Instructional Material
Agentic Software Engineering: Foundational Pillars and a Research Roadmap
Hassan, Ahmed E., Li, Hao, Lin, Dayi, Adams, Bram, Chen, Tse-Hsun, Kashiwa, Yutaro, Qiu, Dong
Agentic Software Engineering (SE 3.0) represents a new era where intelligent agents are tasked not with simple code generation, but with achieving complex, goal-oriented SE objectives. To harness these new capabilities while ensuring trustworthiness, we must recognize a fundamental duality within the SE field in the Agentic SE era, comprising two symbiotic modalities: SE for Humans and SE for Agents. This duality demands a radical reimagining of the foundational pillars of SE (actors, processes, tools, and artifacts) which manifest differently across each modality. We propose two purpose-built workbenches to support this vision. The Agent Command Environment (ACE) serves as a command center where humans orchestrate and mentor agent teams, handling outputs such as Merge-Readiness Packs (MRPs) and Consultation Request Packs (CRPs). The Agent Execution Environment (AEE) is a digital workspace where agents perform tasks while invoking human expertise when facing ambiguity or complex trade-offs. This bi-directional partnership, which supports agent-initiated human callbacks and handovers, gives rise to new, structured engineering activities (i.e., processes) that redefine human-AI collaboration, elevating the practice from agentic coding to true agentic software engineering. This paper presents the Structured Agentic Software Engineering (SASE) vision, outlining several of the foundational pillars for the future of SE. The paper culminates in a research roadmap that identifies a few key challenges and opportunities while briefly discussing the resulting impact of this future on SE education. Our goal is not to offer a definitive solution, but to provide a conceptual scaffold with structured vocabulary to catalyze a community-wide dialogue, pushing the SE community to think beyond its classic, human-centric tenets toward a disciplined, scalable, and trustworthy agentic future.
An Outcome-Based Educational Recommender System
Askarbekuly, Nursultan, Fayzrakhmanov, Timur, Babarogiฤ, Sladjan, Lukoviฤ, Ivan
Abstract--Most educational recommender systems are tuned and judged on click-or rating-based relevance, leaving their true pedagogical impact unclear . We introduce OBER--an Outcome-Based Educational Recommender that embeds learning outcomes and assessment items directly into the data schema, so any algorithm can be evaluated on the mastery it fosters. OBER uses a minimalist entity-relation model, a log-driven mastery formula, and a plug-in architecture. Integrated into an e-learning system in non-formal domain, it was evaluated trough a two-week A/B/C test with over 5 700 learners across three methods: fixed expert trajectory, collaborative filtering (CF), and knowledge-based (KB) filtering. CF maximized retention, but the fixed path achieved the highest mastery. Because OBER derives business, relevance, and learning metrics from the same logs, it lets practitioners weigh relevance and engagement against outcome mastery with no extra testing overhead. The framework is method-agnostic and readily extensible to future adaptive or context-aware recommenders. Index T erms--recommendation systems, e-learning, evaluation, assessment, intended learning outcomes, constructive alingment, empirical software engineering.
Robust and continuous machine learning of usage habits to adapt digital interfaces to user needs
The paper presents a machine learning approach to design digital interfaces that can dynamically adapt to different users and usage strategies. The algorithm uses Bayesian statistics to model users' browsing behavior, focusing on their habits rather than g roup preferences. It is distinguished by its online incremental learning, allowing reliable predictions even with little data and in the case of a changing environment. This inference method generates a task model, providing a graphical representation of n avigation with the usage statistics of the current user. The algorithm learns new tasks while preserving prior knowledge. The theoretical framework is described, and simulations show the effectiveness of the approach in stationary and non - stationary environments. In conclusion, this research paves the way for adaptive systems that improve the user experience by helping them to better navigate and act on their inter face. The reasons given include that it would be too oriented toward machine learning to speak to a community of HCI researchers and not concrete enough, as well as other reasons that we largely dispute. In light of the comments from the two reviewers, it appears that our non - parametric Bayesian approach was not understood, nor the crucial issue of "sequential, continuous and robust learning" for the design of adaptive user interfaces. 2 1 INTRODUCTION Users are all different. Some have no particular constraints but have usage habits and preferences. Others, such as people with disabilities or seniors, may have, in addition to these habits, constraints when using a digital service. These constraints can be very diverse, of a perceptual nature (visual, auditory, tactile), of a motor nature (pointing, manipulation, speech) or cognitive (reasoning, memory, comprehension, reading...). Consequently, any service, any interface should be able to adjust to these constraints.
