What new forms of learning can contribute to a professionalization that is more closely aligned with the objective of employability currently being promoted at a European level? What new forms of learning can be generated in Higher Education in order to stimulate students’ involvement in their social environment and motivate them to respond in an ethical and creative way to global social challenges such as the economic crisis, poverty and environmental destruction? It is along these lines that we intend to conduct the most creative and experimental part of IkasGura’s work, putting into action and stimulating the emergence of unprecedented learning contexts. The first step has been the experience acquired through IKD Gazte, which worked on the concept of governance and development in relation to the initiative (Barrenechea and Fernández, 2013). After five years of experimentation and financial support from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the project is now institutionalized with a view to its inter-campus extension.

The idea driving this last line of planning aims to provide an experimental test bench for working on the concept of student self-management, establishing direct connections with the environment and curricular insertion. This is a very tentative and creative line that tests modes of development in which students can adopt roles geared more towards research (inquiry based learning), not just from a methodological perspective but also based on the assumption of, and commitment to, learning, development and university involvement (student engagement).