SACLA 2017: ICT Education pp 192-205 | Cite as

Industry versus Post-graduate Studies: CS and IS Alumni Perceptions

  • André P. Calitz
  • Jean H. Greyling
  • Margaret Cullen
Conference paper
First Online:
Part of the Communications in Computer and Information Science book series (CCIS, volume 730)

Abstract

Students graduating from Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) departments face the question whether to go into the industry or whether to continue at university with postgraduate studies. The IT industry is currently experiencing a severe skill shortage, and recruitment agencies and recruitment websites are advertising posts for more than \(10'000\) IT job vacancies in South Africa. Academics, at the same time, encourage capable graduates to continue with their studies at university. This paper focuses on CS and IS graduates and postgraduates’ (alumni) perceptions and their surveyed opinions regarding the decision to work in industry or complete post-graduate studies. Our advice, on the basis of our survey, could assist academic CS/IS departments in providing better guidance to students completing their B.Sc. studies from the perspective of graduates who already work in the IT industry.

Keywords

Industry career Postgraduate studies Alumni perceptions 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. 1.
    Baruch, Y., Bell, M.P., Gray, D.: Generalist and specialist graduate business degrees: tangible and intangible value. J. Vocat. Behav. 67(1), 51–68 (2005)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. 2.
    Beidler, J.: Assessment: an alumni survey. In: 32nd Annual Conference on Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education. IEEE (2002)Google Scholar
  3. 3.
    Blass, E., Jasman, A., Shelley, S.: Postgraduate research students: you are the future of the academy. Futures 44(2), 166–173 (2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. 4.
    Boisot, M.: Knowledge Assets: Securing Competitive Advantage in the Information Economy. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1998)Google Scholar
  5. 5.
    Calitz, A.P., Greyling, J.H., Cullen, M.D.: South African industry ICT graduate skills requirements. In: Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Conference on Southern African Computer Lecturers’ Association, SACLA’2014, pp. 25–26 (2014)Google Scholar
  6. 6.
    Calitz, A.P., Greyling, J., Glaum, A.: CS and IS alumni post-graduate course and supervision perceptions. In: Gruner, S. (ed.) SACLA 2016. CCIS, vol. 642, pp. 115–122. Springer, Cham (2016).  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47680-3_11 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Glaum, A.: Alumni perceptions of the NMMU department of computing sciences. Technical report, Nelson Mandela University (2016)Google Scholar
  8. 8.
    Gonçalves, G.R., Ferreira, A.A., de Assis, G.T., Tavares, A.I.: Gathering alumni information from a web social network. In: Proceedings of the 9th Latin American Web Congress, LA-WEB, pp. 100–108. IEEE (2014)Google Scholar
  9. 9.
    Gruner, S.: How big is your IT department? S. Afr. Comput. J. 38, 62–63 (2007)Google Scholar
  10. 10.
    Hippler, H. (ed.): Ingenieurspromotion—Stärken und Qualitätssicherung: Beiträge eines gemeinsamen Symposiums von Acatech, TU9, ARGE TU/TH und 4ING. Springer, Heidelberg (2011).  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23662-4 Google Scholar
  11. 11.
    Kiley, M.: Developments in research supervisor training: causes and responses. Stud. High. Educ. 36(5), 585–599 (2011)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. 12.
    Kim, H.W., Kwak, S.M.: Linkage of knowledge management to decision support: a systems dynamics approach. Technical report, National University of Singapore (2002)Google Scholar
  13. 13.
    Le, Q.: E-Portfolio for enhancing graduate research supervision. Qual. Assur. Educ. 20(1), 54–65 (2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    Lee, H.F., Miozzo, M., Laredo, P.: Career patterns and competences of PhDs in science and engineering in the knowledge economy: the case of graduates from a UK research-based university. Res. Policy 39(7), 869–881 (2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. 15.
    Lending, D., Mathieu, R.G.: Workforce preparation and ABET assessment. In: Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference on Computer Personnel Research, pp. 136–141. ACM (2010)Google Scholar
  16. 16.
    Litalien, D., Guay, F., Morin, A.J.: Motivation for PhD studies: scale development and validation. Learn. Individ. Differ. 41, 1–13 (2015)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. 17.
    McGourty, J., Besterfield-Sacre, M., Shuman, L.J., Wolfe, H.: Improving academic programs by capitalizing on alumni’s perceptions and experiences. In: 29th Annual Conference on Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education. IEEE (1999)Google Scholar
  18. 18.
    Mijic, D.: Design, implementation, and evaluation of a web-based system for alumni data collection. E. Soc. J. Res. Appl. 3(2), 25–32 (2012)Google Scholar
  19. 19.
    Mijic, D., Jankovic, D.: Towards improvement of the study programme quality: alumni tracking information system. In: Kocarev, L. (ed.) ICT Innovations 2011. AINSC, vol. 150, pp. 291–300. Springer, Heidelberg (2012).  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28664-3_27 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. 20.
    Mueller, E.F., Flickinger, M., Dorner, V.: Knowledge junkies or careerbuilders? A mixed-methods approach to exploring the determinants of students’ intention to earn a PhD. J. Vocat. Behav. 90, 75–89 (2015)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. 21.
    Ng, A.K., Koo, A.C., Ho, W.J.: The motivations and added values of embarking on postgraduate professional education: evidences from the maritime industry. Transp. Policy 16(5), 251–258 (2009)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. 22.
    Pinto, L.H., Ramalheira, D.C.: Perceived employability of business graduates: the effect of academic performance and extracurricular activities. J. Vocat. Behav. 99, 165–178 (2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. 23.
    Rudež, H.N.: Intellectual capital—a fundamental change in economy: a case based on service industries. In: 5th International Conference on Proceedings of the Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management. University of Primorska (2004)Google Scholar
  24. 24.
    Schneider, S.C., Niederjohn, R.: Assessing student learning outcomes using graduating senior exit surveys and alumni surveys. In: Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference. IEEE (1995)Google Scholar
  25. 25.
    Steele, A., Cleland, S.: Staying LinkedIn with ICT graduates and industry. In: Proceedings of the ITX, pp. 8–10 (2014)Google Scholar
  26. 26.
    Vioreanu, D.: 7 very good reasons to do an MBA. Technical report, MastersPortal (2017)Google Scholar
  27. 27.
    Wiegerová, A.: A study of the motives of doctoral students. Proc.-Soc. Behav. Sci. 217, 123–131 (2016)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. 28.
    Wybo, J.L., van Wassenhove, W.: Preparing graduate students to be HSE professionals. Saf. Sci. 81, 25–34 (2016)CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • André P. Calitz
    • 1
  • Jean H. Greyling
    • 1
  • Margaret Cullen
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Computing SciencesNelson Mandela UniversityPort ElizabethSouth Africa
  2. 2.Business SchoolNelson Mandela UniversityPort ElizabethSouth Africa

Personalised recommendations