Objectives towards pupils and personnel Pupils mobilities - Working in an environment in which the pupils kan apply known techniques in an unknown, new situation (the singularity or uniqueness of the hosting country) and this in an environment in which there appropriate support is available. - Living in another European country, being open to and actively participating in daily life (via host families, well-prepared cultural and social weekend programmes,...). - Having access to a wide variety of information sources in the host country, in order to collect as much information as possible. This can take place through interaction with the local internship mentor or guide, through reference books or reference works, the internet, own research,... Staff mobilities - Our teaching staff got into contact with staff members from other European schools/companies/institutions or organizations through staff trainings (internships in companies and job shadowings in schools), hereby creating a mutual transfer or cross-pollination of ideas, practices, teaching methods, ways of organizing European projects,... In short: an exchange of best practices, e.g. in use of IT, disciplinary policy, gastronomic techniques.., with as most important outcomes: increased competence in the respective professional fields, thanks to carefully selected internship partners and mentors, better social skills because of the period spent together in a new environment and another culture, and cultural and social enrichment by actively participating in the cultural and social life during free moments and during the weekends. - Moreover, we have strongly embedded our 'LED learning' dimension in our international internships with LED standing for: 'Levensecht, Eigentijds en Duurzaam leren', or: Lifelike/True to real life, contemporary and sustainable learning. We hold these three components dear in our school group. The European internships challenge our pupils and staff to, in team, think and work in a cross-cultural context. Doing so, pupils and staff discovered and used new techniques and the most modern tools. They learned how to communicate efficiently and in a (media) responsible way. - Last but not least, our team of headmasters determines policy priorities annually. As a result, we can decide to go looking for specific expertise in foreign countries if this expertise cannot be found in Belgium, e.g. in the field of restorative approaches in school settings. Objectives towards the school policy Within our internationalisation strategy, we actively continue working on an increase in the number of departments and fields of study that get access to European internships (e.g. within the food department: confectioner/pastry baker-chocolate making & processing; and within the people care department: social and technical sciences), a further increase in the number of mobilities, combined with a further strengthening of our qualitatively high internship network, an increased accessibility and democratization for all motivated potential participants.
KOGEKA school group organized mobilities for pupils and teachers, because our extended experience has taught us that these international experiences create a massive added value, and this in the field of personal as well as professional development of our pupils and staff.