, as well as reports from employers that there is a mismatch between the competencies desired by employers and those evidenced by graduates. Graduate employment prospects are related to many complex intersecting factors, including human capital, individual attributes, individual career-building behaviours, labour market factors, and social capital. Alongside the graduate skills gap, there are also reports internationally of a “digital skills gap”, with increasing demand for digital skills and a proclaimed shortage of diverse digital skills evidenced by the workforce. These circumstances appear to promote positive employment outcomes for computing graduates. However, there are reports in many jurisdictions, including the UK, of skills-gap-related issues for computing graduates. In response to these concerns, curricula guidance in the computing and engineering disciplines are increasingly promoting competency-based education (CBE) to develop graduates' work readiness better and, hence, reduce the skills gap. Authentic Assessment, i.e. Assessment that addresses important problems or questions that require students to effectively and creatively apply their knowledge and disciplinary and personal skills, mirroring the challenges faced by adults or professionals in the real-world context, has also been advocated to reduce skills gaps between education and professional life. However, the link between CBE and Authentic Assessment in the computing discipline could benefit from further exploration. This paper explores the relationship between CBE and authentic assessment. Based on the guiding research question: “How can authentic assessment be employed to promote competency in computing degree programmes?”, the paper begins by providing theoretical underpinnings in the form of working definitions for competency and authentic assessment and the link between the two. This paper follows a proof-of-concept research approach conducted by evolutionary prototyping to develop a framework for exploring the relationship between authentic assessment and competency. The paper documents the validation of the framework by applying it to examples of practices from UK universities involved in the study. These illustrative examples show the framework in action. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the framework promotes learner competency development by authentic assessment. This approach has implications for enhancing how computing graduates address digital skills gaps and has the potential to be customised and adopted more broadly across STEM disciplines.

The ITiCSE '23 final keynote raised teaching soft skills, or professional dispositions, to help students face challenges in modern programming. This project addresses helping computing students develop professional dispositions through collaborative learning (CL) since some in the industry observe entry-level engineers struggling due to their fragile professional dispositions. We are motivated to understand professional expectations from entry-level engineers and present the academia-industry gap to support practitioners and researchers in advancing CL in Computing Education, encouraging positive curricula and policy changes that promote DEIA. We will present CL practices alongside their supported professional dispositions to assist practitioners in adoption. We will present the academia-industry gap in CL for future research opportunities, helping researchers advance CL practices to integrate professional dispositions the industry expects from entry-level engineers.

Many factors influence computing graduate employment prospects, including human capital, social capital, individual attributes, individual career-building behaviours, perceived employability, and labour market factors. Whilst most computing graduates go on to be beneficially employed, a small minority remain under-employed or unemployed. Computing curricular recommendations increasingly advocate a competency-based approach to bolster graduates' perceived employability. Hence, the discipline is evolving to incorporate competency-based approaches. However, competency-based can mean any of three different types of competency: technical, personal and professional. Technical Competency is the ability to apply acquired content knowledge and skills to develop solutions to unseen problems. Personal Competency is the personal behaviours and interpersonal skills required for success in the modern workplace. Professional Competency is Technical and Personal combined and applied in a real-world context.

Finding professional employment continues to challenge a minority of computing graduates, with graduate unemployment and underemployment being higher than ideal in many jurisdictions worldwide. Exploring the viewpoints of recently appointed Computing Graduates and their Employers is the focus of a UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Collaborative Enhancement project, in which seven UK Universities are employing workshops with graduates and employers to explore the idealised learner-earner journey. This poster presents preliminary findings from one university, providing insights into effective current practices, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. The insights emerging from this study can help inform future sector practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused both significant disruption and catalysed extensive experimentation in how education has been and may be delivered worldwide. The discipline of computing has been part of this experimentation, and significant innovations have been implemented and disseminated. Furthermore, educational provision and learner expectations may have evolved in response to the experiences during the pandemic; whilst still subject to disruption, higher education in many jurisdictions is still returning to a new (ab)normal. In the UK, whilst there has been a return to traditional face-to-face delivery, one estimate suggests that nearly a third of courses continue to involve some hybrid learning as opposed to about 5% before the pandemic. Learners' preferences for delivery approach remains critical and has been explored in previous work predominately by survey-based approach. This single UK institutional case study explores learner preferences by using workshops (N=45 students across ten workshops) which aspires to co-create an understanding of issues and benefits of the learning, teaching and assessment approaches adopted in the pandemic and identify preferences for future directions. The workshops employed the sailboat retrospective template; they suggest that the preferences are varied but commonly include some face-to-face study and that digital exclusion, social engagement, and motivation/distraction are vital factors to be addressed for further adoption of hybrid or online learning.

