As the demand for CS/IT jobs increases, so does the enrollment of students in Computer Science and IT-related curriculums. Yet there is a problem with the approach that many universities take with teaching students that often involves using outdated technologies and methodologies. What are some of these problems?

• Failure to cover Agile Methodology (Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, etc.)
• Failure to cover source control systems (git, svn, cvs, etc.)
• Failure to cover a wide array of programming languages

It is very difficult for universities to keep up with the ever changing field of technology. Many students, once they graduate, have trouble finding the experience they need to land that first entry-level job. This kind of problem cannot easily be solved by any university or college. Overcoming this issue is something that has to be done by gaining that experience on the job.

Exposure to Client Specific Technologies

Any client can have a different array of technologies that are specific to them. This means that a developer has to adjust to that suite of technologies. Colleges cannot cover all the possible tech stacks out there, but real-world job experience can help prepare for what to expect.

Exposure to Agile Workflow

By working with clients directly, trainees can get exposed to how the agile methodology works on a practical basis. They will gain the necessary insight from direct, daily experience working with the client inside an agile framework . This gives trainees the opportunity to gain understanding of how work is organized, assigned, and communicated, as well as how requirements may change after work has been started, all of which is difficult to provide in a college environment but necessary experience for a developer to gain .

Working with a Client

By working with clients directly, trainees can get the soft skills they need. Soft skills can include how to interact with the client and how to work with a team on an actual project. In addition, this gives the trainee the opportunity to develop real code that can be used in live production. This can show a trainee how specific coding concepts can be applied to real use cases.

Of course having said all of this, one of the biggest challenges is of course gaining that experience in the first place. At Fenway Group, we provide students with the ability to work with clients learning new technologies while they attend the university courses needed to obtain their CS/IT degree.

Developing the Next Generation of Technologists