Together with the MOTIVATE! team, the 13 participants from universities in three different countries (Germany, Switzerland, Norway) started their one-year digital journey as binational tandems. The students will gain intercultural experience and engage with international issues in university teacher training and schooling to expand their skills and knowledge at a level that would probably not be possible without looking beyond their national horizons.

After a period of planning and constructing this special program, we were very much looking forward to starting this first cycle of “Mobile and online tandems for international vocational teacher education”.

Despite the evening hours, in which all our meetings will take place, the participants already used the time in our first meeting with great commitment to get to know each other better and to grow together as a team. We used the first half of the meeting to introduce each other and the tandems and to exchange some wishes and expectations for this project. The atmosphere was friendly and kind and the students found great interest in sharing their own experiences. Individuals also gave some valuable input that will help to shape this program in the future. It was made clear that the students are not only looking to enhance their teacher skills but to also make friends that may last a lifetime.

In the second half of the session, we talked about how we want to communicate with each other, what our blog might look like and how we can stay connected and exchange thoughts and ideas. It has become clear, that this is a diverse international group of like-minded students, that will accomplish great things together for the duration of this project and maybe even beyond.

Overall, our kick-off meeting was a great success, and we are MOTIVATE(d) to dive into this exciting new chapter!

We will soon start to share some insights into the workshops and the overall progress on this platform, so keep your eyes peeled!