This study investigates how interdisciplinary, constructionist learning environments foster essential competencies for sustainable innovation in higher engineering education. Drawing on a multi-year case study of the course How to Invent a Robot, it analyzes how students from engineering, architecture, and science collaborate on projects addressing real-world challenges aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Qualitative analysis of 135 student reflections and project artifacts highlights the development of interdisciplinary collaboration, reflective problem-solving, and creative, human-centered design practices, while students’ engagement with sustainability remain mostly surface-level. The findings also reveal institutional and cultural barriers to interdisciplinary learning and offer guidance for future teaching frameworks by illustrating how experiential, project-based learning prepares students to navigate complexity and engage with sustainable innovation.