Context: Software has become ubiquitous in every corner of modern societies. During the last five decades, software engineering has also changed significantly to advance the development of various types and scales of software products. In this context, Software Engineering Education plays an essential role in keeping students updated with software technologies, processes, and practices that are popular in industries. Aim: In this PhD work, I want to answer the following research questions: To what extent software engineering trends are present in software engineering education? In which way software startup in growth-phase characteristics can be transferred into software engineering education context? What is the impact of software startup engineering in the curriculum and to software engineering students? Method: I utilize literature review and mix-methods approaches (quantitative and qualitative data and methods triangulation) in gathering empirical evidence. More precisely, I split my research method into two phases. The first phase of the research will acquire knowledge and insight based on the existing literature review. The second research phase will split the focus in two directions. Firstly, I shall gather empirical evidence on how software startup practices are present in software engineering education. Secondly, I will conduct parallel investigations into SE practices in growth-phase software startups. Expected Results: I argue that software startup engineering practices are an ultimate tool for software engineering education approaches. I expect students to acquire software engineering skills in a more realistic context while using software startup in growth phase practices.

Orges Cico holds a Bachelor and MSc in Computer Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research topic is in Empirical Software Engineering, more precisely in Lean Software Startups and Software Engineering Education. He has published over ten peer-reviewed papers in high-quality international conferences such as ICSE, EASE, ICSOB, EDUCON. Previously he was a Full-Time Lecturer at the Canadian Institute of Technology, Tirana, Albania, and the Director of the Metropolitan Incubator Center (NGO part of the University Metropolitan Tirana, Albania). In the last eight years, he has had extensive experience in both industry and academic settings. He has participated in several project development dedicated to cloud, mobile, and IoT systems and taught subjects related to Advanced Software Engineering and Operating System Design.