Motives for involvement in project-based learning at a university: assessing the opinions of employers and students

This study aims to identify the key characteristics of employer-client project engagement and student involvement in project-based learning, as well as their interest in project-based learning as an educational technology and the motives behind students’ selection of specific projects for implementation. The article presents the experience of the Ural Federal University, where the format of project-based learning has been actively developing at a systemic level for over seven years. The authors present the results of a survey conducted among employers participating in project-based learning as clients, as well as students of the university. A key conclusion drawn from the research results is the presence of contradictions in understanding project-based learning between these two groups, leading to a gap in their behaviors. The authors offer their recommendations for bridging this gap from the perspective of managing the project-based learning process. The article will be beneficial to researchers studying practice-oriented learning formats, as well as university administrators developing project-based learning in their institutions.