In the UK, a thriving computer science education community of practice is emerging, supported by national and international professional body/learned society specialist interest groups, and being developed through relevant research and practice conferences. A key group within this emerging community of practice are early career academics who are required to overcome significant obstacles in the early stages of their academic career, from developing an independent research career, delivering high quality learning and teaching, continuing their own professional development, alongside wider academic service commitments. Institutional-level, but generally subject-agnostic, support for early career colleagues in the UK is supplemented by nationwide developmental sessions and initiatives such as journal clubs. This poster reports on a developing pilot scheme to support early career CS academics through cross-institutional mentoring from experienced academics, as well as buddying groups of similar career stage colleagues.

This paper presents the findings from a research project exploring the impact of learner resilience as part of the shift to online delivery of learning, teaching and assessment amidst national "lockdown" measures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This exploration of resilience was undertaken as part of the delivery of a first-year undergraduate computer science degree programme in a UK higher education institution over two academic years. Resilience was measured by the Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire (NMRQ). The responses from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 student cohorts (N=214) illustrate that overall learner resilience as measured by NMRQ does not appear to have had a significant impact upon learner success as measured by the mean overall first-year performance. This is an outcome that differs from previous work and may be a consequence of the disruptive (and ongoing) circumstances arising from the pandemic. However, this work identifies that the factor "I try to control events rather than being a victim of my circumstances" appears to promote success and the factor "I trust my intuition" may have been slightly detrimental to overall success. As we start to consider the post-pandemic new (ab)normal, learners will continue to face significant personal challenges that will impact upon their engagement with their studies and their performance and progression; thus the insights offered from this UK university study can help to inform emerging academic and pastoral practice for undergraduate computer science education.

Professional accreditation in medicine and religious organizations started in the 1800s; business and engineering followed in the early 1900s. Program accreditation in computing commenced in the 1980s after computer science, informatics, and information systems programs had become widespread. In 2008, accrediting bodies in eight countries signed the Seoul Accord to set up mutual recognition of professional computing degrees. Although competency-based learning has existed for centuries, it has only made headway in computing in the last dozen years. Computing Curricula 2020 defined competency as the amalgamation of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This working group report examines professional accreditation in computing, exploring aspects of professional accreditation criteria that support competency-based learning. The report will help educators understand professional accreditation and competency-based learning worldwide. Finally, it will also guide future efforts contributing to competency-based accreditation.

Team-based software development projects where teams of learners design and develop software artefacts are common in computing-related degree programmes in the UK and other jurisdictions. Peer assessment is a commonly used approach to ensure learners are fairly recognised and rewarded for their contributions to such projects. This poster presents a preliminary study analysing the relationship between peer marking using the Team-Q rubric and peer feedback from one cohort using open coding and sentiment analysis. The preliminary results from a UK institutional study (N=124) illustrate how learner behaviours within teams appear to impact upon peer scores and the sentiment and intensity of emotion expressed in peer feedback. Additionally, the results provide valuable insights into common behaviours within teams. Given the prominence of team projects in computing curricula, the insights offered from this UK institutional study can shape and inform future learning, teaching and assessment practice.

There exists a significant gap between the requirements specified within higher education qualifications and the requirements sought by employers. The former, commonly expressed in terms of learning outcomes, provide a measure of capability, of what skills have been learnt (an input measure); the latter, commonly expressed in terms of role descriptions, provide a measure of competency, of what a learner has become skilful in (an output measure). Accreditation traditionally provides a way of translating and embedding industry-relevant content into education programmes but current approaches make fully addressing this requirements gap, referred to here as the Capability-Competency Chasm, very difficult. This paper explores current efforts to address this global challenge, primarily through STEM examples that apply within the United Kingdom and European Union, before proposing a way of bridging this chasm through the use of a 21stCentury (C21) skills taxonomy. The concept of C21 Skills Hours as a new input measurement for learning within qualifications is introduced, and an illustrative example is presented to show the C21 skills taxonomy in action. The paper concludes with a discussion of how such a taxonomy can also be used to support a microcredentialing framework that aligns to existing competency frameworks, enabling formal, non-formal and informal learning to all be recognized. A C21 Skills taxonomy can therefore be used to bridge the gap between capability (input) and competency (output), providing a common language both for learning and demonstrating a skill. This approach has profound implications for addressing current and future skills gaps as well as for supporting a transition to more personalised learning within schools, colleges and universities and more lifelong learning both during and outside of employment.

