The background of our project describes the common European idea. Terms such as "common values", "cohesion", "peace", "solidarity" and "environmental protection" should not be empty words if we want to continue to live together in a peaceful Europe. Dealing with politically dissenters, catastrophic weather conditions such as this year's drought, combined with crop failures and poverty, as well as torrential masses of water that drew death and misery over parts of Europe, are gloomy harbingers. A looming incipient nationalism in parts of Europe combined with national egoisms is spreading. Stopping these negative developments and regaining mutual trust can succeed with joint activities. For this reason we want to inspire with our project Czech and German SuS for the common European idea. The objectives of the project include reducing prejudices, getting to know other cultures, the importance of a common language for understanding and working together on a common project across borders. The link in the project, the e-mobility, also brings SuS a technical progress. However, self-directed learning should not only strengthen the technical competence, but above all the social competence as well as the personnel competence. Especially in Europe, a change in the drive technology of vehicles can be observed. By working on the subject of e-mobility, the SuS will be more open and confident in dealing with new technologies and key skills through discussions with their European partners. The current environmental pressure in European countries is creating social insecurities that will be mitigated in this project. The exemplary treatment of electric motor and fuel cell with the help of self-organized learning, SuS provides a tool for solving other environmental and socio-critical problems of today's time at hand. In total, this program includes 12 SuS and 4 accompanying persons. The SuS are apprentices from the automotive industry. Their education is mostly limited to secondary education 1. There may be a certain lack of interest in social and cultural issues in them. The supervisors are teachers in the field of automotive engineering, English and social sciences. The project consists of two activities. In the first activity we will visit 6 Czech students and two Czech teachers in 2019 in Kaiserslautern. Within 5 days, the Czech and German pupils will get an insight into the German educational and cultural environment. In addition, the European idea is strengthened by visiting cultural institutions (such as Hambach Castle, Technoseum Mannheim, Limes ...). In addition, the SuS work together in self-organized classes according to Dr. med. Herold the basics of fuel cell, electromobility and electric drives. In the return visit, ie activity two, six German students with two teachers travel to Nymburk / Czech Republic. Here, the European idea is further deepened and strengthened by visits to the local cultural institutions as well as historically relevant areas (Wenceslas Square in Prague). Practical collaboration in creating models with alternative drives and the use of 3D printers to strengthen the common European "we-feeling". As a method of conveying the above mentioned content, the self-organized learning according to Dr. med. Used herald. The SuS work independently and are supported and supported by the supervisors in the work process. With regard to the results, we expect a more positive attitude of the SuS towards the EU as a whole, but also its goals. The students should recognize that they must be an active and mature member of this community and must nurture and shape them intensively. Furthermore, we expect a broadening of the expertise in terms of electromobility (fuel cell, electric motor). In dealing with the SuS from the respective other countries, we hope for a reduction of prejudices and fears. There is a trend towards electromobility worldwide. The combustion engine used for about 150 years will disappear from the vehicles in favor of electric motors. So the SuS are being prepared for a future, the development of which they will experience first hand as a motor vehicle mechatronics engineer. This development is not limited to one region or one country, it affects all people. Conclusion: Europe moves, e-mobility connects nations.
The project "E-mobility moves nations" was in the context of our Erasmus+ team from the Department of Metal Technology at our school, which deals with ecological sustainability and the political education of our students at the vocational school. In this project, students from the fields of automotive engineering and industrial metal professions worked on the topic of e-mobility and dealt with the topic of hydrogen and fuel cells and also got to know the culture and political development of our partner country Czech Republic. The main goals were the reduction of prejudices and deepening of the European community, conscious and sustainable use of our resources, strengthening of learning and social competence through self-organized work on the project topic in a team and dissemination of the project work in the individual specialist classes. The focus was on the two mobilities, which unfortunately had to be carried out by two different student teams due to Covid. In the first mobility in Kaiserslautern, the project work regarding e-mobility focused on the theoretical structure and functioning of fuel cells and the CO2 emissions of the respective countries. In preparation for this, the teams met and considered a program for the implementation of mobility. During the mobility, the processing of the technical system served as a bridge for getting to know the participants and for exchanging ideas with the students at various levels. English functioned as a language of communication and the longer the mobility lasted, the better the communication. Through cultural program items, such as the visit to the cathedral of Speyer or the city of Kaiserslautern with a visit to a Jewish baptismal font, the historical background of our countries came into play and was discussed by the students. After the mobility, the participants passed on the impressions and results to the individual specialist classes. Unfortunately, the Covid situation interrupted the project work and the second mobility had to be postponed so far that a new team with new students had to be found. They familiarized themselves with the new topic in preparation for the second mobility, but the personal relationship of the partner students had to be rebuilt first. In the second mobility, the focus was on the practical implementation of e-mobility, i.e. 3D prints were made and the fuel cell was used as an energy source for the drive of a wagon. For the 3D prints, there was preparatory work in the school outside of mobility. Here, too, the work on the project served as a bridge to learn more about our partner school. The Czech participants organized a guided tour in Prague, the participants were able to discover the history of the twin town Nymburk and get to know the history of the Czech Republic during a visit to an old castle. There were various results for and during the mobilities. The students developed presentations on the subject of e-mobility, the student team collected ideas about the partner country, a wagon with the flags of both partner countries and a locomotive in 3D printing were developed, the logo was designed in 3D, a city tour was prepared. In addition to the direct participants of the mobilities, there was also a teacher training course with the topic "Learning without Borders", where the possibilities of distance learning and video conferences were discussed, which were also used for communication between the partners. The topic of fuel cells/hydrogen with the work orders can continue to be used in the classroom and is more topical than ever. A competition at the "GreenDeal" school in which pupils thought about mobility and CO2 emissions, for example, ensured carpooling among the pupils. The long-term effect of the project shows many facets. On the one hand, it was a drastic experience for the participants to get to know the partner country so close and thus to understand it better. After the mobilities, the participants were sought-after interview partners in the classes and there were lively discussions far beyond the project and the lessons. The previously existing distance between the countries shrank, which also promoted a more intensive examination of current issues, such as the Ukraine crisis. The consequences of CO2 emissions and the scarcity of resources mean that students can continue to expect sensitive use of our raw materials. The partner schools and their coordinators have grown even closer together due to the project work and the difficulties caused by Covid and there is another ongoing Erasmus+ project of the two schools: Go Green, which also deals with sustainable energies. Overall, the project showed that e-mobility with renewable energies will not only move us spatially in the future, but that it will connect us all ecologically and socially in Europe and beyond. "Europe is moving: e-mobility connects nations"