This website mainly belongs to our digital tandem programme MOTIVATE!. MOTIVATE! stands for “Mobile and online tandems for international vocational teacher education” and is a subproject of the project MOVE IT! (Mobility in vocational teacher education for interculturally competent teachers) at the Institute of Educational Science at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), Germany. In the following, we will first introduce MOTIVATE! and then provide more detailed information about MOVE IT! and its various project parts.
About
MOTIVATE! - Our new virtual mobility programme
MOTIVATE! aims to digitally connect teacher education students from different countries over one academic year. In international teams of two called „tandems“ the students will work together online and discuss different topics and comparative perspectives on education, interculturality and school. Accompanying this, the students exchange their ideas monthly in a larger group, report from the tandems and participate in workshops organised exclusively for them. As an added value for the universities, the students will be able to take away their experiences and apply them to their regular course work. This makes MOTIVATE! a sustainable, innovative project that enables teacher education students to network and collaborate transnationally without having to rely on physical mobility. MOTIVATE! has launched in 2022 with students from TU Berlin, PH FHNW in Switzerland and NTNU in Norway. As a special extra, the participants are invited to an international Summer School at the end of the programme, which took place in Berlin in 2023 for the first time and will be held at NTNU in 2024.
As already mentioned, MOTIVATE! is a subproject of MOVE IT!. It stands alongside the establishment and expansion of cooperations, the development and offering of Internationalisation@home programmes and the establishment of a national round table on internationalisation of vocational teacher education. You can find out more about MOVE IT! and its several parts below.
MOVE IT! - Internationalisation at the School of Education TU Berlin
MOVE IT! is based at the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) at the Institute of Educational Science and lead by Prof. Dr. Susann Fegter, holder of the Chair of General and Historical Educational Science and director of the School of Education SETUB. It is currently funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) programme Lehramt.International with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). MOVE IT! aims to internationalise teacher training at the TU Berlin and to integrate topics such as interculturality and diversity more strongly. Overall the project comprises four focal points, which are shown below.
More about teacher training at the TU Berlin
One focus of teacher training at the TU Berlin is on technical and industrial subjects for vocational school teaching. In addition, the subject Work Studies (Arbeitslehre) is offered, which is taught in Berlin as the school subject WAT (Wirtschaft-Arbeit-Technik / Economiy-Work-Technology). The teacher training at the TU Berlin is organised centrally by the School of Education SETUB. The target group of our MOVE IT! offerings at the TU Berlin level are all student teachers as well as staff members of different status groups who are involved in teacher training.
More about the DAAD funding programme Lehramt.International
Today more than ever, teachers face the challenge of dealing with heterogeneous classrooms, discovering and nurturing the potential of this diversity and preparing their students for an increasingly globalised world. It is clear that teachers do not simply have these skills, but must be given the opportunity to develop them at university and during their work life. Transnational encounters and experiences are a great and irreplaceable opportunity for this.
This conviction is also the starting point for the programmes of the DAAD. Although student mobility is increasing thanks to many funding opportunities, students in teaching training programmes still make significantly fewer international experiences in their studies than students in other subjects. This is particularly true for students in vocational subjects. With Lehramt.International, the DAAD aims, among other things, to promote programmes that are specifically developed for students in teacher training. With MOVE IT!, we contribute to this and are particularly addressing the needs of our students from vocational and prevocational disciplines. Our goal is to offer all students a realistic chance to make their studies more international and to be prepared for their future profession in the best possible way. Therefore, we offer programmes of different intensities and kinds of mobility. As we are also convinced that internationalisation is a process of change that can only be implemented holistically, we involve all status groups of teacher education in the process and the offers.
With our four focal points, we address different target groups and respond to different needs. Find out more about the individual project parts here:
Transnational online tandem programme MOTIVATE!
