Blignaut, RenetteVenter, Isabella M.Renaud, Karen2014-03-022014-03-022013Blignaut, R., Venter, I., Renaud, K., (2013). A bridge over the computer science graduate skill gap. WCCE 2013, pp 274-283, Torun, Poland.978-83-231-3090-1http://hdl.handle.net/10566/1047Paper presented at X World Conference on Computers in Education, 2-5 July 2013; Toruń, PolandUniversities are increasingly required to respond to the ever evolving needs of an ever more sophisticated and globalised workplace, which requires well-rounded workers with more than mere technical knowledge. Employers expect their prospective employees to already have acquired a range of professional and personal skills. Universities face a challenge in helping students to develop these skills and it is debatable whether this can be achieved within the university environment. What is needed is a way for students to interact with the outside world as part of their undergraduate programme in a situated learning environment. This paper reports on a computer science assignment specifically designed to develop professional and personal as well as discipline-specific skills. The results suggest that situated learning assignments are indeed able to enhance the development of precisely those soft skills which are so valued by employers.enGraduate attributesGraduate skillsHuman-Computer Interaction (HCI)Situated learningCritical social theoryTeaching strategiesLearning strategiesConference Paper