Although SoTL research provides results documenting the efficiency of problem-based
and project-based learning, the process of change at the institutional levels all over the
world is slow. Based on research and experience from the UNESCO Chair work all over
the world, I point out seven premises for changing to PBL: governance and educational
policy, research and political pragmatism, change at institutional and individual level,
leadership, implementation, trust in students’ learning and global societies. These are
premises at very different levels; however, in the global society they all play a role in the
process of changing higher education. This essay places PBL in a SoTL framework of
inquiry, research, application, and change, and explains that PBL is beneficial for
students learning key skills.