Every year, the PKR sends app. 50 students in the framework of European proposals abroad. These first year students on the way to becoming state approved educators are taking advantage of an internship in one of the European partner countries. The six week internship takes place in an early childhood organization (i.e. kindergarten, pre-school etc.) in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, England and the Scandinavian countries. The aim is to develop and strengthen the students intercultural abilities and to incorporate these abilities into the students' vocational training after their return. Therefore, it is part and parcel of PKR'S vocational training. During the internship the students are monitored by their mentors in their kindergartens et.al. . A member of PKR'S Team visits them in order to deal with questions and problems and also to strengthen the contact between sending and receiving organiziation. After their return, the students take part in an extensive reflexion period. Apart from this program where the PKR functions as the sending partner, we also take part in the program as a receiving partner for Leeds College students who participate in an internship in kindergartens in Rostock.

Last year we apllied appropriation for 50 students of our school to give them theopportunity to do an internship abroad. On grounds of personal and organisationalproblems there were just 26students who decided to take this opportunity. In octoberwe sent 20female and 6 male participants aged 18-27 to different partners all overEurope to do an internship lasting 6 weeks. There they should on one hand enhancetheir interdisciplinary and inclusive pedagogical skills and on the other hand learn tocompare different educational systems. Back in Rostock our students took part inthree reflection days at our school. On these days they could compare note with eachother and present their experiences to other students and teachers. Most of thestudents seemed really excited and found the internship enriching and commandable.On the first day the students came together in small groups of three to discuss theirexperiences and to present their institutions. The following two days were filled withgroup presentations shown by the students, where they could tell other students andteachers about their impressions. All in all the presentations were really informativeand showed that the students made great experiences. They even inspired newstudents to take the opportunity next year as well and furthermore gave teachers newideas for further lessons.

Every year, the PKR sends app. 50 students in the framework of European proposals abroad. These first year students on the way to becoming state approved educators are taking advantage of an internship in one of the European partner countries. The six week internship takes place in an early childhood organization (i.e. kindergarten, pre-school etc.) in England, Spain, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, Portugal, Austria et. al. The aim is to develop and strengthen the students intercultural abilities and to incorporate these abilities into the students' vocational training after their return. Therefore, it is part and parcel of PKR'S vocational training. During the internship the students are monitored by their mentors in their kindergartens et.al. . A member of PKR'S Team Abroad visits them in order to deal with questions and problems and also to strengthen the contact between sending and receiving organiziation. After their return, the students take part in an extensive reflexion period. Apart from this program where the PKR functions as the sending partner, we also take part in the program as a receiving partner for Leeds College students who participate in an internship in kindergartens in Rostock.

"The topics of employability, migration, integration and European values are central to current social discourse and the European countries are one, if not the central place for them. The project ""Europe's Boundless Working Worlds"" addressed precisely these points.By exploring the different cultural identities in South Eastern Europe, labour mobility within Europe, the study of migration and flight and the representation of a common cultural space, the participants dealt with the facets of these concepts and explored and reflected their ideas of identity and European values in a collaborative effort. The project was attended by 35 young people (aged between 15 and 20) from Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Romania and Germany. The participants from Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo and Romania were pupils, who were thinking about their future studies and profession. The participants from Germany were pupils and students with or without a migration background, and some of them with work experience. Through the encounter of these groups, an intercultural exchange arose and the connection to the working world with the terms ""Europe"" and ""borderless"" was investigated. In addition, the pupils, together with the students from Germany, began a journey in which they examined the terms ""working worlds"", ""employability"", ""migration"" and ""integration"". At the same time, the project aimed to bring Europe closer to the participants, promoted understanding, reduced stereotypes and promoted the integration of disadvantaged groups in society and in the working world. At the youth exchange in Germany, all participants visited in Erfurt the European information Center, the Service Office of Erfurt and the NGO ""Culture goes Europe"" and broadened their knowledge about skills acquisition and integration in the labour market and understood the working worlds from the employer's perspective. The discussion between the participants (pupils and students) was therefore very important and provided motivation and answers to questions based on experience. In the project, the participants experienced the diversity of cultures at first hand as well as the principles of solidarity and tolerance through the interactions between young people from different backgrounds. The project included a youth exchange in Germany and the on-going work during the pilot phase, where participants and group leaders exchanged ideas and got prepared for the youth exchange. At the Youth Exchange in Germany, the young people had the chance to network, reflect on their experiences and ideas, experienced intercultural training, deepened the learned aspects in role plays, participated in team-building activities, received information on European values and active EU citizenship, participated in discussions on the subject of employability and integration, and discovered the importance of their own initiative. It was important for the project's consortium to reach a large number of young people and to not exclude anyone based on their social, cultural or religious background. Language skills were not crucial for participation due to the focus on multilingualism and non-verbal communication. This approach was realized with theatrical and other forms of artistic expression, through detailed demonstration of the procedures and, in some cases, the provision of translation services.The methods of non-formal learning - such as brainstorming, workshops, team-building activities, encounters, research, excursions, exploration, group work - were used in the project. Through them the young people learned more about themselves, their future choices, their homeland, foreign cultures and Europe.The project results include presentations on the topic „Professions in my home country during the past, the present and the future"", short video productions on the topic ""My future in Europe / Where do I see myself in 10 years?"", the digital diary of the youth exchange ""Grenzenlos"" and the working-paper of ""The Voice of Youth - Europe and me"". All project results are available on the blog ""Grenzenlos"".In addition to the visible results of activities, which also benefit other young people in Europe, the project has a long-term impact on the participants' social, linguistic and digital skills. Because of their experience they will continuously reflect integration into a community, belonging, recognition and familiarity."

