Capstone Project Collaborations Between Inherently Diverse Disciplines: Two Comparative Case Studies

While cross-disciplinary collaborations between students are encouraged in the university setting, there are many issues in achieving this learning outcome. In particular, when the disciplines are inherently diverse (e.g. computing and architecture) and use very different learning and teaching approaches, this type of collaborations can give mixed results. This paper discusses the successes and failures of crossdisciplinary collaborations involving three diverse disciplines via two case studies. In addition to describing the diverse nature of the learning and teaching approaches adopted in each case study, the paper identifies curriculum and assessment design, the commitment of program coordinators, the structure and dynamics of the collaborative student relationships, and differing scholarly cultures as the main factors that decide the success of such collaborations. The paper highlights the need for re-thinking the learning and teaching approaches needed to facilitate the collaboration between inherently different disciplines.