Quality assurance in higher education

Learning programming without quality assurance is like driving a car without brakes - it works for a short time, but usually ends in a crash. At Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, testing is not taught as a separate lecture, but is an integral part of the study culture: measuring performance from week one, resource-saving infrastructure instead of wasting hardware, and the question of whether it really has to be JSON or whether a simple CSV is enough. The goal: students should not only be able to code, but also understand what is happening - before the AI does it for them.

Podcast Episode: Quality assurance in higher education

What does the curriculum for software engineering, IT systems integration and computer science at universities of applied sciences look like today? What topics are taught - and how? What is emphasized and how is the subject matter accepted and implemented by the students? Karin answers these and other questions and also explains what measures her university has taken with regard to sustainability.

“Someone said to me the other day that we no longer need junior consultants. AI can do that.” - Karin Vosseberg

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karin Vosseberg has been a university lecturer at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences since 2009, specializing in IT system integration and software engineering. She is committed to the integration of software quality assurance, sustainability in software development and digital sovereignty in curricula. She is a strong advocate for gender equality in STEM degree programs and is a member of specialist groups of the German Informatics Society and the Forum Computer Scientists for Peace and Social Responsibility. She has also been a member of the ASQF Executive Committee since 2015.

Highlights der Episode

• Quality assurance cannot be learned from books - only through practical measurement, automation and failure.
• Students do not view AI-generated solutions critically because they lack the basics for evaluation.
• Sustainability does not work as an extra topic, but as part of everyday life: Docker limits instead of unlimited cloud resources.
• Test automation is implemented blindly - nobody asks whether the automated tests are useful at all.
• Terminals instead of GUIs: If you don’t think with interfaces, you won’t build automatable systems later on.

Quality assurance in higher education: Sustainability meets software development

In this episode, we delve into the world of quality assurance in higher education, with a particular focus on the integration of sustainability and the practical application of these principles in the context of software development.

QA in higher education

Today we are focusing on a topic that is extremely important for both students and teachers: quality assurance in higher education. My guest today is Karin Vosseberg from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. Karin brings a wealth of experience and insight to share with us. What does quality assurance mean in this particular educational context? Find out in this in-depth discussion.

Quality assurance meets sustainability

Karin emphasizes how crucial it is to integrate quality assurance practices into university teaching. “It’s not just about testing the functionality of a program or application,” explains Karin. “It’s about a holistic understanding of quality that includes non-functional requirements such as sustainability.” This view reflects a trend in which sustainability is increasingly coming into focus - not only as an ecological concept, but also as an integral part of software development and education.

The challenges of attractiveness

One of the central topics of our conversation was the perception of quality assurance among students. As Karin notes, quality assurance is often not considered the “sexiest” topic among young developers. This is because many students tend to focus on rewriting software rather than the important role of quality assurance and testing procedures. However, through continuous educational work and practical examples, Karin and her colleagues are increasingly succeeding in changing this perception.

Practical implementation in the curriculum

Karin goes on to explain how she and her team at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences have developed practical approaches to integrating quality assurance practices into the curriculum: “We try to make it clear to our students from the outset that quality is an integral part of the software development process.” Through projects, lab work and special events, students are encouraged to engage with different aspects of quality assurance - from writing robust code tests to addressing non-functional quality criteria such as performance and scalability.

Sustainability as a leitmotif

A recurring theme in our conversation is the concept of sustainability. Karin shares with us her conviction that sustainability goes beyond ecological awareness and is directly linked to the way we develop and test software. She emphasizes the importance of a resource-efficient development environment and a critical approach to the consumption of resources by software products. She conveys this perspective to her students through practical exercises and projects.