A study on the contribution of the Science Without Borders Program to the development of behavioral competencies in software engineering

Abstract

Behavioral competencies relate to knowledge, attitudes and non-technical skills associated to the social, personal and cognitive areas. Behavioral competencies are as important as technical skills regarding the success of any software project. Many times, these skills are strongly linked to the achievement of tasks performed by software engineers. Some ways of developing these skills are related to personal exposure to new challenges and situations. The Science Without Borders (CSF) is a program which aims, among other objectives, to encourage, practice and develop non-technical skills in the Brazilians’ science students. The graduation in Software Engineering is one of the Brazilian courses that can make use of this program. However, what are the real benefits related to behavioral competencies for Software Engineering students who participate in CSF academic exchange project? The present document aims to answer this question by mapping the essential behavioral competencies for Software Engineering students and verifying how the CsF affects them. The verification of how former FCTE‘s Software Engineering students observe the development of these type of competencies was obtained by a survey. According to the results of this project, the students believe that not only do they communicate better in portuguese, but also in different languages, they’ve acquired a better critical thinking ability, also they‘re more responsible and sensible to different cultures. Summarizing it, in their perspectives the CSF experience gave the support to the development oF some important behavioral competencies expected for a software engineer.