<p>In this paper we present a pilot project that was part of a Children’s University at a university of applied sciences. The children tested software programs that solve Sudoku puzzles. In this motivating experience, which was aimed both at introducing young students to the software development process as well as at deepening a school-university partnership, we learned several lessons. Among them are: faculty should make the first move in a school-university relationship; schools can be real customers of a university’s course projects; children should be involved in the software cycle, as a minimum during software testing; and the pursuit of CS by interested female students is not such a distant dream. In the hope of increasing confidence in STEM careers in the future, especially in Computer Science, more emphasis should be placed on supporting joint software engineering projects also involving learners and educators from primary schools.</p>
