This paper explores this intersection between Project-Based Learning (PBL) and student centricity through a CDIO case study called the Digital Wellbeing Sprint. The Sprint gathers multidisciplinary and culturally diverse students for an intensive, multi-day service innovation course where teams work on real-life problems from partner companies or organizations and explore modern tools and methods for co-creation and service design. The partnerships offer a platform for implementing Project-Based Learning which challenges students to explore the live brief from a human-centred perspective, then conceive of and design a potential solution. Successful implementation requires a teaching team willing to embrace a student-centered approach where the teacher’s role shifts from ‘sage on the stage’ to ‘guide on the side.’ To help facilitate the shift in mindset, organizers have worked to understand the value students experience from this type of learning and identify student-driven Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) that work alongside those developed by the educators. This paper gives a brief introduction to how project-based learning was used alongside co-creation and service design to support a student-centered learning environment, describes the results from the latest Sprint, shares key learnings about the implementation, and discusses future development of the concept.
