Project-Based Experiential Learning (PBEL) engages students in small teams (3–5) to complete real-world projects within a 14-week semester. Teams clarify deliverables, identify problems, analyze data, complete process tasks, and deliver practical solutions.
Projects fall into two categories: organization-sponsored work tasks or consulting and team-proposed interdisciplinary innovations. Both provide hands-on experience tackling complex challenges while building professional skills.
Sponsoring organizations benefit from fresh ideas, focused teams, and high-quality deliverables. Interdisciplinary projects further enhance learning and awareness by integrating diverse perspectives, fostering creativity, and preparing students to collaborate across fields while solving complex challenges.
Think of PBEL as a true professional work experience–where you step into the role of an employee and are treated like a professional, not just a student.
Gain real-world experience without leaving campus or quitting your job.
Tackle genuine challenges and produce meaningful, results-driven solutions.
Build your resume, expand your network, and develop professional skills employers want.
Meet with the Experiential Learning Team – Ask specific questions and get personalized guidance.
Enroll in CRDEV 301R and start building the real-world experience employers want.
Looking for innovative, no-cost support to tackle a current challenge in your organization? BYU–Hawaii offers a unique opportunity to partner with a student consulting team through our Project-Based Experiential Learning (PBEL) program—an experiential learning initiative that connects motivated students with real organizations.
Over a 14-week semester, teams of 3–5 students collaborate on finding solutions tailored to your organization’s goals. These collaborative teams work under the guidance of mentors and sponsors to ensure high-quality, professional results.
We welcome business challenges across a wide range of fields. Sample project types include:
| Semester | Sponsor Application Period | Project Duration |
| Winter | Sept 1 – Nov 30 | Jan – Mid April |
| Fall | May 1 – July 31 | Sept – Mid December |
*Please reach out to us if you need to submit a late project proposal.
Answers provided by former students Nichol Holbrook, Samuel Tobon, and Joy Tang.
Nicole: “I was able to work in a professional setting using online technology. I also [learned] how to communicate with people in a professional setting . . .”
Samuel: “I was able to work with real sets of data . . . and I had to understand the data well enough to know what the next step forward was. I was able to really understand. . . the best way for the team to work together.”
Joy: “This will help build your resume because you know how you were able to impact the company and the value you brought, as you measure it throughout the [course].”
Joy: “I was able to use the skills that I learned . . . to help the company conduct surveys and use the surveys as data to conduct data analysis.”
Samuel: “One of the biggest skills I was able to develop was my presentation skills . . . the presentation structure that we learned in class allowed us to give a very precise and concrete presentation.”
Nicole: “I was able to learn to deal with . . . disagreements within the group . . . how to better communicate with the sponsor and how to better understand their needs and their desires.”
Joy: “I was able to network with my peers from different majors.”
Samuel: “I made sure to add everybody that was in my group as friends on Facebook or on LinkedIn . . . We had a sponsor that was in charge of meeting with us once a week, and his secretary, and there’s also the sales manager and the human resources director for the company. And I made sure to add all these people in LinkedIn . . . so I definitely was able to build my network.”
Nicole: “I was able to network with a lot of individuals. First off, students . . . from all over the world . . . and I was also able to network with a lot of business professionals.”
Nicole: “I’ve been learning how to respectfully disagree or to express [my] opinions to help . . . the company achieve what they’re trying to achieve.”
Samuel: “I realized that . . . each of the actions that the business [takes] are to help the business progress.”
Joy: “I worked really closely with my teammates, and we worked really hard to make everything we did for this project at an industry level.”
Samuel: “I [gained] experience conducting meetings, taking notes, and following up with others to make sure we keep on moving forward.”
Nicole: “I was able to . . . learn how to deal with other personalities . . . and really work together and cooperate when there’s different ideas coming to the table.”
Joy: “I worked with a startup and . . . we were able to help them [with] their product and continue with their research and development.”
Nicole: “I was also able to gain more skills on a professional level . . . better understanding strategies and data and how to analyze and [use] the things that I’ve not only learned in my classes . . . but finding how I can apply [them] in a real-world setting.”
Nicole: “I personally didn’t need to take the [course] for credit . . . [it] was recommended by many people that I should take it . . . to be able to see the skills learned in class and to be able to apply [them] in a professional setting.”
Samuel: “I saw this . . . class [as] worth more than the three credits given me because the experience that I gained couldn’t have been gained anywhere else.”
Joy: “Because it is a three-credit class you use it to help you manage your time throughout the [project] which I found very useful.”
Joy: “I am very grateful that I was able to continue my classes while [working on a project] because I’m learning while gaining real-world experience at the same time.”
Nicole: “You are able to get first-hand experience with whatever [your project] is.”
Joy: “I think [PBEL] is so important because you get to gain the experience before you graduate. . . you can really learn from each other and also gain the connections you need before you graduate.”
Samuel: “[PBEL] provides students with hands-on experience of what it’s like entering the work field . . . I think this is my passport, and it’s everybody’s passport for the future because it opens your eyes and gives you an opportunity that you can’t get anywhere else.”
