On February 26, 2026, an open meeting of the Academic Committee of the Software Engineering educational program was held at the International Technological University (METU). The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the актуализация of the curriculum, exchange opinions between academia, employers, and students, and develop proposals for introducing new courses.The meeting brought together representatives of leading IT companies, faculty members, academic experts, and students, ensuring a comprehensive professional discussion on the development of the educational program.Special attention was paid to strengthening practice-oriented training. The Director of Academset LLP, Takhir Maratovich Takabayev, noted that the program effectively combines fundamental theory with practical training, which meets modern labor market requirements. As part of further cooperation, he expressed readiness to organize study visits to data centers for students within the course “Cloud Computing and Virtualization,” emphasizing the importance of hands-on exposure to real IT infrastructure.During the curriculum discussion, Associate Professor, PhD in Technical Sciences, Zhuldyz Talasbayevna Talasbayeva justified the need to introduce the course “Discrete Mathematics,” noting the observed недостаток of mathematical preparation among students. In her opinion, strengthening the fundamental base is a key condition for the successful training of future programmers.Professor Nurlan Mukanovich Temirbekov proposed renaming the course “Numerical Methods” to “Modern Computational Technologies.” The participants supported the initiative, noting that the new title more accurately reflects the contemporary content and approaches of the course.Industry representative, Director of Dreamskills, Dauren Dzholdybekov, proposed developing a new educational track integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). According to the participants, such integration will help form comprehensive digital competencies demanded by industry.

Students also took an active part in the discussion. Third-year student Birzhan Oktyabrin proposed introducing a practice-oriented course on GitHub, emphasizing its key role in modern collaborative software development. It was noted that integrating GitHub into academic projects would provide students with real collaborative development experience.Additionally, M.S. Aliaskar pointed out the need to correct the course title “JS/Development” and proposed replacing it with the more academically accurate “Programming in Angular JS.”In conclusion, Head of the Department M.Zh. Sakypbekova thanked the participants for the constructive dialogue and emphasized that systematic curriculum modernization is possible only through close cooperation between the university, industry, and students. Following the meeting, a number of recommendations for improving the educational program were developed and will be gradually implemented into the curriculum.