News Pick
The real lessons behind group projects
Working with classmates teaches students how to manage deadlines, differences, conflict, and shared responsibility
Group projects rarely begin smoothly. Someone creates the WhatsApp group. Someone says they will make the presentation. Someone else disappears until the night before submission. At first, it may feel like just another college assignment, but by the end, students often realise they have learnt far more than the topic printed on the first slide.
A group project tests patience before it tests knowledge. Students have to divide work, agree on ideas, fix timelines, and understand that not everyone works in the same way. One person may want everything planned early. Another may work best under pressure. A third may have strong ideas but little confidence to speak. Learning to manage these differences is often the real assignment.
Dr Preeti Suryawanshi, Associate Professor and Area Chair (Marketing) at Apeejay School of Management, in a classroom, students may understand a concept individually, but group work shows them how that understanding changes when ideas are discussed with others.
“They learn to defend their point, accept feedback, divide responsibility, and adjust when things do not go as planned. These experiences are valuable because most professional spaces demand collaboration. A group project gives students an early chance to practise communication, leadership, and problem-solving in a very real way,” she said.
It also teaches communication in a way no lecture can. A message has to be clear. A deadline has to be repeated. Feedback has to be given without sounding rude. When work is uneven, students learn how difficult it can be to ask someone to contribute more, especially when that person is also a friend.
Leadership appears quietly in group work. It is not always the loudest student who leads. Sometimes it is the one who keeps track of tasks, checks the final file, reminds everyone about the submission format, or stays calm when the group begins to panic.
Conflict is also part of the process. Ideas clash. Effort feels unequal. Last-minute changes annoy everyone. Yet, these uncomfortable moments teach students how to negotiate, compromise, and keep the work moving.
The syllabus may explain a concept, but a group project shows students how people work together in real life. It teaches responsibility, time management, listening, and trust.
