Collaborative learning as an increasingly used approach in university education creates opportunities for students to learn maximally from each other as well as individually, and develop teamwork skills. During this process, learning takes place in small study groups with the goal to solve a task, while participants support each other, share responsibility, and reflect on their learning process and outcome. This study focuses on the students’ experiences of collaborative learning, analyzing two courses at different universities in Estonia. The findings suggest that randomly selected groups create opportunities for the development of individual skills, such as critical thinking or problem-solving skills. Efforts ought to be made by the students as well as lecturers to make learning experiences valuable, such as avoiding the formation of comfort groups based on friendship, giving and receiving feedback, and highlighting the benefits of the learning method. Based on the findings, suggestions are made for learning facilitators to support collaborative learning experiences.