The early career of a computer science (CS) academic in the UK is increasingly challenging in terms of balancing research aspirations, learning and teaching responsibilities, wider academic service commitments, alongside their own professional development. The development of an early-career CS academic is mediated in part by the strength of the community of practice with which they are able to access and engage. And not just ones that operate within their department or institution; but also communities of practice that exist at a national and international level, often through professional bodies, learned societies and research networks. This poster presents the emerging work-in-progress to address some of these social, cultural and structural challenges in developing a CS education community of practice in the UK. Building on recent work, we identify a number of specific actions and recommendations to supplement the current formal institutional requirements with enhanced national-level academic practice support and professional development, alongside local and regional professional mentoring.

This poster presents the preliminary findings from a research project exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learner resilience from the shift to online delivery of learning and teaching amidst national social "lockdown" measures. This exploration of resilience was undertaken as part of the delivery of the first-year undergraduate computer science degree programme in a UK university. Resilience was measured by the Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire (NMRQ) and three open-ended questions exploring what has supported their study most during the COVID-19 pandemic, what had been the greatest challenge, and how that challenge was resolved. The preliminary results of this survey (N=103) illustrate how learner responses differed to the delivery depending upon their measured resilience level. Additionally, the results provide valuable insight into learners' perceptions of the challenges of online learning, teaching and assessment. Given the continued impact on educational settings from COVID-19, online/blended learning is likely to remain a significant feature of future delivery; hence the insights offered from this UK institutional study can inform future sector practice.

This poster shares the progress related to an evaluation of computer science degree professional body accreditation, framed through an ongoing national review in the United Kingdom (UK). While this review substantially focuses on the UK, other countries, including South Africa and Ireland, have adopted a similar accreditation regime; furthermore, this work is evaluated in the context of the Washington Accord review, taking into account the memorandum's impetus for increased consistency in the UK. In parallel with this international review, the UK's Engineering Council is seeking to enhance and modernise the processes and procedures for degree accreditation (which includes the award of the protected professional title "Chartered Engineer") and the introduction of the new set of accreditation expectations on approved institutions. The review includes consideration of the value of accreditation to universities, students and employers. It was initiated in 2016 following two major national reviews looking at computer science and wider STEM degree accreditation. The intent is to better understand the value of professional body accreditation in computer science, as well as how to co-create improved outcomes for all accreditation stakeholders.

This Innovative Practice Full Paper explores the diversity of challenges relating to the teaching of cybersecurity in UK higher education degree programmes, through the lens of national policy, to the impact on pedagogy and practice. There is a serious demand for cybersecurity specialists, both in the UK and globally; there is thus significant and growing higher education provision related to specialist undergraduate and postgraduate courses focusing on varying aspects of cybersecurity. To make our digital systems and products more secure, all in IT need to know some cybersecurity - thus, there is a case for depth as well as breadth; this is not a new concern, but it is a growing one. Delivering cybersecurity effectively across general computer science programmes presents a number of challenges related to pedagogy, resources, faculty and infrastructure, as well as responding to industry requirements. Computer science and cognate engineering disciplines are evolving to meet these demands - both at school-level, as well as at university - however, doing so is not without challenges. This paper explores the progress made to date in the UK, building on previous work in cybersecurity education and accreditation by highlighting key challenges and opportunities, as well as identifying a number of enhancement activities for use by the international cybersecurity education community. It frames these challenges through concerns with the quality and availability of underpinning educational resources, the competencies and skills of faculty (especially focusing on pedagogy, progression and assessment), and articulating the necessary technical resources and infrastructure related to delivering rigorous cybersecurity content in general computer science and cognate degrees. Though this critical evaluation of an emerging national case study of cybersecurity education in the UK, we also present a number of recommendations across policy and practice - from pedagogic principles and developing effective cybersecurity teaching practice, challenges in the recruitment, retention and professional development of faculty, to supporting diverse routes into post-compulsory cybersecurity education (and thus, diverse careers) - to provide the foundation for potential replicability and portability to other jurisdictions contemplating related education and skills reform initiatives and interventions.

