Computer Science Education in Japan Bush, M. E. (2004). Computer science education in Japan. CACM, 47(8),

Public or Private?  Over 70% of university students attend private universities  Over 90% of college students attend private colleges  By comparison, less than 30% of U.S. undergraduates are in private universities  How does the funding affect the education?  Over 70% of university students attend private universities  Over 90% of college students attend private colleges  By comparison, less than 30% of U.S. undergraduates are in private universities  How does the funding affect the education?

Computer Science Education  First introduced in 1970  Over 130 undergraduate programs  Over 100 postgraduate programs  Until 1997, mostly hardware focus  First introduced in 1970  Over 130 undergraduate programs  Over 100 postgraduate programs  Until 1997, mostly hardware focus

IPSJ Guidelines 1. Computer science fundamentals 2. Programming fundamentals 3. Discrete mathematics 4. Computing algorithms 5. Probability and information theory 6. Basic logic 7. Digital logic 8. Formal language and automata theory 9. Data structures 10. Computer architecture 11. Programming languages 12. Operating systems 13. Compilers 14. Databases 15. Software engineering 16. Human-computer interfaces 1. Computer science fundamentals 2. Programming fundamentals 3. Discrete mathematics 4. Computing algorithms 5. Probability and information theory 6. Basic logic 7. Digital logic 8. Formal language and automata theory 9. Data structures 10. Computer architecture 11. Programming languages 12. Operating systems 13. Compilers 14. Databases 15. Software engineering 16. Human-computer interfaces

Student Culture  Relatively homogenous  Uniform level of knowledge in math and physics due to entrance exams  Relatively homogenous  Uniform level of knowledge in math and physics due to entrance exams

Faculty Culture  Largely ex-students of departments  Usual arrangement: lab with about 20 students  Mix of Ph.D., master ’ s, and final-year project students  Collaborative atmosphere  Largely ex-students of departments  Usual arrangement: lab with about 20 students  Mix of Ph.D., master ’ s, and final-year project students  Collaborative atmosphere

IPSJ Milestones in Software Engineering  Structured Programming  Use of tree structures for processing files  Solution of a problem in concurrent programming control  Programming semantics for multiprogrammed computations  An axiomatic basis for computer programming  A relational model of data for large shared databases  Program development by stepwise refinement  A technique for software module specification with examples  Communicating sequential processes  Structured Programming  Use of tree structures for processing files  Solution of a problem in concurrent programming control  Programming semantics for multiprogrammed computations  An axiomatic basis for computer programming  A relational model of data for large shared databases  Program development by stepwise refinement  A technique for software module specification with examples  Communicating sequential processes

What may need to change?  Curriculum  Educational methods  Credit system  Degrees  Quality level  Methods of evaluation  Curriculum  Educational methods  Credit system  Degrees  Quality level  Methods of evaluation

Environmental Changes  Recession and reduced employment  Shrinking population of student ages: 2M (1994) -> 1.5M (now) -> 1.19M (2012)  Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE) established 1999, working with IPSJ on inspection and accreditation of specific courses  Recession and reduced employment  Shrinking population of student ages: 2M (1994) -> 1.5M (now) -> 1.19M (2012)  Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE) established 1999, working with IPSJ on inspection and accreditation of specific courses