PkCEP 2025 - 1st Conference on Computing Education Practice in Pakistan 2025

Abstract

In many parts of the world, access to quality computing education remains uneven, especially at the K–12 and tertiary levels. Since 2022, the CSEdBotswana initiative has worked to close these gaps through national-scale interventions focused on broadening participation in computing across schools in Botswana. As founder of the initiative, I will share how we have grown from a small grassroots effort into a movement that has reached hundreds of schools, trained hundreds of teachers, and engaged thousands of students in coding activities across multiple years.

The talk will highlight key strategies that have enabled this work, including the use of contextualized programming learning materials, bilingual programming approaches, and unplugged activities that allow schools with limited infrastructure to participate fully. We have implemented scalable activities like Hour of Code, teacher workshops, teacher trainings, summit, all tailored to school level and local realities. Our experience shows that even with challenges and limited funding, community-driven models can lead to strong teacher and student engagement, capacity building, and sustained interest in computing.

Abstract

This talk dives into why programming is so hard for novices and why much of the blame lies not with them, but with how we teach it. Syntax errors, logic bugs, confusing explanations, and a growing sense of "I'm just not a coding person" are all part of the typical novice experience. But beyond those superficial challenges lies something deeper: a disconnect between student needs and instructional design. From young children to undergraduates, students face different learning challenges, yet we often teach them all the same way.

Why is there a disconnect between what students need and how we teach? Why do so many educators focus on limited correction of errors in programs and pseudo-code, while missing the opportunities these mistakes represent to improve their foundational conceptual understanding by building connections with pre-existing knowledge? And why do we assume students are ready to "think computationally" when we've never explicitly taught them what that means?

We'll take a fresh look at common struggles, re-design some teaching methods with declining pedagogical value, and explore some age-appropriate strategies to better support learners. Specifically, the key challenges faced by K2-K5 (primary school), K6-K12 (middle school to high school), and undergraduate learners will be discussed along with how the challenges of each level should be addressed through more tailored pedagogical approaches.

If we want our students to succeed in programming, we can't just fix their bugs, we have to fundamentally debug the way we teach.

Abstract

The dramatic global surge in computer science enrollments has outpaced universities' ability to expand faculty lines, a gap that is particularly acute in Pakistan, where attracting and retaining top-tier academic talent remains challenging. This presentation reports on LUMS' strategic adoption of a large-class teaching model designed to sustain program quality while accommodating rapid growth. Central to the model's success was an integrated suite of pedagogical trainings, covering evidence-based active-learning techniques, formative assessment at scale, and technology-enabled feedback loops, that equipped faculty and teaching assistants to manage cohorts exceeding 300 students without compromising learning outcomes.

The LUMS experience offers transferable insights for similar resource-constrained contexts, demonstrating how deliberate pedagogical capacity-building can mitigate faculty shortages and enable high-quality computer science education at scale.

Abstract

Last fall, we launched a new course at LUMS aimed at preparing students for competitive technical interviews. The course provided students with over 80 hours of coding practice and honed their problem-solving and interviewing skills. It also offered exposure to both local and international hiring landscapes through industry panels and guest lectures.

To provide authentic interview practice, we designed homework assignments around peer mock interviews, trained a team of teaching fellows to conduct mid-semester interviews, and partnered with LUMS CS alumni working in the industry to conduct final mock interviews.

Taken by nearly 100 senior students, the course received highly positive feedback. In this talk, we will share how we designed and executed the course, including: the problem-solving session template we developed, the grading rubrics we used, and how we managed the complex logistics of conducting multiple rounds of mock interviews.

Abstract

Traditional university computing programmes often struggle to prepare graduates for the realities of industry, while simultaneously failing to provide accessible pathways for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This talk presents our experience of delivering a work-based learning degree programme in Software Engineering at the University of Glasgow, where students spend 80% of their time as apprentices in industry while completing an honours degree over four years.

Drawing on studies conducted over the programme's seven-year history, the talk will demonstrate how degree apprenticeships serve a dual purpose: widening access to higher education and developing industry-ready professionals. Our analysis of students from Scotland's most deprived areas reveals that apprenticeships provide crucial "second chances" for those poorly served by traditional education pathways, while removing financial barriers that typically limit participation in computing degrees.

Central to our approach is the development of professional skills through reflective practice. Our analysis of student reflections across four years reveals how workplace experience and university education create a powerful bidirectional learning dynamic. Students develop confidence and foundational skills at university that enable them to thrive in the workplace, while real-world experience provides context that enriches their academic understanding. Through structured reflection, students transform tacit workplace learning into explicit, transferable knowledge.

We share practical insights into programme design, including our consultation with industry, the integration of professional competency frameworks, and assessment approaches that recognise workplace learning. We also address persistent challenges, such as the gap between academic and industry project expectations, and the difficulty some students face in transferring advanced technical skills between contexts.

This talk offers guidance for educators, policymakers, and industry partners interested in implementing or supporting work-based learning programmes. It demonstrates that when thoughtfully designed, such programmes can simultaneously address skills gaps, improve educational access, and create transformative opportunities for students who might otherwise be excluded from computing careers.

Panel Discussion

This panel discussion will explore the future of computing education in Pakistan, with a particular focus on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape of computer science education and its implications for educational practices, curriculum development, and student preparation.