Bielefeld celebrates: 60 international teachers start!

Bielefeld celebrates: 60 international teachers start!

On June 6, 2025, a joint graduation ceremony for around 60 graduates of the “Teachers Plus” program took place in the Bielefeld Hechelei. The event was organized by the University of Bielefeld, the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen. Professor Dr. Dario Anselmetti, Vice -Rector for Studies and Teaching at the University of Bielefeld, emphasized the importance of this celebration for the exchange and networking between the universities involved. This initiative is part of a larger project that qualifies international teachers from third countries with and without escape background for use at schools in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

The "Teachers Plus" program is located in the Schools of Education or in the Center for Teachers' Education from the universities and has already produced many graduates. Of the 60 graduates, all previously completed a university study outside of Germany, already worked as teachers and have advanced knowledge of German. They teach subjects such as biology, chemistry, English, computer science, mathematics, physics or technology and come from countries such as Algeria, Brazil, India, Iraq, Iran, Colombia, Syria, Turkey, Tunisia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

experiences and challenges of the graduates

During the one -year program, the participants deepen their German skills and work on didactic offers. You gain practical experience through internships in schools in the regions. Particular attention is paid to the pedagogical-inter-cultural training. Ali Mahmood provides an example of the positive experiences in the program, who worked both as a student and as a teacher in the LK-Plus project. In particular, he met new teaching methods that are not widespread in his home country. The "Fish Bowl" method was particularly important for him, which enables students to express their opinions and show their knowledge.

mahmood emphasizes that empathy and patience are crucial to convey the knowledge of students. After completing the program, he plans to participate in the "Promote" (ILF) support program in order to further deepen what has been learned. He sees his role as a teacher not only as a knowledge broker, but also as a model for his students. "The teachers are constantly being observed by students: on the inside," explains Mahmood and encourages current participants to concentrate their efforts in technical language, German and practical experience.

meaning of international teacher training

The social demands in schools are changing and international experiences among teachers are becoming increasingly important. There is a necessity that teachers are able to act responsibly in global contexts and prepare students for the international labor market. Statistics show that in the school year 2020/2021, about 12% of students at general education schools did not have German citizenship. Over 33% of elementary school students had a family migration history.

The OECD report Talis 2018 also shows that only 32% of international teachers were trained in multicultural and multilingual contexts, which emphasizes the need for intercultural and international teacher training. Measures such as full scholarships for school internships abroad and the structural internationalization of teacher courses through cooperation with foreign universities should counter these challenges. Quality offensive teacher education.de describes how important these developments are and that they do not understand as an additional add-on, but as a quality should be.

The final event marked the end of an important chapter for the graduates who are now willing to use their new skills in practice. Special guests of the event included Professor Dr. Stefan Rumann from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Dr. Henning Feldmann from the Ruhr University Bochum and Ina Brandes, the Minister of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which sent a digital greeting.

Further information about the program and the experiences of the participants can be found on the websites of the universities and programs involved, in particular at Lehrkraefteplus-nrw.de and Aktuell.uni-bielefeld.de .