Abstract:

The transition towards a circular economy necessitates a workforce that is not only well-versed in technical expertise but also possesses strong sustainability and "green" competencies.

This study examines how learning processes and learning awareness develop within a multidisciplinary team participating in the Bio-based Innovation Student Challenge Europe (BISC-E), an extracurricular competition launched by the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). The challenge targets undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students across Europe, fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in the bioeconomy sector. Teams should include 3 to 6 students from STEM and humanities disciplines and must be supported by a faculty supervisor. Participants must develop innovative bio-based products or processes that contribute to the transition towards a circular economy. Winning teams receive a monetary prize and the opportunity to further industrialize their proposed solution.

This study explores the self-learning processes activated within a non-conventional extracurricular experience, through a 'case study' design, supported by learning diaries including their direct experiences and critical analysis. The innovative nature of this work lies in its multi-perspective analytical framework, which combines first-person documentation with participant-led analysis, integrating their personal viewpoint as co-authors of the work (AR, GIV, MNR), with the scientific guidance of the team supervisor (LC), and rigorously grounds the findings within the theoretical framework provided by an educational consultant (MM). Rather than relying exclusively on post-hoc survey instruments, the analysis is grounded in carefully structured learning diaries completed throughout the different phases of the project. Guided by open yet structured prompts, these diaries were designed with the robust support of the educational consultant in order to better capture the specific features of this learning experience, highlighting its added value as well as its challenges.

This text focuses on the development of learning awareness and learning perception, which are understood as key dimensions for examining how learning is constructed, monitored, and regulated in non-standardised educational contexts. The findings suggest that, although not explicitly conceived as a formal educational intervention by the organizers, the experience functioned as a powerful extracurricular learning device. This approach contributes to recognizing extracurricular competitions as meaningful and generative environments for learning in higher education. Moreover, the study discusses both the opportunities and tensions generated by the strongly interdisciplinary nature of the context, from team formation and participant selection, through the development of the challenge project, to the subsequent critical reflection on the experience.

Overall, the contribution provides a structured first-person account, employing a distinctive and innovative approach by including the participants as active authors, rather than relegating them to a purely observational and passive role. Consequently, first-person documentation is integrated with participant-led analysis and reporting. Furthermore, this approach supports the recognition of extracurricular competitions as generative environments for learning.

Keywords:

Learning awareness, learning perception, case study, multidisciplinary learning, green soft skills.