Dr. Sandra Frey and Prof. Dr. Thomas Szanto in Hungary

Preparing a BIP (or any international seminar) is quite time-intensive. We met online multiple times to coordinate content, thematic focus, and excursions. One major challenge is always the differing study systems and examination requirements that the seminar must be adapted to. This requires flexibility and creativity. In this case, we were able to build on the tried-and-tested program from previous years and combine it with similar BIP programs already conducted at ELTE.

It’s also important to recruit students in good time to handle the complex bureaucratic process (a multitude of forms need to be completed) and to book travel and accommodation early enough to keep costs reasonable. The latter is essential for staying within the daily and travel cost allowances and keeping students’ own expenses manageable. Bookings should always include cancellation options to account for potential illness. We recruited students in December, requested a motivation letter by the end of the month, ...

In general, you should inform yourself as early as possible about the general conditions of the BIP program, clarify responsibilities, and notify the international centers at all partner universities in good time, making use of their support and assistance.

Fortunately, we were well advised and supported by the International Center (IC) at EUF. We involved the IC early on in the process, e.g., in the info session for students in early December, to ensure that students could access advice from the start and that the process was as transparent as possible.

We also set up a Moodle course. Unfortunately, we still had to distribute information separately to each university, as we don’t have a shared learning management system. We bridged this by using a shared Padlet for presentations and information, and Google Docs for planning.

The seminar explored philosophical, educational, historical, social science, language teaching, and didactic aspects of cultural identities and diversity, as well as minority education. From a comparative perspective, we examined and discussed the role of minorities’ cultural identities in a pluralistic society—particularly using the examples of the German-Hungarian, German, and Danish minorities, as well as Roma and Jews.

The main goal was to encourage students to reflect on their own culturally hybrid identities and their experiences as minorities. Through this module, students gained knowledge about the history of minorities, language acquisition theories, cultural theories, and concrete didactic tools that can be used directly in teaching. The seminar therefore provided broad knowledge about the factors that are crucial for effective intercultural and inclusive teaching in schools, and enabled students teach in linguistically and culturally diverse contexts using a resource-oriented approach.

The central theme of the project work was “Schools/Kindergartens of the Future.” Students were asked to develop concepts for how schools and kindergartens could or should be designed in the future to be intercultural and inclusive. They were expected to combine theoretical and practical aspects. The students were divided into four mixed groups, ensuring that each group included students from all three universities. The typical initial uncertainty quickly faded once the students began working actively in their groups, engaging in exchange, and collecting first ideas to develop further. Once again, the seminar resulted in impressive projects: one group developed a board game with question and action cards to raise awareness among kindergarten and primary school children about their diverse cultural identities; another group demonstrated how the children’s book “Elmer” can be used in an age-appropriate way to explore the topic of cultural identity; a third group created an expert podcast that explored the topic of multilingualism in schools from different perspectives; and the fourth group focused on how the transition from kindergarten to primary school could be redesigned in the three countries—Germany, Denmark, and Hungary—to address the topic of cultural diversity more inclusively.