Providing software engineering students with an experience in “big-computing”

In this gaper, we record an experiment in “big-computing” for third-year undergraduate students. This experiment was part of the Software Engineering subject (COMP321) in the Computer Science Department at the University of Newcastle. The experience was achieved through year-long programming projects from academia and industry. We discuss important surprises, benefits, and drawbacks. Our experiment was a success, but there are major areas for us to address in next year´s course including providing the students with a more consistent experience and better preparation