News

Final Conference "Reflections and Perspectives on international cooperation" 7th - 9th October 2024

The final conference of the INVITE project at Ludwigsburg University of Education, to which participants from all over the world had travelled, began with an opening by Rector Jörg-U. Keßler. The event offered a varied program over several days, focusing on international projects from different areas of education.

The thematic diversity of the conference ranged from linguistic diversity in the classroom to history education and sustainability education, with lively discussions about the projects and their issues.

There was also the opportunity to exchange ideas, make further contacts, plan future projects and collect project ideas in order to continue to shape education on a global level.

This conference was impressive as it was able to show how enriching international cooperation is on many levels.

Our contribution to the TEPE-conference in Aix-en-Provence

This year's TEPE conference took place in Aix-en-Provence, France, from March 20 to 22. TEPE stands for "Teacher Education Policy in Europe" and brings together teachers from all over Europe who teach and research in the field of teacher education. The focus of this year's conference was "Innovation in teacher education: Sustainable change & evaluating impact at macro, meso and micro level". Dr. Nina Dasouqi presented the INVITE project as part of "Theme 4: Teacher Mobility and Innovation: Innovation towards a European teacher and European TE; questioning the innovation in teacher mobility and impact". INVITE stands for "International Networking for Virtually Improved Teacher Education" and is funded by the DAAD with funds from the BMBF. Other projects within the framework of the Lehramt.International program line were also presented at the conference. As the project deals with the internationalization of teacher training at all levels (mobility, English-language teaching, etc.), it fitted very well into the conference programme. On the one hand, the project was presented with a focus on English-language teaching and, on the other, the results of a small qualitative study with students on the benefits of English-language teaching. One result was that English-language teaching is seen by students as valuable for the development of their own linguistic and intercultural skills.

A gezelliges & lekkeres semester abroad in Nijmegen with an insight into the Dutch school system

In the winter semester 2023/24, Carla, a prospective primary school teacher, went to Nijmegen (NL) with the INVITE project scholarship. There, she was able to gain experience for her future career at our partner university, the HAN University for Applied Sciences, and at a bilingual school, in which she worked 2 days a week.

In an exclusive interview, she reports on her time in our neighboring country so far, especially Sinterklaas, and also on what she's learned at university and at school.

Have a further insight into her stay abroad (German version)!

This is the English version of her interview.

Publication Dr. Nina Dasouqi

Dr. Nina Dasouqi, the coordinator of INVITE, published an article in "Academic Mobility through the Lens of Language and Identity, Global Pandemics, and Distance Internationalization - Multidisciplinary Perspectives" (Mammadova et. al, 2023) about academic mobility in context with our project.

The article can be found in chapter 21 (cf. "Virtual internationalization in Teacher Education - Experiences from four Projects conducted at German Higher Institutions") and was written with Kathrin Wild, Wiebke Nierste, and Katrin Kaiser. The book can also be found at the PH library.

Click on the link below for further information.

Further information

This book takes a critical perspective on international academic mobility and contextualizes this mobility through different key factors including global pandemics, identity construction, intercultural sensitivity, and cultural engagement.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, the volume investigates the current trends of international mobility programs with consideration to the new normal through social, political, economic, and educational factors among mobility exchange actors. Contesting established approaches to international academic mobility in paradigmatic contexts, the volume investigates the effects and implications of distance internationalization as an emerging concept, juxtaposing the traditional context of academic mobility with a newly emerging virtual one as a key catalyst for change.

Offering a range of authentic studies, reviews, and cases to challenge international global education, this timely book will appeal to researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students in the fields of higher education research, international and comparative education, and the sociology of education more broadly.