Vocational Orientation: Where am I, where do I come from and where do I want to go?

22/12/2022
Posted by: MOTIVATE team

Vocational orientation: Where am I, where do I come from and where do I want to go?

In addition to joint workshops on various topics, we meet regularly for so-called House Sessions. These are organized in turn by representatives of all the universities that participate in our program. As a result, we not only exchange ideas on exciting topics in these sessions, but often also learn more about the other universities and the lecturers. What are they working and researching on? What are the subjects they teach? What do they have expertise in and what methods do they use?

In our last House Session, Ulf Schrader and Ayla Kadi from TU Berlin took us into the subject of „Arbeitslehre“ (work studies) and the topic of vocational orientation. Along with exciting inputs, there was the opportunity to exchange ideas in smaller and larger groups and to reflect together: What did I want to be when I was a child and why? What am I doing today and what drives me today? Where do I see myself in the future? What do I associate with these desires or even the current status – what thoughts, feelings, values, goals? What mindset do I have and what role does it play? What personal experience do I have with vocational orientation? And what idea do I have of what vocational orientation actually is?

With a lot of interest and commitment, we exchanged ideas during this evening and took away new insights that are not only valuable with regard to school and teacher life, but also personally.

"In a diverse world, my thoughts should also be diverse, and I have only achieved this by exchanging ideas with people whose thoughts and experiences enrich me. Through the exchange at MOTIVATE! I have come up with completely new thoughts and developed new ideas for myself as a future teacher and also as a person. Celebrating the now of education and having courage and visions for the later is what I have found for myself this year."

Sophie Beer

Student at TU Berlin and former MOTIVATE! student

"MOTIVATE! is a great opportunity if you want to think outside the box as a teacher student. You get to know facets of the teaching profession together with international students, make contacts and form friendships. It really is a good first step if you want to engage with education internationally!"

Jelle Oellrich

Student at TU Berlin, former MOTIVATE! student and exchange student at NTNU

"In any case, it is very valuable to get to know a different culture of teaching. The interaction with lecturers and students in Norway is more on an equal footing, so you get the impression that you are working on something together instead of just solving an impersonal task to generate points. A personal project is created."

Dag-Maximilian Dannehl

Student at TU Berlin and former exchange student at NTNU

"MOTIVATE! provides students with distinct benefits as they develop acceptance for cultural diversity, self-confidence, initiative and curiosity through cross-cultural learning."

Katrine Dalbu Alterhaug

Head of Internationalization at the Teacher Department at NTNU

"Move it again, MOTIVATE! and lets be creative and constructive with all we learned during the pandemic…"

Prof. Markus Cslovjecsek

Project Coordinator at PH FHNW

"MOTIVATE! enables students to freely exchange thoughts and ideas on relevant topics while also gaining important intercultural skills and knowledge."

Lina Schmidt

Student and staffmember of MOVE IT! at TU Berlin

“In the world today, schools can only succeed with an international approach: the diversity of pupils in Berlin and elsewhere, the social and technological challenges of the future, all this is globally and locally connected and we need a reflexive, well-informed and open-minded view across any borders.”

Prof. Dr. Susann Fegter

Director of the School of Education SETUB