Evaluation of an employer-led undergraduate extracurricular software engineering programme

This paper presents an evaluation of an employer-led extracurricular software engineering programme designed to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry practice. The initiative, delivered in partnership with a digital technology company, engaged undergraduate computing students in an eight-week agile challenge. Participants worked in mentored teams to address real-world, socially relevant software development problems, progressing through iterative sprints that culminated in the delivery of a minimum viable product. The programme aimed to enhance students’ technical skills, teamwork, and professional readiness by exposing them to agile workflows, collaborative tooling, and industry expectations. Each team was supported by a recent graduate or placement student mentor, fostering a relatable and supportive learning environment. Topics tackled by the student teams included ethical AI, digital accessibility, misinformation, and environmental sustainability. A post-programme survey was used to gather quantitative feedback from participants. Responses indicated positive outcomes in programming confidence, collaboration, and the application of agile methods. However, the programme also faced challenges common to sustained extracurricular efforts, including attendance attrition and the need to reorganize teams mid-programme due to student dropout. Despite these limitations, the programme provided a meaningful experiential learning opportunity and served as a platform for developing industry-aligned competencies. This study contributes to growing efforts to design scalable, practice-informed extracurricular learning experiences that better prepare software engineering students for the demands of the modern workforce.