The BAKIP des Schulvereins der Kreuzschwestern (an educational establishment for training future nursery teachers) would like to enter the following project and apply for funding thereof:A 3-week work placement like the one proposed in this application is mandatory for students in their fourth year of altogether five years of training in order to become fully qualified teachers for nurseries, with additional focus on early childhood education and after-school care clubs in Austria.Work placements (working with children aged 1-14) outside of Austria afford our students the unique opportunity to collect a host of experiences in the areas of (among others) institutional organisation, language skills and competence, furthering the quality in education, interculturalism et. al. Moreover, the improvement of their second language competences are another crucial aspect of their stay in an, in our case, English speaking country. Within this project 54 young people with get the chance to travel and gather invaluable experiences within the next 24 months. They will learn and grow beyond the framework of school and their current lives and job expectations, with an aim of also giving them a sense of cultural diversity.The young women and men participating in this project already have, due to several work placements and training, a lot of experience under their belt and have actively participated and worked in all aspects of the organisational and educational running of such institutions. They have the necessary theoretical framework and repeated experience in reflecting their own work process and observing children’s development to take initiative and responsibility when working in a nursery or out-of-school care setting.Living in a host country is going to help foster core competencies in our students like team skills, is going to hone their ability to communicate effectively, aid them in learning to deal with conflicts and challenges, and develop their sense of self-management and empathy. Another aim of this project is to lead students to a solid sense of professionalism in the work place through routinely reflecting on and analysing the experiences gained. This is going to ensure sustainability in terms of the professional and personal development of our students, particularly with regard to multiculturalism and the challenges of an ever-changing society.The participants are going to organise their time outside the workplace independently. Their work placements are going to take place under the supervision of a trained and experienced teacher. In their assigned groups, the students are going to plan (in writing), organise and reflect on a range of activities. The reflection with the assigned professional plays an important part in this context. At the end of and after the return from the work placement, a detailed evaluation is going to take place, with a focus on the following aspects: what the student has learned in terms of professional advancement, personal development and new outlook on his or her own work at school and in their future work life, and the significance and benefit of work placements for furthering one’s development, professional and otherwise.As an institution charged with training future teachers we see it as a central task to help students gain a sense of professionalism for their chosen field and to aid them in finding the tools for dealing with a diverse set of challenges in their professional capacities. This experience is going to help them achieve this goal.