Multimodal Medical Image Classification via Synergistic Learning Pre-training
Lin, Qinghua, Liu, Guang-Hai, Li, Zuoyong, Li, Yang, Jiang, Yuting, Wu, Xiang
Multimodal pathological images are usually in clinical diagnosis, but computer vision-based multimodal image-assisted diagnosis faces challenges with modality fusion, especially in the absence of expert-annotated data. To achieve the modality fusion in multimodal images with label scarcity, we propose a novel ``pretraining + fine-tuning" framework for multimodal semi-supervised medical image classification. Specifically, we propose a synergistic learning pretraining framework of consistency, reconstructive, and aligned learning. By treating one modality as an augmented sample of another modality, we implement a self-supervised learning pre-train, enhancing the baseline model's feature representation capability. Then, we design a fine-tuning method for multimodal fusion. During the fine-tuning stage, we set different encoders to extract features from the original modalities and provide a multimodal fusion encoder for fusion modality. In addition, we propose a distribution shift method for multimodal fusion features, which alleviates the prediction uncertainty and overfitting risks caused by the lack of labeled samples. We conduct extensive experiments on the publicly available gastroscopy image datasets Kvasir and Kvasirv2. Quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the current state-of-the-art classification methods. The code will be released at: https://github.com/LQH89757/MICS.
Stabilizing Information Flow Entropy: Regularization for Safe and Interpretable Autonomous Driving Perception
Yang, Haobo, Zhang, Shiyan, Yang, Zhuoyi, Guo, Jilong, Yang, Jun, Zhang, Xinyu
Deep perception networks in autonomous driving traditionally rely on data-intensive training regimes and post-hoc anomaly detection, often disregarding fundamental information-theoretic constraints governing stable information processing. We reconceptualize deep neural encoders as hierarchical communication chains that incrementally compress raw sensory inputs into task-relevant latent features. Within this framework, we establish two theoretically justified design principles for robust perception: (D1) smooth variation of mutual information between consecutive layers, and (D2) monotonic decay of latent entropy with network depth. Our analysis shows that, under realistic architectural assumptions, particularly blocks comprising repeated layers of similar capacity, enforcing smooth information flow (D1) naturally encourages entropy decay (D2), thus ensuring stable compression. Guided by these insights, we propose Eloss, a novel entropy-based regularizer designed as a lightweight, plug-and-play training objective. Rather than marginal accuracy improvements, this approach represents a conceptual shift: it unifies information-theoretic stability with standard perception tasks, enabling explicit, principled detection of anomalous sensor inputs through entropy deviations. Experimental validation on large-scale 3D object detection benchmarks (KITTI and nuScenes) demonstrates that incorporating Eloss consistently achieves competitive or improved accuracy while dramatically enhancing sensitivity to anomalies, amplifying distribution-shift signals by up to two orders of magnitude. This stable information-compression perspective not only improves interpretability but also establishes a solid theoretical foundation for safer, more robust autonomous driving perception systems.
