SOFTWARE FACTORY: A PROFESSIONAL TEST WITH REAL RESULTS Posted by: root | Nov. 16, 2017, 7:14 p.m. ( 6 years, 6 months ago)

Do I really have to learn these things? What do I need it for? How am I going to use this in my work? These are recurring questions within the universe of students from various areas and levels of education. A proposal, within the IFC Araquari, caused this to be answered in the day to day of students of the courses of the area of informatics.

Since 2013, a new path has been opened for the academic and professional training of students of computer science courses, from the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina Campus Araquari. Openings have been opened for a more comprehensive and complete training, which includes professional practice, just like in the labor market, only mediated by the teaching environment. This possibility was provided by the creation of the Software Factory, a learning space that includes daily routines of a professional connected to Information Technologies (IT) and executes projects according to the real demands of partners.

It is possible to affirm that the Software Factory serves as a "professional essay" for the students of the Technical courses in Informatics and Bachelor of Information Systems (BSI). The purpose of this environment is to serve as a catalyst for experiences in teaching, research and extension. This, through the monitoring of the process of student training and anticipating their contact with professional activities.

By using theoretical concepts, the Factory guides students in the adoption of techniques and tools that allow them to analyze, evaluate, design, develop and deploy IT solutions. Therefore, one of the great strengths of this proposal is the certification that the concepts presented in the classroom are being applied to the development of solutions. That is, if the knowledge passed in the classroom is not being applied, it is possible to check and adapt both the classes and the execution of the projects by the students.

THE PRACTICAL ACTION OF THE SOFTWARE FACTORY

Aspects such as team management, training and even social actions are encouraged and promoted within the scope of action of the Software Factory. In addition, it acts to provide conditions for the establishment of partnerships between the IFC and other institutions, be they educational, governmental or business.

There are already 13 projects completed within the Software Factory in its four years of existence, either with internal demands, coming from partnerships with the City of Joinville or the Rectory of the IFC, for example. This educational proposal reaches the whole region, as it is possible to visualize with the current projects under construction, for Detrans (Joinville), ISSEM (Jaraguá do Sul), Project management system, Vertical jump analysis, IFC Portal (Rectory) and Automatic Irrigation.

Today, there are 18 higher education students and three high school students working directly in the six projects in the implementation phase. These students are coordinated by a "manager", who is also a student of the courses of the institution, and has the function of monitoring the progress of all proposals approved for execution. In addition, each project has a teacher responsible for guidance. For the management of the entire structure of the Software Factory, there is a collegiate of responsible teachers, composed of the teachers of the Bachelor's degree in Information Systems.

The desktop consists of 20 computers, two arduino kits, a weather station, a 3D printer and four tablets. The whole structure of this teaching environment revolves around the intellectual and work force of the members of IFC Araquari's internal community, using exclusively free software technology for the development of solutions.

Proof of the effectiveness of actions such as this is a 40% higher rate of students who, after passing through the Software Factory, complete the course in IFC, compared to those who did not have this experience. Proposals such as this show how the knowledge can be used in practice, without extra costs for professional training and generating good results for the student environment and also for the companies that receive their projects in operation.

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Information: Vanessa Rolim
Text and images: CECOM / Araquari