The aim of our student projects is to improve our participants´ competences regarding their professional, linguistic, cultural, intercultural and social skills. The students who travelled to Londonderry already had English lessons at school, but in this project they dealt with native speakers. Thus, they were able to improve their language skills. The students who travelled to VIC received a Spanish course before their stay, as most of the students had not come into contact with this language before. So they had to find their way with a new language, in a new country. But also mastering everyday situations in a foreign country and foreign culture was among our goals. Furthermore, it was our goal that our students get to know other school- systems and other commercial processes in enterprises. We wanted them to learn how work processes in international trading are effected. The student project "International Communication and Management", which our 6 teachers prepared in the Netherlands, serves above all to promote intercultural competences and to strengthen the intra-European community.
All students of the Berufsschulel 4 are active in the commercial sector and thus have a connection to the international business world. The participants in our projects receive proof of their stay abroad by means of the Europass, thus being able to enhance their CV, and gain experience that would usually have been denied to them without these projects. The students have to step out of their familiar environment and deal with a new culture as well as new languages. It's very important for the school to enhance intercultural competences via international encounters and communication. They learn to organize themselves in a new group, to socialize with foreign students and to step out of their comfort zone. It's also one of our main objectives to strengthen our apprentices ‘personal competence that as a consequence they are well prepared to intermingle in international business and trade. Our teacher exchange is to be used to get to know the ROC Horizon College even better and to develop a virtual programme for students. The beginning of this programme has already been made in recent years. Now the programme has been implemented for the first time, so that all participants could exchange their ideas and experiences on European issues.