This research-to-practice full paper examines stereotypes in government recommended textbooks in science, technology and mathematics textbooks in Nigeria. Globally, more men are studying and working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields than women. This imbalance is also the case in Nigeria. One contributor to this imbalance is stereotypical gender representation of scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technologists in popular media and career advertisement. Previous research indicates that stereotypes are also prevalent in educational materials used with young people. Given that the aspirations of young people are formed early in their educational journey, it is particularly pertinent to examine the gender bias in educational materials. As part of the DIGISTEM project, a World Bank-sponsored project in Nigeria, the aim of this study was to explore the level of gender bias in the images and language contained in the most frequently used science, technology, and mathematics textbooks recommended by the Nigerian Education Ministry. This study evaluated a total of 2116 visual and text references from 25 government recommended instructional materials. The analysis shows that males are significantly more represented in these resources than females. This study highlights that there is a stereotypical representation of scientists and engineers in primary school instructional materials as demonstrated by the imbalance portrayed in the examined textbooks. This paper concludes with an exploration of the implications of these findings on the educational sector and the need to provide a more inclusive approach to educational resources to enable young people to realise that STEM careers and subjects can be for people like them. This study took place in Nigeria; however, we recognise similar challenges and opportunities in a number of other jurisdictions which provides a foundation for replicability, portability and extension to this work.

This poster presents a model for the value provided by professional body accreditation of computer science degree programmes in the United Kingdom (UK). We introduce how one large UK professional computing body -- BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS)-- addresses degree accreditation, as well as recent changes to content and process. Whilst comparable accreditation regimes exist in a number of other jurisdictions, we provide the opportunity for exploring future extensions to, and the portability of, the UK model.

Many factors have been shown to be important for supporting effective learning and teaching -- and thus progression and success -- in higher education. While factors such as key introductory-level (CS1) knowledge and skills, as well as pre-university learning and qualifications, have been extensively explored, the impact of measures of positive psychology are less well understood for the discipline of computer science. University study can be a period of significant transition for many students; therefore an individual's positive psychology may have considerable impact upon their response to these challenges. This work investigates the relationships between effective learning and success (first-year performance and attendance) and two measures of positive psychology: Grit and the Nicolson McBride Resilience Quotient (NMRQ). Data was captured by integrating Grit (N=58) and Resilience (N=50) questionnaires and related coaching into the first-year of the undergraduate computer science programme at a single UK university. Analyses demonstrate that NMRQ is significantly linked to attendance and performance for individual subjects and year average marks; however, this was not the case for Grit. This suggests that development of targeted interventions to support students in further developing their resilience could support their learning, as well as progression and retention. Resilience could be used, in concert with other factors such as learning analytics, to augment a range of existing models to predict future student success, allowing targeted academic and pastoral support.

This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents a national case study-based analysis of the numerous dimensions to cybersecurity education and how they are prioritised, implemented and accredited; from understanding the interaction of hardware and software, moving from theory to practice (and vice versa), to human factors, policy and politics (as well as various other important facets). A multitude of model curricula and recommendations have been presented and discussed in international fora in recent years, with varying levels of impact on education, policy and practice. This paper address three key questions: i) what is taught and what should be taught for cybersecurity to general computer science students; ii) should cybersecurity be taught stand-alone or in an integrated manner to general computer science students; and iii) can accreditation by national professional, statutory and regulatory bodies enhance the provision of cybersecurity within a body's jurisdiction? Evaluating how cybersecurity is taught in all aspects of computer science is clearly a task of considerable size, one that is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead a case study-based research approach - primarily focusing on the UK - has been adopted to evaluate the evidence of the teaching of cybersecurity within general computer science to university-level students. Thus, in the context of widespread international computer science/engineering curriculum reform, what does this need to embed cybersecurity knowledge and skills mean more generally for institutions and educators, and how can we teach this subject more effectively? Through this UK case study, and by contrasting with related initiatives in the US, we demonstrate the positive effect that national accreditation requirements can have, and offer some recommendations both for future research and curriculum developments.