Student Mobility

International student mobility is one of the key instruments for the internationalisation in teacher education. Studying aborad contributes to the development of personal and job-related competences for future teachers. Hence, “FAU Teacher Education International” promotes and funds students of teacher education studying abroad.

Since FAU is one of the biggest institutions for teacher education in Bavaria and offers study programmes for almost all school types and numerous subject combinations, implementing a fixed window for mobility within the course of study is not possible. Instead, “FAU Teacher Education International” promotes a diverse range of mobility opportunities so students can integrate different mobility formats into their individual course of study. In this way, the complexity of teacher education and the large number of study programs and possible combinations of subjects at FAU are taken into account.

In the long term, the project aims to establish different formats of international mobility in cooperation with existing partnerships and financing possibilities at FAU. These include short-term mobility (up to two weeks) and long-term mobility (longer mobility; semester abroad). By offering international mobility in various formats, a large number of students can benefit from experiences abroad and further develop their professional competences.

In some cases, international mobility for students can be financially supported by the project. In order to promote long-term mobility, the project offers funding for a semester abroad at one of the partner universities in which modules from at least two curricular elements of teacher education (subject-related studies, subject-related didactics, educational sciences, internships) are studied. “FAU Teacher Education International” thus considers unique characteristics of  teacher education and enables students to combine several subjects, even during stays abroad. It is also possible to write an admissions thesis with an international comparative focus under joint supervision by lecturers from FAU and the partner university. To promote short-term mobility (up to two weeks), international weeks at partner universities can be attended. In addition, students can participate in summer/winter schools or excursions and obtain ECTS.

Preparatory seminars and follow-up seminars for student mobility provide additional support for the development of personal and professional competences. In the preparatory seminar, students strengthen their abilities for self-reflection, critical thinking, and the recognition of their own patterns of thought and action so they can develop intercultural competences more easily while staying abroad. They are also sensitized to the challenges of studying abroad. The follow-up seminar focuses on a (self-) reflecting process regarding the learning success while staying abroad. The preparatory and follow-up seminar, which are designed within the framework of “FAU Lehramt International”, can be attended not only by students who have received funding from the project, but also by students who are going to study abroad as a result of other mobility and funding programmes.