Carmen Romero Ternero, Senior Technical Director of the University of Seville. Photo: Abel Padrón Padilla/Cubadebate
As part of Uciencia 2023, the International Vocational Education Symposium on Friday morning focused on higher education for professionals in the field of computer technology. The main conference, moderated by Carmen Romero Ternero, Senior Technical Director of the University of Seville, highlighted the responsibility of universities to educate socially conscious citizens, focusing not only on technical aspects but also on ethical issues.
During the conference, three major challenges for computer science students were identified. First, the speed of development of technologies, which requires constant updating and adjustment by professionals. In second place is the gap between the genders, as the presence of women in computer science remains low worldwide. And thirdly, the need to consider the human perspective and the social impact of technology.
Various strategies have been proposed to address these challenges. First, it highlighted the importance of agility and awareness for teachers to stay current. In addition, the need to find the appropriate level of content abstraction to avoid obsolescence and maintain high standards of basic skills was emphasized.
The use of active learning methods, such as project-based learning, which enable the introduction of conceptual and technological innovations was recommended. A stronger link between teaching, research and knowledge transfer was also promoted and the implementation of extracurricular activities to promote constant updating was suggested.
Regarding the gender gap, it was found that only 28 percent of engineering graduates are women and in Spain only 13 percent of IT professionals are women. In addition, there were warnings about the low presence of women in specialist positions and in companies in the sector. To address this issue, the importance of attracting women to computer science and fostering students’ self-esteem and assertiveness was emphasized. It was also urged to make them allies to promote their visibility and the growth of female references in the industry.
Romero Ternero also emphasized the need to change the product-centered paradigm to a person-centered paradigm. In addition to technical skills, the importance of developing skills such as human-centered design, the ability to work multidisciplinary, emotional intelligence and the ability to adapt to changing environments was also highlighted.