CDIO-aligned Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) programs are frequently credited as developing transversal competencies, yet evidence about whether these outcomes build and transfer into professional practice years later remains limited. This paper investigates the long-term impact of Fusion Point’s Challenge-Based Innovation (CBI) program through a retrospective qualitative study of alumni experiences spanning approximately a decade of cohorts. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with former participants from business, design, and engineering backgrounds and analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis supported by Atlas.ti. Alumni consistently portray CBI as a uniquely memorable, “real-life” learning experience that differs from conventional coursework by combining authentic constraints, external stakeholders, and interdisciplinary teamwork. Four clusters of durable outcomes emerge: First, alumni report sustained innovation practices, including stakeholder-oriented problem framing, iterative development, and safely working with uncertainty. Second, they describe persistent interdisciplinary teamwork capabilities, such as translating across disciplinary “languages,” aligning diverse perspectives, and negotiating trade-offs under time pressure. Third, alumni highlight leadership and influence as practiced through facilitation, sensemaking, and coordination rather than formal authority. Fourth, they emphasize identity-relevant personal development, including increased confidence, professional maturity, and long-lasting bonds that continue to support collaboration. Participants also describe career-related effects, including increased readiness for project-based, consulting, and tech and innovation-oriented roles and greater openness to social impact pathways. We discuss implications for CDIO-aligned program design, suggesting that interdisciplinary, challenge-driven learning environments can cultivate professional competencies and mindsets that alumni perceive as both transferable and durable years after participation.