ObjectiveSchools: Future Labs aimed to increase the employability of young people, by increasing their interest and achievements in STEM and foreign language subjects.Problem statementThe problem we addressed was two-fold:• Low interest of students in STEM subjects, because these subjects were taught (and therefore perceived) in dry, theoretical, abstract terms;• Low proficiency in foreign languages, because classroom teaching was largely theoretical/passive, instead of participatory which would enable students to use and practice the language they are learning.Ultimately, these two subject areas were fundamentally linked in the sense that in theory, they appeared abstract and useless, yet once they were practiced, they opened doors to the world. Methodology, Activities and OutputsTo reach its objective, Schools: Future Labs developed and tested a teaching methodology based on Action Research, involving task-based exploration of STEM subjects during classes taught in tandem by STEM and foreign language teachers. Using mobile science labs that enable students to develop and implement their own experiments, this methodology was student-led, self-directed and included project planning and implementation skills: all essential to the development of transversal skills.The activities of the project implementation phase were primarily concern training of teachers, piloting of the methodology by teachers in their classes, further training and production seminars and on-line mentoring, resulting in the development of project outputs.The outputs of this project are:• A teacher training Course for the Schools: Future Labs methodology;• A series of “plug-and-play” STEM-CLIL lesson plans, applied to a variety of STEM subjects and applicable to any foreign language;• A virtual student learning portfolio which will document each student’s learning outcomes.Expected ResultsThe efficacy and effectiveness of this methodology was comprehensively evaluated, both in quantitative terms (did students test better than those not involved in this project?) and as importantly, in qualitative terms (were students more interested in STEM and FL than those not involved in this project? Did teachers and students find classes more interesting and motivating?)The evaluation demonstrated that as a result of Schools: Future Labs, students were more interested in STEM subjects, achieved a higher and deeper level of knowledge, developed better fluency in their chosen foreign language, and that these results were achieved in a cost-effective way.Based on this evaluation, the results were: - the participating schools will continue to use this methodology with their students;- the Schools: Future Labs Teacher Training Course have been accredited in most Partner countires as a teacher training course;- the participating teacher training institutes started offering this course as part of their new and in-service teacher training offer.We used these results to promote:- the adoption of the Schools: Future Labs methodology by public education authorities in the participating countries and its implementation in more schools, including in secondary schools;- the piloting and dissemination of Schools: Future Labs in more countries in order to extend its benefits to students (and businesses) across the European Union.Long-term impactsWe expect that as a result of this project, students will, as they grow older:- make a more successful transition into employment, in careers that are vital to the competitiveness of the European economies;- possess the skills that the private sector desperately needs. If these needs are different in 15 years' time, they will have developed the transversal skills necessary to adapt.ParticipantsThe project was piloted in 5th and 6th-grade classes (or local equivalent) in seven project partner schools in four countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Romania. One linked secondary school also participated in each country as an observer, with a view to extending the methodology to secondary schools in the future. Participants included STEM and FL teachers who were trained in the Schools: Future Labs methodology, as well as their students who did benefit from this methodology.Two Teacher Training Institutes (BG, PL), a University (EL) and an Education Ministry department (RO) specialised in teacher training, as well as two national cultural institutes (Goethe-Institut (DE) and Instituto Cervantes (ES)) trained, accompanied and supported the teachers and ensured that their work results in effective project outputs. The Spanish Ministry of Education completed the partnership, bringing its network and know-how to project dissemination.