Strategies for Communication Skills Development

As the scope of computer science continues to expand and move further into inter-disciplinary research, we see communication skills development (CSD) gain prominence in tertiary courses. Employer groups, professional bodies and universities increasingly demand that our graduates emerge being able to think critically, write, and work effectively in teams. But how do we go about creating a sustainable framework for CSD? This paper outlines several strategies departments can use to integrate CSD in a curriculum. Using a case study approach, we report on interviews with employers, students and staff. We identify common themes from these stakeholders, and set out a series of strategies that can be used to address urgent and serious need to integrate CSD into our courses.