The paper analyses the case of an innovative project on the transition between university and work. The project examined sustains two social dimensions of learning: education as a shared social institution in which university studies and work can be productively interconnected and alternated in order to enhance learning, and learning as identity projects and significant participation in situated activities. Working actively at the boundaries of communities provides relevant learning "loci" for both students participating in the project and the communities involved (university and firms). Implications for the design of complex activity systems which take account of the learning value of work are discussed.