Executive Department for
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Adolf-Reichwein-Straße 2a Gebäude AVZ (Gebäudeteil AR-NA) 57068 Siegen
Phone: +49 (0)271/740-4915 Fax.: +49 (0)271/740-4911 E-Mail: presse@uni-siegen.de
Teaching in Germany Too
The third edition of the certification program for teachers forced to flee their homelands has successfully concluded. 20 graduates received their certificates at the University of Siegen.
One major milestone on the road back to their career has now been achieved: Twenty graduates of the LehrkräftePLUS (Teaching Profession PLUS) Siegen certification program received their certificates. The candidates hailed from places like Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Russia and had already worked as a teacher there. They are seeking to resume their profession in Germany, teaching chemistry, English, computer science, art, mathematics, physics, or technical fields.
The LehrkräftePLUS Siegen certification program, conducted by the Center for Teacher Training and Educational Research (ZLB) at the University of Siegen, offers a pathway. This one-year continuing education program takes advantage of the participants’ existing linguistic, specialist, and pedagogical knowledge and skills and upgrades them to fit into the German school landscape. Successful graduation allows for participation in the “Internationale Lehrkräfte Fördern (ILF)” follow-on program from the District Administration of Arnsberg, which in turn opens up the potential for long-term employment as a teacher in North Rhine-Westphalia.
At the graduation celebration at the University of Siegen, the participants heard congratulatory remarks by Siegen Program Coordinator Inga Schmalenbach, Prof. Petra Vogel (Pro-Rector for International Affairs and Lifelong Learning), as well as Britta Bollmann, the group leader for continuing education, teacher training, and cultural affairs of refugees at the Ministry for Culture and Science NRW. The attendees were also treated to a personal video greeting from Minister Ina Brandes.
In his address, Prof. Nils Goldschmidt, director of the ZLB and program leader, told the participants: “LehrkräftePLUS is a comprehensive program. And that program proclaims: This country belongs to you too, regardless of where you are from. As newcomers, you have a special part to play in the building of our country, by nurturing the next generation of citizen, many of whom are children with a refugee or other migration background.”
The third edition of LehrkräftePLUS Siegen was the first to include a cooperation with a vocational college. The ostensible focus of the program is on secondary school level I. The vocational college school form nevertheless is poised to play an increasing role, in coordination with the district government, notes Dr. Inga Schmalenbach.
Greetings were also extended to the 23 participants in the next qualification group. “The number of applications always exceeds the available spots many times over,” the program coordinator explains. “We are seeing increased applications from teachers of Ukrainian origin.”
The program, which has been conducted since 2020 at the University of Siegen, was designated starting in 2023 as a beacon project within the “NRWege ins Studium” grant program from the NRW Ministry for Culture and Science. This brings with it 250,000 euros in annual funding. An extension of that funding has been secured until 2027.
The LehrkräftePLUS Nordrhein-Westfalen network, which encompasses five university locations, produces a joint publication to provide information about the program, including details about the concept and methodology: More information here
Information about the certification program at the University of Siegen: here
The participants in the LehrkräftePLUS Siegen certification program celebrate receiving their certificates.