REAMS: Reasoning Enhanced Algorithm for Maths Solving
Singh, Eishkaran, Bajaj, Tanav Singh, Nayak, Siddharth
The challenges of solving complex university-level mathematics problems, particularly those from MIT, and Columbia University courses, and selected tasks from the MATH dataset, remain a significant obstacle in the field of artificial intelligence. Conventional methods have consistently fallen short in this domain, highlighting the need for more advanced approaches. In this paper, we introduce a language-based solution that leverages zero-shot learning and mathematical reasoning to effectively solve, explain, and generate solutions for these advanced math problems. By integrating program synthesis, our method reduces reliance on large-scale training data while significantly improving problem-solving accuracy. Our approach achieves an accuracy of 90.15%, representing a substantial improvement over the previous benchmark of 81% and setting a new standard in automated mathematical problem-solving. These findings highlight the significant potential of advanced AI methodologies to address and overcome the challenges presented by some of the most complex mathematical courses and datasets.
Bringing Pedagogy into Focus: Evaluating Virtual Teaching Assistants' Question-Answering in Asynchronous Learning Environments
Siyan, Li, Xu, Zhen, Raghuram, Vethavikashini Chithrra, Zhang, Xuanming, Yu, Renzhe, Yu, Zhou
Asynchronous learning environments (ALEs) are widely adopted for formal and informal learning, but timely and personalized support is often limited. In this context, Virtual Teaching Assistants (VTAs) can potentially reduce the workload of instructors, but rigorous and pedagogically sound evaluation is essential. Existing assessments often rely on surface-level metrics and lack sufficient grounding in educational theories, making it difficult to meaningfully compare the pedagogical effectiveness of different VTA systems. To bridge this gap, we propose an evaluation framework rooted in learning sciences and tailored to asynchronous forum discussions, a common VTA deployment context in ALE. We construct classifiers using expert annotations of VTA responses on a diverse set of forum posts. We evaluate the effectiveness of our classifiers, identifying approaches that improve accuracy as well as challenges that hinder generalization. Our work establishes a foundation for theory-driven evaluation of VTA systems, paving the way for more pedagogically effective AI in education.
Training the next generation of physicians for artificial intelligence-assisted clinical neuroradiology: ASNR MICCAI Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) 2025 Lighthouse Challenge education platform
Amiruddin, Raisa, Yordanov, Nikolay Y., Maleki, Nazanin, Fehringer, Pascal, Gkampenis, Athanasios, Janas, Anastasia, Krantchev, Kiril, Moawad, Ahmed, Umeh, Fabian, Abosabie, Salma, Abosabie, Sara, Alotaibi, Albara, Ghonim, Mohamed, Ghonim, Mohanad, Mhana, Sedra Abou Ali, Page, Nathan, Jakovljevic, Marko, Sharifi, Yasaman, Bhatia, Prisha, Manteghinejad, Amirreza, Guelen, Melisa, Veronesi, Michael, Hill, Virginia, So, Tiffany, Krycia, Mark, Petrovic, Bojan, Memon, Fatima, Cramer, Justin, Schrickel, Elizabeth, Kosovic, Vilma, Vidal, Lorenna, Thompson, Gerard, Ikuta, Ichiro, Albalooshy, Basimah, Nabavizadeh, Ali, Tahon, Nourel Hoda, Shekdar, Karuna, Bhatia, Aashim, Kirsch, Claudia, D'Anna, Gennaro, Lohmann, Philipp, Nour, Amal Saleh, Myronenko, Andriy, Goldman-Yassen, Adam, Reid, Janet R., Aneja, Sanjay, Bakas, Spyridon, Aboian, Mariam
High-quality reference standard image data creation by neuroradiology experts for automated clinical tools can be a powerful tool for neuroradiology & artificial intelligence education. We developed a multimodal educational approach for students and trainees during the MICCAI Brain Tumor Segmentation Lighthouse Challenge 2025, a landmark initiative to develop accurate brain tumor segmentation algorithms. Fifty-six medical students & radiology trainees volunteered to annotate brain tumor MR images for the BraTS challenges of 2023 & 2024, guided by faculty-led didactics on neuropathology MRI. Among the 56 annotators, 14 select volunteers were then paired with neuroradiology faculty for guided one-on-one annotation sessions for BraTS 2025. Lectures on neuroanatomy, pathology & AI, journal clubs & data scientist-led workshops were organized online. Annotators & audience members completed surveys on their perceived knowledge before & after annotations & lectures respectively. Fourteen coordinators, each paired with a neuroradiologist, completed the data annotation process, averaging 1322.9+/-760.7 hours per dataset per pair and 1200 segmentations in total. On a scale of 1-10, annotation coordinators reported significant increase in familiarity with image segmentation software pre- and post-annotation, moving from initial average of 6+/-2.9 to final average of 8.9+/-1.1, and significant increase in familiarity with brain tumor features pre- and post-annotation, moving from initial average of 6.2+/-2.4 to final average of 8.1+/-1.2. We demonstrate an innovative offering for providing neuroradiology & AI education through an image segmentation challenge to enhance understanding of algorithm development, reinforce the concept of data reference standard, and diversify opportunities for AI-driven image analysis among future physicians.
