Relations between higher education institutions and local companies are generally considered to be very important to the success of education provision and for the social fabric surrounding the school. This article describes a case study of bringing together two parties with an interest in the school's action: students and companies. Group work as an assessment tool for resolving a specific problem or analysing a business situation in detail, when carried out in businesses, allows learning to take place in an everyday context. This helps both students and companies to achieve their objectives--learning and academic success for the former and the exchange of knowledge with a collaborative school open to its local environment for the latter. (Contains 8 figures and 6 footnotes.)