Education and qualification degree: PROFESSIONAL BACHELOR
Form of education: FULL-TIME, PART-TIME, DISTANCE
Duration of study: 3 years
Area of higher education: 5. TECHNICAL SCIENCES
Professional Field: 5.3. COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
Qualification: PROFESSIONAL BACHELOR OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
Credits according to ECTS: 180
I. MAJOR PROFILE
The bachelor’s program in the “Software Design” major corresponds to professional field 5.3. “Communication and Computer Engineering”.
The program is offered in a full-time form of study. The disciplines in the curriculum are divided into three areas – mandatory, mandatory elective and optional. Professional bachelors are trained according to the credit system, which allows for quality of training, in accordance with EU requirements and directives. The training is formed based on theoretical training and practice in the field of software systems development, Internet and web technologies, modern high-performance software architectures, etc. The major is consistent with international standards in software design and provides basic broad-profile training for the design, development and implementation of software systems of modern software technologies. The training aims to prepare qualified specialists for the IT sector.
II. GOALS AND TASKS OF THE MAJOR
Objectives of the major
The goal of the “Software Design” major for the “Professional Bachelor” is to respond to global challenges in the IT field by acquiring knowledge about modern IT technologies and building practical skills for independent or team-based problem solving in the field of software systems design.
Main goal
The main goal of the “Software Design” major is to create appropriate conditions for the professional training of specialists in the field of software application design, contributing to the acquisition of competencies that will allow students to achieve successful professional realization in companies engaged in the development of software systems.
Additional goals
Additional goals of the training in the “Software Design” major are building creative thinking skills, independence in solving problems, and the ability to work in a team.
Tasks:
1. Acquisition of modern knowledge, skills and competencies that are relevant to new trends in the field of software systems design.
2. Creation of appropriate conditions for an educational environment that motivates students to develop skills for independent problem solving through research and application of scientific methods, tools and platforms.
3. Stimulating a creative attitude to the tasks set by tolerating non-standard thinking and using alternative approaches.
4. Supporting the development of teamwork skills by stimulating the implementation of joint projects based on roles.
5. Building skills for independent acquisition of knowledge and skills in accordance with the rapidly changing requirements of the labor market.
III. QUALIFICATION STANDARD
III.1. Structure and organization of the learning process
The curriculum is structured in blocks in semesters based on mandatory, mandatory elective and optional courses.
The compulsory block includes the disciplines that build the theoretical preparation of the students and the knowledge and competencies acquired in them in the professional field. There are three main groups of compulsory disciplines providing: general educational knowledge of the scientific field; fundamental knowledge of the scientific field; specialized knowledge and skills in the subject area of the “Software Design” major.
Compulsory elective courses enrich the preparation of students in the major by allowing them to deepen their knowledge and skills in a chosen branch of software design or to acquire additional competencies in related areas such as communication and presentation skills, managerial competencies, etc., facilitating their career realization.
Facultative courses provide students with general knowledge in accordance with their interests, goals and needs. These subjects in the curriculum play a supporting role in the educational process, and their list is updated according to trends in the scientific and social spheres, students’ preferences and the specifics of their education.
The mandatory and elective subjects include hours for extracurricular work, during which students develop their skills in independent problem-solving, develop their initiative and creativity.
The methodology of teaching, training and assessment is in line with the European forms and directives for quality education and lifelong learning. The major applies cutting-edge and effective forms of training, combining theory and practice. Multimedia technologies, use of web-based platforms for e-learning, assignment of individual and group tasks are widely used. Various forms are used in assessment to improve student motivation and minimize the subjective factor. Current and final electronic and paper tests, project development, solving tasks and cases are applied.
II.2. Acquired knowledge, skills and competencies
Area and scope of knowledge
The graduate of the “Software Design” major has:
• general knowledge of: presentation and communication skills, organizational behavior; fundamentals of economics, digital economics, fundamentals of management, corporate social responsibility;
• basic knowledge of: electrical engineering, electronics, computer architectures; operating systems, fundamentals of cryptography;
• in-depth knowledge of: programming languages and approaches; algorithms and data structures; databases and database management systems; architectural models for software design and quality assurance; information technology processes; principles of design of web-based, mobile and secure applications; cloud technologies and serverless computing.
Area and scope of skills
A graduate of the “Software Design” major has the skills to:
• configuring and administering operating systems;
• designing and managing databases;
• applying modern methods in designing web-based, mobile and secure applications; distributed software systems;
• independently acquiring new knowledge;
• working independently and in a team.
Competencies:
• Communicative and social competences:
• communicative and empathetic skills for working with people;
• management of software projects, including their teams and resources;
• correct vocabulary for communicating with colleagues, partners and stakeholders, including the use of a foreign language at a good level;
• accurate and accessible presentation of ideas for solving professional problems;
• Professional competencies:
• decisiveness in making decisions in complex conditions, under the influence of various interacting and difficult to predict factors;
• performing a business analysis of the assignment, identifying requirements
• preparing a specification of requirements for an information system;
• collecting, classifying, evaluating and interpreting data from the IT field to solve specific practical problems;
• applying the acquired knowledge and skills in new or unfamiliar conditions;
• using new strategic approaches to solve unforeseen problems arising in the work process.
IV. MAIN LEARNING OUTCOMES
Graduates of the “Software Design” major possess the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies for successful professional realization in the field of programming, database and specialized software design, expert and consulting services, etc. They have a solid theoretical basis that allows them to continue their education at a higher educational and qualification level in the direction (master) 5.3. “Communication and Computer Engineering”.
V. STANDARD CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION AND PROCEDURE FOR RECOGNITION OF PREVIOUS EDUCATION
During the course of study (after successfully passing exams), students of the major may transfer to another higher education institution or be accepted by one in the country and abroad, as the disciplines in which they were trained: – are equated as mandatory (or are similar), according to the curriculum; – are recognized as elective, if they correspond to the professional field; – are accepted as optional, if they correspond to those set out in the curriculum. The conditions and requirements for admission and the procedure for recognizing previous education are regulated based on national regulatory bases and European directives, internal regulatory acts of the UTP, Regulations on the organization and activities of the UTP, Regulations on the educational activities at the UTP.
VI. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
The entire course of study ends with the defense of a diploma thesis or a comprehensive state exam in the major. Students who complete the full course of study in the “Software Design” major receive an educational and qualification degree “professional bachelor” in professional field 5.3. “Communication and computer technology”, professional qualification “professional bachelor in Software Design” in accordance with the National Classifier of Higher Education Fields and Professional Fields, and in accordance with the state requirements for acquiring higher education in the Republic of Bulgaria.
VII. STUDENTS’ REALIZATION OPPORTUNITIES
Graduates of the “Software Design” major find career opportunities as:
• Programmers;
• Designers of specialized software;
• Specialists in process automation, cloud architectures and applications in software engineering;
• Database designers;
• Designers of applied software systems;
• Specialists in software quality assurance and maintenance;
• Specialists in service activities in the field of computer systems and communication technologies, used in the IT sector, science, education, public and private business, etc.
• Expert and consulting activities in business organizations or in public administration.