Doing different things looking for different results: a project-based experience in higher education context

The inflexibility of higher education curricula poses a challenge to students, diminishing their preparedness for the constantly evolving job market. To address this issue, enhanced collaboration between educational institutions and the job market is deemed essential for cultivating mutually beneficial skills. One effective strategy is the adoption of innovative methodologies by higher education faculty, enabling a more pertinent education aligned with contemporary societal demands. These methodologies create dynamic learning environments, fostering alternative interactions between educators and students while nurturing diverse competencies. Among the innovative methodologies, Project-Based Learning (PBL) stands out as a constructivist approach, emphasising inductive learning and individual construction through context-driven interaction. The "Route Change" project, implemented at the Portuguese Catholic University of Braga in the master's in Work and Organizational Psychology program, exemplifies this innovation. In its 3rd edition, this project disrupts students' routine commutes between home and university by introducing novel stops—study visits to various organisations spanning different sectors. Beginning in the classroom with meticulous preparation, including research and interactions with organisational representatives, students then embark on study visits. Post-visit, organisations present challenges or "Homework" to be collectively solved over two weeks in the classroom, addressing the organisations' unresolved issues. Students document this process in a comprehensive portfolio, constituting 40% of the course assessment. The project's success is measured through high satisfaction levels from organisations, students, and faculty, as well as the organisations' quality and adoption of solutions, highlighting its tangible efficacy in bridging education and real-world demands.