Doing knowledge work differently: problem-based projects as encounters in coming-to-know

International education scholars often theorise alternative models of knowledge work in the university. These imagine the transformation of teaching and learning and a more inclusive society. This article presents the case of a university in Denmark, where problem-oriented, interdisciplinary, collaborative project work has been the pedagogic norm for over forty years. It draws on a theoretical basis that asserts the value of a different onto-epistemological paradigm for doing knowledge work, one that engages students in knowing as troublesome (stimulated through a personally-interesting complex issue) and contested (subject to different perspectives and purposes) to enact immersive and multifaceted learning processes. Mixed-method data from the case illustrate plural outcomes of the approach. While quantitative achievement data reveal a general pattern of higher achievement in problem-focused projects when compared to coursework, teasing into qualitative statements reveals a matrix of co-existing outcomes and epistemic dispositions for graduates. While a singular case, the study illuminates the ways that learning outcomes entwine with the ways students encounter and generate knowledge in a university setting. Through processes of inquiry, students are invited to develop epistemic dispositions for engaging willingly with complexity, knowledge, others, and the world.