Project background:By realizing European mobility projects as well as projects to increase intercultural competences at our school, we contribute to firmly fix and implement the European dimension further in our educational background. Since there is a notable change of our local labour market towards a European one, we would like to prepare our students for this challenge.Project objectives:1. Development of intercultural competences of our teachers and studentsContacts with European educational institutions as well as non-school partners support the development of intercultural competences of our teachers and students. They help to reduce potential insecurities, fears and prejudices when interacting with people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. We would like to establish such contacts for the benefit of both parties and use them to organise internships.2. Realisation of “European” projects with appropriate project partnersStarting with our Technical College for Economics (Fachoberschule Wirtschaft), we would like to zest our annual cross-curricular project with European contents, and thus carry out projects on topics with trans-national interests in cooperation with our partners: E.g. “Grow old with dignity – a comparison between Spain and Germany”.3. Increasing the mobility of our students and, later on, of our teachers The concept of occupational mobility is increased by projects at European level in our school. Thus, we realize both a higher readiness and ability to work and/or study within the EU. Our students are supposed to have the opportunity to do an internship while attending our vocational college. To realize this goal we need the knowledge for a successful application for financial assistance as well as for a sustainable project management and control.Number and profile of the participants:To support and professionalize our efforts, three of our teachers are supposed to take part in training courses on intercultural project management. The participating teachers are expected to have the ability to appreciate Europe as an essential quantity for our present and future life and to convey this thought to all groups in our school.Furthermore, the participating teachers will have the task to lead and accompany a project group for the development, implementation and evaluation of a strategy for the internationalization of our school with great personal motivation. In practical terms, existing approaches of mobility projects are reviewed and strengthened and new projects are initiated. With the help of the activities of this project group in connection with intensive curricular work, we also intend to experience and grasp the European idea further in our lessons.Description of the activities:For our school the internationalization is a strategic focal point of our future work. We would like to become a “European School in Lower Saxony” (“Europaschule in Niedersachsen"). In implementing our above-mentioned objectives, we establish a project group. This group will handle, coordinate, control and evaluate the essential tasks in connection with the above-mentioned objectives themselves and in cooperation with the school management. Elements of our activities are:• The development of intercultural competences: on the one hand by sending students (internship within the EU in cooperation with a partner school – step 1) as well as teachers (sitting in on classes – step 2) to EU countries, on the other hand by additional qualifications und trans-national projects.• The realization of “European” projects.• Company internships for our students within the EU.Procedure for the implementation of the project:The basis for the implementation of the internationalization strategy is an existing project group including the three participating teachers. With the knowledge of the training course these teachers will initiate measures to achieve the objectives mentioned above and gain further colleagues for the project work. Thus, we can build teams with manageable work packages to realize the formulated overall objectives for the time being. The project management is responsible for the coordination, control and evaluation of the measure (in cooperation with the school management). Results and long-term benefit:By taking part in the intended training courses we expect both intensive subject-related preparation with regard to the intercultural project management and the opportunity to create networks. Within these networks European partnerships as well as projects can be formed. Without taking part in the training course, activities like that would be very difficult to realize. Thus, we need the tools to become a school with a pronounced European profile according to the objectives mentioned above!