Bridging the relevancy gap in higher education via project-based learning: The significance of the personal experience of learning from conflict

Bridging the gap between higher education and working life is a central quest for both academia and industry. This article explores learning from conflict in project-based education as a tool for bridging the gap between education and work. A case of a project-based learning programme in the social sciences at graduate level at the University of Oslo is analysed with regard to assessing learning outcomes. The data comes from two empirical sources: In-depth interviews with 8 students conducted in May 2022 and a document analysis of 165 student reflection notes written between 2017 and 2022. An important difference between working life and the educational setting is the experience of working together towards a common goal. In contrast to ordinary educational settings aimed at individual knowledge acquisition, project-based learning creates a context for practicing cooperation and for handling conflict. We find that the experience and handling of conflict represents a significant learning outcome for the students as preparation for the working life. The takeaway from the analysis is that task conflicts create opportunities for learning in several ways, given that they occur in safe contexts. Conflict creates opportunities for learning about the significance of differences in perspectives for a productive outcome of collaboration, both in terms of broadening participants' epistemological perspectives and their relational tolerance. Conflicts also provides an opportunity to learn to overcome disagreement to broaden epistemological horizons and relational tolerance. We found that the articulation of task conflict early in the project phase could reduce the potential for escalation of relational conflict later. Finally, conflicts also offer the opportunity to practise standing one's ground in conflicts or disharmonious situations, to endure criticism professionally and to develop a professional attitude towards cooperation. Conflicts should be promoted and not avoided, even though close mentoring by the supervisor during the project period is crucial for positive learning outcomes.