Replacing a hospital information system: an example of a real-world case study

Real-world case studies are important to complement the academic skills and knowledge acquired by computer science students. In this paper we relate our experiences with a course specifically designed to address this issue. The objectives of the course are threefold: to train management and communication skills, to integrate and apply knowledge gained at different previous courses, and to learn by experience the difference between a real-world problem and a textbook problem. Students´ evaluations show that the objectives of the course are met and that it is regarded as very useful. We found that the three objectives mutually reinforce each other, which is a decisive factor for the success of the course