Revolutionizing the software design classroom: The story behind an impressive collaboration

When asked about the reasons why he decided to join the Sustainability Co-Design Project, Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc a professor from the Computer Science and Software Engineering department says that he did it because “software is eating the world.” While such a statement might sound ungraspable for some or exaggerated for others, the truth is that in AI-driven times, the carbon footprint and environmental impact of software technologies is on the rise (Gordon, 2024; Heikkilä, 2023). 

Although software-related energy consumption has been acknowledged in the past, the climate crisis and the emergence of recent technologies has accentuated the need to introduce sustainability in the classroom, no matter the discipline, and equip students with the critical and practical tools needed to produce creative solutions.

This is precisely what Guéhéneuc, and student partners Nicolas Rousse and Laurent Voisard wanted to do when they joined the project. Before coming together, they had noticed an educational gap in the field of software engineering and computer science. Although sustainability seems to be an increasingly important topic in these two fields, research on the integration of sustainability into software development processes is narrow (Sriraman & Raghunathan, 2023) and courses addressing this issue are rare. 

With this in mind, the team took on the task of redesigning a unit of the SOEN 6461: Software Design Methodologies course. The redesigned course now features a unit titled “Design, Design Patterns, and Sustainability,” which introduces students to climate change and key sustainability concepts while inviting them to think about the software development process in terms of energy consumption, making it a leading course in software design for sustainability.

Collaboration for a greater impact

Guéhéneuc had been wanting to explore the role of sustainability in software engineering, but the lack of time and support had been barriers for him. Thus, when presented with the opportunity of working alongside student partners, he thought it was the right moment to do it. During his years of teaching software design, he noticed that students often overlooked the rationale behind choosing specific designs, so integrating sustainability elements was a good way to make students mindful of their decision-making process.

Rousse and Voisard — students within the Computer Science and Software Engineering department — were already attuned to sustainability issues, making the collaboration and co-creation opportunity a natural fit. Both recognized the importance of bringing systems thinking within the classroom. As Rousse explained, usually the main criteria for software design are maintainability and quality, but this can often result in higher energy consumption. So, teaching students how to find the balance between maintainability and energy consumption was a big motivation for him. 

Laurent had noticed the lack of a sustainability approach to software engineering and development throughout his educational formation. He thought that this approach was a way to “shed light onto [the topic] for [other] students.”  Both student partners wanted to introduce students to existing resources and guide them in designing environmentally friendly software engineering programs. 

Guéhéneuc brought in his expertise in the field, and Rousse and Voisard brought in their enthusiasm and interest in sustainability. As a team, they felt like they had a common direction and goal, which made the collaboration fruitful. 

With the support of the staff members from the Centre for Teaching and Learning and the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovation in Teaching and Learning, , the team was able to explore different Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainability pillars before deciding which ones to include in the redesigned unit. The team felt that working with associate professor Anjali Awasthi, the faculty mentor on this project, was key for getting a different perspective and a bigger picture of what adopting a sustainability lens could mean. 

Benefits and challenges of the redesign

When the project began, the team wanted to address social justice and a variety of sustainability pillars. However, they quickly realized that what they wanted to cover was beyond the scope of the course. To avoid overwhelming students with too much information and to promote a sustainable environment within the classroom, they decided to build the unit around two specific SDGs: quality education (SDG 4) and clean and affordable energy (SDG 7). This approach, the team concluded, would empower students and guide them in their decision making instead of making them feel powerless when facing climate issues. 

One of the main goals of the redesign was to show students that their design decisions count when it comes to adopting more sustainable practices in software design. Although finding the right examples was not easy, through research and discussion the team was able to frame the problems and examples in a fruitful way. This resulted in the incorporation of active learning experiences in the course through a power consumption measuring activity. Students will be presented with a power measuring framework and will learn how to use it by participating in an open-ended activity. 

This activity adds value to the course and helps students achieve the learning outcomes.  As Rousse explains, students taking the course will not be mere spectators. “Instead, they will become actors of change through learning and doing. They will engage in transformative learning, acquiring a foundational understanding of sustainability that can be further explored and applied in future projects, bringing change into the software development world.”

While students will benefit in many ways from the redesigned unit, the design team also benefitted from the project. Guéhéneuc expressed that he would like to continue doing research on the topic, and that he hopes to continue collaborating with the student partners in the future. 

Like the professor, the student partners walk away from the project with a more systemic understanding of sustainability, and with better tools to address climate change issues within their own research and work. Voisard, who was an undergraduate student at the moment of the collaboration, says that the project helped him prepare for graduate studies.

Inspiring change beyond the classroom: Key takeaways

When asked about the project's highlight, Guéhéneuc says that for him it was the fact that he was able to work alongside the student partners. Given that course development typically occurs in isolation, he valued the collaborative aspect of the project. “It is very helpful to have students helping and providing their perspective,” Guéhéneuc says He recommends that those thinking about using the student-as-partners model do it without hesitation. 

This model was also welcomed by the student partners, who felt that they were able to explore different avenues with the guidance of the professor and the CTL/VPITL team. Rousse and Voisard were happy to learn about the tools available to develop software in a sustainable way and to be part of a team that is driving change. They encourage students to join this kind of initiative, and hope their example serves as a source of inspiration for others.      

Interested in learning more about this Sustainability Co-Design Project? Check out this summary. 

Cited Works:

Gordon, C. (2024). AI is Accelerating the Loss of Our Scarcest Natural Resource: Water. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cindygordon/2024/02/25/ai-is-accelerating-the-loss-of-our-scarcest-natural-resource-water/

Heikkilä, M. (2023). AI’s Carbon Footprint is Bigger Than You Think. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/05/1084417/ais-carbon- footprint-is-bigger-than-you-think/ 

Sriraman, G., & Raghunathan, S. (2023). A systems thinking approach to improve sustainability in software engineering—a grounded Capability Maturity Framework. Sustainability, 15(11), 8766. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118766