Societal, technological, and economic changes are transforming the operational environment of higher education institutions (HEIs). It is evident that modern-day challenges cannot be addressed with outdated methods.

National economies, regional issues, and global challenges, along with economic needs, necessitate the ability to adapt to and leverage the methodologies of HEIs. To equip students and societies with the competitive skills required, there is a growing need to enhance individuals' ability for international cooperation. Based on the strategic choice of Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Finland) to focus on Learning by Developing, this abstract focuses on acquiring the necessary skills for internationally oriented and work-life-focused learning. This learning is conducted simultaneously while studying at a HEI and is a problem-solving-based and rewarding way to generate new internationally skilled potential and competitiveness for local and national economies and societies.

The focus on Cross-cultural Working Life Connected (WLC) HEI studies is clear: HEI students become internationally oriented, motivated problem solvers and proactive learners.

This abstract is based on the WLC teaching model, which has been developed in the HEIComp project that is funded by EU Erasmus Capacity Building programme2023-2025. The goal of the HEIComp project is to enhance WLC education in five higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil and Paraguay. The HEIComp project is being implemented by three Brazilian HEIs and one company, two Paraguayan HEIs, as well as three European HEIs from Finland, Portugal and Romania.

The WLC model is based on the pedagogical approach "Learning by Developing (LbD), created by Laurea University of Applied Sciences, which emphasizes authentic and practical collaboration between working life, students, and lecturers and professors at a university.

This abstract examines international collaboration in WLC HEI Studies by integrating HEI studies with real-life challenges. The WLC methodology includes mixed cross-cultural student teams guided by experienced professors and lecturers. These teams solve real-life problems assigned by external organizations. These studies are conducted as an integral part of mandatory / compulsory studies and international teams work together virtually on different time zones. 

For the conference, we are gathering information from existing research and will be executing a study. In the HEIComp project, cross-cultural WLC studies were conducted by the Brazilian and Paraguayan HEI partners in the spring of 2024. A study was carried out based on the experiences of students, teachers, and project clients involved in the WLC studies. In addition to the results of this research, we will conduct a study focusing on Laurea's international LbD student teams during 2024-2025. The aim of the research is to study how students learn about cross-cultural contexts in international mixed teams within authentic WLC work-life assignments. 

In the results, we will present the benefits that arise for students regarding cross-cultural contexts in WLC implementations assigned by external organisations. On the other hand, we will also outline the challenges related to cross-cultural contexts and how they should be considered when planning international WLC studies by professors.