Get off to a good start

It is often taken for granted that everyone can work in groups. We’ve tried that so many times – it’s nothing special. However, collaborating effectively actually requires various skills, especially social competencies. These competencies are also important in one’s professional life. And for that reason, it makes a lot of sense to invest some effort into study groups. Also, because the study group can help increase your motivation and your sense of belonging to the education. And together, you can achieve even better results than you could have done on your own.

 The first steps in your collaboration

First off you start by deciding the framework for your collaboration, aligning your expectations, and getting to know each other.

Take time to align your expectations

It can be tempting to just dive into the tasks, but it can cause problems later if you don’t align expectations from the start. Take the time to align expectations, create structure, and work with roles. Even though it may seem time-consuming, it’s worth it to establish a solid foundation for your new collaboration. In the end, it will help you create better learning experiences and contribute to your development throughout your study program.

If new members join the group, it’s a good idea to repeat the exercises. By doing so you make sure the new members are well integrated in the group and you minimize the risk of conflicts later on if the new members don’t function with ‘this is how we do it here’.