Two schools are taking part in the student project on comparing the production of renewable energy in Almeria (Andalusia) and the Münsterland in Germany: Gesamtschule Münster Mitte which was founded in 2012 establishing a pedagogically innovative school profile, as well as the German-bilingual school IES ElArgar in Almeria. The project is meant to start off a permanent twinning between these two schools. The participating students are year 8 and year 9 students of both schools. The German students have been learning Spanish since year 6, the Spanish students have been taking part in a special bilingual course since year 7. The main aim of the project is the individual educational gain of the students (learning languages, intercultural learning, being aware of the ecological and economical importance of renewable energy) as well as opening up new vistas concerning education and profession at home and abroad. Furthermore, the project is meant to establish a strategic link between a German-Spanish solar research institute located in Almeria and Cologne and between both universities. Apart from planning and conducting the project the teachers involved are supposed to elaborate teaching plans and exchange educational concepts. Mutual visits of the students are the core of the project. Students will take part in excursions concerning renewable energy and they will work on bilingual publications in online newspapers. To enable a wider range of students to profit from the project, both schools are planning to organize interdisciplinary teaching units and projects on renewably energy in year 8 and year 9 (for ex. science, social studies). It is important that the students themselves plan, establish and evaluate the project. Therefore, some participants will plan the evaluation of the first phase of the project and will then, based on the evaluation of their experience, organize the next exchange. We hope that the project will lay the basis for a permanent and strong twinning of both schools always focusing on different cultural topics. Due to the exposed and pioneering position of both schools (German-bilingual, Netzwerk Zukunftsschulen) the project will reach the general public through publications easily (project brochure, diaries, teaching units etc.) and will therefore have strong external effects. Last but not least the project can contribute to broaden ones horizon on the job market, taking into account high youth unemployment in Spain and skills shortage in Germany.
The ‘Gesamtschule Münster Mitte’ (Germany) and the ‘IES El Algar’ (Spain) are the two schools which were participating in the project of comparing the production of renewable energy in Münsterland, Germany and Almeria, Spain. Here, the foundations were laid for a permanent twinning of the two schools through the teachers and participating students, who were mainly from years 8 and 9. The students from ‘Gesamtschule Münster Mitte’, a pedagogically innovative school, had been learning Spanish since year 6 and the students from ‘IES El Algar’, a German/Spanish bilingual school, had been taking part in a special bilingual course since year 7. The main aim of the project is to encourage individual educational growth through foreign language accusation, intercultural exchange and raising awareness for the ecological and economic importance of renewable energy. Also, the project served as a platform to open the way for the student’s future study possibilities, both home and abroad with the help of a strategic partnership between the Almeria and Köln Universities. ‘Platforma Solar Almeria / Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt‘ are the partners in a joint research project of the partner cities and their universities, of which these and future students could profit from. Regarding the teaching staff, the project facilitated a language and cultural exchange so that the teachers also had the possibility to exchange different educational concepts and elaborate on teaching plans. Mutual visits of the students were the core of the project. Students took part in excursions concerning renewable energy and they worked on bilingual publications in online newspapers. In the second phase of the project they created a homepage. To enable a wider range of students to profit from the project, both schools organized interdisciplinary teaching units and projects on renewably energy in year 8 and year 9 (i.e. science, social studies). It was important that the students themselves planed, established and evaluated the project. Therefore, some participating students and teachers from both schools arranged a meeting of a few days to evaluate the first phase of the exchange and, based on their experiences, plan the second. Some students of the second exchange organized another meeting with the teachers to evaluate the second phase and the whole project itself. Our aim was that the project would lay the basis for a permanent and strong twinning of the schools, always focusing on different cultural topics. Last but not least the project could contribute to broadening the student`s horizons in the job market, taking into account high youth unemployment in Spain and skills shortage in Germany. We reached the above shown aims of our project. Most importantly was the individual learning of the participating students. We could proof the high outcome of individual learning in conversations with students and parents as well as in an objective evaluation via a written survey. We were also able to establish a stable and sustainable exchange program of the participating schools. Additional to the contact in between the participating schools we have established connections to the scientific institutions involved in both countries, the “Plataforma Solar” in Almería as well as to the university in Dortmund and the project of sustainable energy in Saerbeck. Unfortunately, we are still unable to do a thorough evaluation of the perspective possibilities of study and work options for the students due to their young age. In the next school year we are planning to widen our exchange program and give students the option to do an individual exchange where they can engage in work experience with companies that our school arranged for them. In return, our students can also arrange an individual long-term exchange and attend classes within the section of Vocational Education of the school in Spain, which is planned to be a bilingual course. Overall, taking into account what we aimed for and looking at the close relationship of the two schools as well as the established exchange program, the project was very successful from the perspectives of the two participating schools.