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Globalization presents engineering educators with new challenges as they face the need for graduates who can function comfortably in an increasingly distributed team context which crosses country and cultural boundaries. Scaffolding learners to acquire professional attributes which transcend the solely technical places stress on traditional curriculum models. This paper analyses an Open Ended Group Project Framework (OEGP) situated in an action research program applied within the IT in Society course at Uppsala University. The approach results in conscious evolution of the course as an integral element of its design. It enables flexible planned educational change informed by a combination of learning theories and stakeholder input. In this paper we discuss the role of the research program in addressing the educational challenges we faced assisting students to develop global collaboration skills. The implications of combining this course with one at a partner institution in the USA and developing a global collaboration are also addressed. The paper concludes by summarizing the benefits of adopting an integrated action research and OEGP framework to support flexible course delivery in a global professional engineering context.