Connecting Disciplines through COIL and PBL: Industrial Safety and Mathematics Education Synergies

Abstract

In an era of digitalization, globalization, and complex societal challenges, universities are called to prepare students not only with disciplinary expertise but also with transversal competences such as critical thinking, teamwork, communication, intercultural understanding, and digital collaboration. Project-Based Learning (PBL) offers a well-established pedagogical approach for developing these competences through engagement with authentic, real-world problems. This paper explores how PBL can be enriched through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), focusing on interdisciplinary collaboration between students of industrial safety (HSE) and mathematics education. The proposed COIL initiative connects students from different disciplinary and national backgrounds, offering them opportunities to collaborate in international teams on shared project topics that integrate both pedagogical and technical perspectives. Future mathematics teachers contribute structured, abstract thinking, didactic skills, and inclusive communication strategies. While HSE students bring applied knowledge in areas such as risk management, machinery and system safety, occupational hygiene and ergonomics, and incident prevention. This collaboration fosters reciprocal learning, where mathematics becomes more tangible and relevant, and safety expertise is adapted for educational settings. Rather than prescribing fixed themes, the initiative encourages exploration of thematic intersections – such as risk modelling, safety data analysis, communication, or the co-design of teaching materials for technical content. Assignments are intentionally designed to promote active engagement, mutual respect, and the co-creation of meaningful outcomes, while supporting transversal competence development. The paper outlines the pedagogical rationale, competence mapping, and project ideas, emphasizing the potential of combining PBL and COIL. This integrative approach mirrors real-world collaboration across disciplines and borders and offers a flexible, inclusive model of internationalization at home. It enhances students’ readiness for professional environments where interdisciplinary teamwork, digital literacy, and cross-cultural cooperation are essential. The initiative is part of the Erasmus+ project COLOSH, which promotes innovative, digital, and international learning in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and related fields.