Every year, about 40 new participants join the Software Campus, while the previous class is still working on its projects and the class before is (slowly) finalizing its work. This means that around 100 researchers are actively part of the community simultaneously. In addition, there are representatives from our 19 industry and research partners, coming from specialized, innovation and HR departments, from management, multiple research chairs and third-party funding centers. To bring all these people who help in shaping the Software Campus program closely together and to make the network more accessible, the concept of Communities of Practice (CoPs) was newly established in 2024.
Collaborative exchange, innovative thinking and knowledge transfer
Based on the micro-research projects led by our participants in collaboration with an industry partner, eight thematic communities of practice were implemented, as well as one that is accessible for everyone with a special focus on entrepreneurship and career development. The goal is to specifically promote collaborative exchange, innovative thinking and knowledge transfer. Between 10 and 25 researchers are members of each community which cover areas like ‘Agile and Software Development’, ‘Hardware and Systems Engineering’ or ‘Data Science and Analysis’. In addition, there are representatives of industry partners who conduct internal research on these topics and develop and offer products and services.
With the launch of the first CoP ‘Natural Language Processing’ around 9 months ago, the CoP event calendar of our participants also filled up. Each new CoP starts with an online launch event, and other events are organized according to the wishes of the respective community members. In Project Discussion Rounds, participants present their research projects to discuss their progress and biggest challenges with other program participants. In Specialist Talks, partners share their experiences, e.g. on the challenges of using generative AI systems in real use cases, or on the influence of the EU AI Act on research. The largest workshop so far took place as part of Summit 2024. Around 80 participants and partner representatives discussed the biggest and most relevant challenge currently facing their area of research from various perspectives and developed ideas on how they, as a community of specialists, can contribute to positive developments.
Looking back and looking ahead
Dr Natalia Teixeira Silva from the Software Campus Management team has not only built up the communities but is constantly developing them further and providing impulses as a facilitator. Her conclusion of the past months: “The Software Campus network is very unique and has a great potential in developing young researchers. The Communities of Practice come to strengthen our sense of community and build new bridges. During our implementation year we had invaluable learnings, such as the varied interests and expectations in every different CoP, the levels of intensity and curiosity of the groups and how powerful the discussions can be. For the new season we expect new formats, more interactive events and a closer exchange with our industry partners.”
Natalia is also the author of the article series ‘Behind the Code’, which originates from the Communities. Readers gain insights into the Software Campus projects and new perspectives and strategies in the eyes of our partners. Participants report not only on their research, but also on their first experiences as project managers. The first two issues reported on the CoPs ‘NLP’ and ‘Computer Vision’, the third issue on ‘Cybersecurity and Privacy’ will be published soon.
More information on the Communities of Practice in the Software Campus and links to the issues of ‘Behind the Code’ can be found here.
