This paper builds on previous research and the insights gained from thematic analysis of reflections by students and educator panels on an online collaborative problem-based learning (CPBL) project across four campuses at a South African private higher education institution. The research found a strong connection between student and educator reflections and reveals that collaborative project-based learning (CPBL) is crucial to building students' confidence in transdisciplinary collaboration within a real-world online setting. Consequently, the researchers begin this paper with a proposed framework for fostering confident transdisciplinary CPBL online. The interrelated insights obtained from the longitudinal study thus form a foundation for the researchers to delve deeper into the experiences of disciplines and, in this instance, the reflections of design educators and project designers on how transdisciplinary CPBL can nurture soft skills for workplace success. Soft skills, which are transversal or non-technical and cross-disciplinary, are often unnoticed by lecturers and not evaluated in tests or projects. The paper contextualises Royo's taxonomy (2019) and soft skills mentioned in the literature that are further enhanced through CPBL. The research focuses on communication, teamwork, and a positive attitude.

Thematic analysis of the reflections of design lecturers and programme developers (2023) reveals an embedded confidence, but also discipline-specific lines of tension in the collaborative thinking and doing of design students. The responsibilities of educators as transdisciplinary facilitators emerge in the approach and practices of project panels and in the critical role of supporting students to articulate their professional self-efficacy and to express their professional worth confidently and effectively. Project design also plays a critical role in this regard. The research considers the nature of confidence within and beyond disciplines and reveals that, ideally, all study programmes should be sufficiently latticed to ultimately enable online transdisciplinary collaboration