This website belongs to our subproject MOTIVATE!. In this program, student teachers from Germany, Norway and Switzerland are matched over two semesters in fixed teams and deal digitally with various topics. The program enables international exchange without relying on physical mobility and thereby offers great flexibility and practical topics and responds to the specific needs of student teachers. With MOTIVATE! we use the potential of digitalization to create a sustainable alternative and extension to classic mobility. Find more information about MOTIVATE! in our FAQ.
Transnational online tandem programme MOTIVATE!
This website belongs to our subproject MOTIVATE!. In this programme, student teachers from Germany are matched with student teachers from other countries – Norway, Switzerland and Australia for now – for two semesters in fixed teams to deal with various topics digitally. The programme enables international exchange without relying on physical mobility and thereby offers great flexibility and practical topics and also responds to the specific needs of student teachers. With MOTIVATE! we use the potential of digitalization to create a sustainable alternative and an extension to classic mobility. You can find more information about MOTIVATE! above on this page or in our FAQ.
Development of international university cooperations
By expanding university cooperations in Europe and South Africa, MOVE IT! is supporting and pushing the internationalisation of teacher education training at TU Berlin. At the TU teachers are trained in several vocational subjects and the secondary school subject Labour Studies (Arbeitslehre). In our efforts to expand cooperations, we rely on the holistic concept of integrating both students and staff. Currently, we offer stays abroad for students as well as academic and administrative staff at our partner universities. A third cooperation with a university in South Africa is being established.
Development of international university cooperations
By expanding university cooperations in Europe, Australia, South Africa and beyond, MOVE IT! is supporting and pushing the internationalisation of teacher education training at TU Berlin. At the TU Berlin teachers are trained in several vocational subjects and the secondary school subject Work Studies (Arbeitslehre). In our efforts to expand cooperations, we rely on the holistic concept of integrating both students and staff. Currently, we offer stays abroad for students as well as academic and administrative staff at our partner universities. A new cooperation with a university in South Africa is being established.
Internationalisation@home
by local exchange events and trainings
Internationalization@home offerings aim to create opportunities for SETUB students to deal with topics related to internationalization and diversity at home – in Berlin. MOVE IT! fireside chats (Kaminabende) bring together student teachers and practising teachers in an informal atmosphere to exchange experiences about the importance of diversity and interculturality in everyday school life. In addition, formal intercultural training is offered in preparation for everyday school life or a stay abroad during teacher education training. Training courses are also designed for university staff. A first international summer school with a focus on vocational education is in plan for 2023.
Internationalisation@home
through local exchange events and trainings
Internationalisation@home offerings aim to create opportunities for SETUB students to deal with topics related to internationalisation and diversity at home – in Berlin. MOVE IT! fireside chats (“Kaminabende”) bring together student teachers and practising teachers in an informal atmosphere to exchange experiences about the importance of diversity and interculturality in everyday school life. In addition, formal intercultural training is offered in preparation for everyday school life or a stay abroad during teacher education training. Training courses are also designed for university staff. A first international Summer School with a focus on vocational education and digitalization took place in September 2023.
National round table Internationalisation of (pre-)vocational teacher education
The School of Education TU Berlin (SETUB) is taking up the challenge of internationalising teacher education training for technical vocational subjects. Traditionally, it is more difficult for students of those subjects to study internationally. This is related to the fact that teacher education training is being organized differently in foreign countries and that those students have characteristic needs such as increased flexibility. The MOVE IT! project offers a platform for universites to discuss and exchange experiences in this process. An annual round table with representatives of other Schools of Education in Germany will be established at SETUB. You are interested in joining? Contact us!
National round table Internationalisation of (pre-)vocational teacher education
The School of Education TU Berlin (SETUB) is taking up the challenge of internationalising teacher education training for technical vocational subjects. Traditionally, it is more difficult for students of those subjects to study internationally. This is related to the fact that teacher education training is being organized differently in foreign countries and that those students have characteristic needs such as increased flexibility due to e.g. study-related employments, care responsibilities or their study structures. The MOVE IT! project offers a platform for universites to discuss and exchange experiences in this process. An annual round table with representatives of other Schools of Education in Germany will be established at SETUB. You are interested in joining? Contact us!
