The ESIC higher education pilot in Norway was piloted on Bachelor students from Child Welfare and Social Work at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
During their work-based learning placements, bachelor students in Child Welfare and Social Work took part in a different kind of learning experience. Instead of focusing only on their own profession, they were challenged to collaborate across disciplines, explore complex social issues, and co-create solutions together.
Starting with a Real Problem
Students completed placements in a wide range of settings across the region, including child welfare services, schools, and residential homes for people with intellectual disabilities.
Their task was simple, but not necessarily easy: To identify a challenge in the workplace through observation and interviews with team leaders or practice supervisors. Rather than jumping straight to a solution, students were encouraged to be curious, ask questions, and understand the situation from different perspectives.
Using the Double Diamond model, they worked through four stages: discovering the problem, defining it more clearly, developing possible solutions, and refining their ideas together.
Learning in New Ways
One of the most interesting findings from the pilot was that students experienced the course very differently.
For some, learning through the digital platform Howspace was challenging. Others found it difficult to work in interdisciplinary groups where people approached problems in different ways. Students of Child Welfare and Social Work often bring different perspectives, concepts, professional experiences, and even legislation into discussions, making the assignments more complex.
However, student representatives highlighted something that many agreed on: the greatest challenge was also the greatest learning opportunity. This course required students to take responsibility for their own learning rather than learning through more “passive” and traditional learning methods.
There were no ready-made answers. Instead, students had to explore, reflect, discuss, and make sense of complex situations together. For many, this was a completely new way of learning.
Why Interdisciplinary Collaboration Matters
Social challenges rarely fit neatly into one professional category. Children, young people, adults with disabilities, and families often receive support from several services at the same time.
Learning to collaborate across professions while still being a student offers valuable preparation for working life. Through group work, students discovered how different educational backgrounds can lead to different understandings of the same problem. They also experienced how these differences can strengthen the quality of discussions and solutions.
This is where systems thinking became especially important. Looking beyond individual situations and considering the wider network of people, services, and stakeholders helped students develop a broader understanding of social challenges.
Key Lessons from the Pilot
Although the pilot was met with mixed reactions along the way, the overall feedback has been positive. Most students describe the experience as highly educational and relevant for future practice.
The elements that stood out as particular strengths were working in interdisciplinary teams, using co-creation methods, applying systems thinking and exploring challenges through the Double Diamond framework.
Together, these approaches encouraged students to think critically, collaborate effectively, and engage with real-life issues in a structured way.
Looking Ahead
The ESIC pilot has shown that meaningful learning often happens outside traditional teaching formats. When students are trusted to take ownership of their learning, work with authentic challenges, and collaborate across professional boundaries, they gain skills that are difficult to develop in the classroom alone.
The process has not always been comfortable, but learning rarely is. Sometimes the most valuable lessons come from stepping into unfamiliar territory, listening to different perspectives, and discovering solutions together. That is exactly what many students experienced during this pilot, and it is a promising step toward preparing future professionals for the complex social challenges they will meet in practice.