Orchestrate, Generate, Reflect: A VLM-Based Multi-Agent Collaboration Framework for Automated Driving Policy Learning
Peng, Zengqi, Xie, Yusen, Wang, Yubin, Yang, Rui, Chen, Qifeng, Ma, Jun
The advancement of foundation models fosters new initiatives for policy learning in achieving safe and efficient autonomous driving. However, a critical bottleneck lies in the manual engineering of reward functions and training curricula for complex and dynamic driving tasks, which is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. To address this problem, we propose OGR (Orchestrate, Generate, Reflect), a novel automated driving policy learning framework that leverages vision-language model (VLM)-based multi-agent collaboration. Our framework capitalizes on advanced reasoning and multimodal understanding capabilities of VLMs to construct a hierarchical agent system. Specifically, a centralized orchestrator plans high-level training objectives, while a generation module employs a two-step analyze-then-generate process for efficient generation of reward-curriculum pairs. A reflection module then facilitates iterative optimization based on the online evaluation. Furthermore, a dedicated memory module endows the VLM agents with the capabilities of long-term memory. To enhance robustness and diversity of the generation process, we introduce a parallel generation scheme and a human-in-the-loop technique for augmentation of the reward observation space. Through efficient multi-agent cooperation and leveraging rich multimodal information, OGR enables the online evolution of reinforcement learning policies to acquire interaction-aware driving skills. Extensive experiments in the CARLA simulator demonstrate the superior performance, robust generalizability across distinct urban scenarios, and strong compatibility with various RL algorithms. Further real-world experiments highlight the practical viability and effectiveness of our framework. The source code will be available upon acceptance of the paper.
Automated Procedural Analysis via Video-Language Models for AI-assisted Nursing Skills Assessment
Chang, Shen, Liu, Dennis, Tian, Renran, Swartzell, Kristen L., Klingler, Stacie L., Nagle, Amy M., Kong, Nan
Consistent high-quality nursing care is essential for patient safety, yet current nursing education depends on subjective, time-intensive instructor feedback in training future nurses, which limits scalability and efficiency in their training, and thus hampers nursing competency when they enter the workforce. In this paper, we introduce a video-language model (VLM) based framework to develop the AI capability of automated procedural assessment and feedback for nursing skills training, with the potential of being integrated into existing training programs. Mimicking human skill acquisition, the framework follows a curriculum-inspired progression, advancing from high-level action recognition, fine-grained subaction decomposition, and ultimately to procedural reasoning. This design supports scalable evaluation by reducing instructor workload while preserving assessment quality. The system provides three core capabilities: 1) diagnosing errors by identifying missing or incorrect subactions in nursing skill instruction videos, 2) generating explainable feedback by clarifying why a step is out of order or omitted, and 3) enabling objective, consistent formative evaluation of procedures. Validation on synthesized videos demonstrates reliable error detection and temporal localization, confirming its potential to handle real-world training variability. By addressing workflow bottlenecks and supporting large-scale, standardized evaluation, this work advances AI applications in nursing education, contributing to stronger workforce development and ultimately safer patient care.