Understanding the barriers to virtual student placements in the Semester of Code/Comprendiendo las barreras para el desarrollo de las prácticas virtuales de los estudiantes en el Semester of Code

Abstract

The Semester of Code initiative organised virtual placements for university students around Europe, working on authentic business problems using open source software. The project was welcomed by stakeholders, and many companies and open source foundations became involved. However, the response from students was disappointing. In this paper we examine the reasons for this, discussing the results of the evaluation work carried out. Finally, we consider the implications of our work for student placements and the Knowledge Alliance European Union programme.