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Context: Evidence-based software engineering (EBSE) aims to improve research utilization in practice. It relies on systematic methods to identify, appraise, and synthesize existing research findings to answer questions of interest for practice. However, the lack of practitioners’ involvement in these studies’ design, execution, and reporting indicates a lack of appreciation for the need for knowledge exchange between researchers and practitioners. The resultant systematic literature studies often lack relevance for practice. Objective: This paper explores the use of Rapid Reviews (RRs), in fostering knowledge exchange between academia and industry. Through the lens of two case studies, we delve into the practical application and experience of conducting RRs. Methods: We analyzed the conduct of two rapid reviews by two different groups of researchers and practitioners. We collected data through interviews, and the documents produced during the review (like review protocols, search results, and presentations). The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: We report how the two groups of researchers and practitioners performed the rapid reviews. We observed some benefits, like promoting dialogue and paving the way for future collaborations. We also found that practitioners entrusted the researchers to develop and follow a rigorous approach and were more interested in the applicability of the findings in their context. The problems investigated in these two cases were relevant but not the most immediate ones. Therefore, rapidness was not a priority for the practitioners. Conclusion: The study illustrates that rapid reviews can support researcher-practitioner communication and industry-academia collaboration. Furthermore, the recommendations based on the experiences from the two cases complement the detailed guidelines researchers and practitioners may follow to increase interaction and knowledge exchange. © 2023 The Author(s)

Like many engineering programs in Europe, the final part of most Swedish software engineering programs is a longer project in which the students write a Master's thesis. These projects are often conducted in cooperation between a university and industry, and the students often have two supervisors, one at the university and one in industry. In particular, the Bologna Process that is currently underway to align different higher educational programs in Europe discusses industrial Master's theses as a major type of thesis project. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how best to support these projects and the different stakeholders involved. This paper presents a study where students and supervisors from software engineering Master's thesis projects at three different Swedish universities are interviewed. The intention of the study is to explore what the major problems of different stakeholders are during a project and to investigate what type of support is needed. Based on the interview results, a support model is defined, which outlines the different types of support that are needed for different roles in Master's thesis projects.

Vårt syfte med detta kapitel är att beskriva och analysera krisförberedande arbeten i en landsortsby från en lokal risk- och sårbarhetsgrupps perspektiv samt tydliggöra olika drivkrafter, förutsättningar och relationer med myndigheter och andra aktörer. Underlaget för kapitlet utgörs av en intervju med representanter för den lokala gruppen i en socken i Kronobergs län, en enskild intervju med en nyckelperson i gruppen samt en telefonintervju med ytterligare en nyckelperson i gruppen. De två första intervjuerna genomfördes i november 2008. Telefonintervjun, som kan ses som en återkoppling, genomfördes i januari 2010. Intervjuerna har kompletterats med skriftligt material från den lokala gruppen. Metoden för analys av intervjumaterialet är kvalitativ med stöd av teoribildningar från teknik- och samhällsvetenskaper. I vår analys av den lokala risk- och sårbarhetsgruppens arbete använder vi synsätt och begrepp från aktör-nätverksteorin (ANT) och den tyske sociologen Jürgen Habermas teori om livsvärlden och systemvärlden . ANT hjälper här till att belysa processer för nätverksmobilisering och hur människor och materialiteter kan forma stabila och varaktiga nätverk . ANT bidrar även till att öka förståelsen för drivkrafter och barriärer i den lokala risk- och sårbarhetsgruppens arbeten. Teorin om livsvärlden och systemvärlden hjälper till att öka insikten om medborgares och myndigheters världar och deras problem att förstå varandra och verka ihop. Habermas använder i sin teori begreppet livsvärlden som formar våra personliga identiteter, sociala relationer med vänner, familjer och andra. I den världen inryms också det som kallas kultur och upplevelser. I livsvärlden uppfattas verkligheten från den enskilda individens eller deltagarens synpunkt. Det som Habermas kallar för systemvärlden handlar om myndigheternas och ytterst statens byråkrati samt om marknaden. Marknaden använder pengar, och byråkratierna makt som medel för att styra människors beteenden. Livsvärlden och sy

There has been much recent interest in how to help students in higher education develop their generic skills, especially since this is a focus of the Bologna process that aims to standardize European higher education. However, even though the Master thesis is the final and often crucial part of a graduate degree and requires many generic skills very little research has directly focused on them. In particular, there is a lack of such knowledge for engineering education programs. In this paper we present results from a survey where we asked 23 students from three different Swedish universities about which generic skills are needed and developed in a Master thesis project in Software Engineering. One outcome of our analysis is that there is a lack of understanding on how to define, and thus examine, generic skills in software engineering thesis projects., PIFF (Programvaruexjobb för Industri- och ForskningsFramgång)