The Impact of the Model-Driven Approach to Software Engineering on Software Engineering Education

As businesses rely on software solutions to preserve their position in a highly competitive market, the need for reliable and robust software systems is vital. Lately, there has been a significant interest in building software using models as their main artifacts. Unlike traditional development techniques which tend to be code-centric, model driven approaches, such as the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standard, stress the usage of models at all levels of the software development life-cycle. The MDA, which is supported by the Object Management Group (OMG), is based on a comprehensive set of standards including MOF, UML, and OCL, to mention a few. This paradigm shift in software engineering has impacted not only the way software is built but also the way software engineering is being taught - The standards introduce a significant body of knowledge that should be integrated in a software engineering curriculum. In this paper, we discuss the impact of the model-driven software engineering approach on software education. This discussion is based on an experience teaching a graduate course on model-driven software engineering at Concordia University.