Erasmus+ further expanded at Saarland schools: Plaque presentation to new consortium schools
The Ministry of Education and Culture is further expanding European exchange at Saarland schools. As part of a cross-school-type network meeting, representatives of general education and vocational schools came together to exchange information about Erasmus+ activities, international partnerships, and new opportunities for European cooperation. During the event, 18 new schools were also admitted to the consortium by State Secretary for Education Jessica Heide.
State Secretary for Education Jessica Heide: “Erasmus+ offers our schools the wonderful opportunity to experience Europe personally. International encounters change perspectives on the world, strengthen important skills, and create invaluable experiences – for students as well as for our teachers. That is exactly why it is so crucial that access to these opportunities remains easy for all schools. With our two consortia, we support our schools in building international partnerships, learning from one another, and sustainably bringing Europe to life in everyday school life.”
Since 2022, the Ministry of Education and Culture has been active as consortium leader for vocational schools within the Erasmus+ program. The consortium currently includes 19 vocational training centers, and schools that are not accredited themselves thereby receive simplified access to European funding. For the project year 2026/27, the consortium has approximately €469,000 available. This budget enables trainees to gain valuable specialist internships abroad in Europe, while increasingly teachers also use the opportunities for further training and job-shadowing.
The Erasmus+ consortium of the Ministry is now also firmly established in the general education sector. After accreditation as consortium leader by the Pedagogical Exchange Service (PAD) in 2023, the consortium was officially launched in September 2025. In the first project year, 22 schools and the teacher training seminar at the education campus participated. The consortium has now been expanded to 39 schools for the second project year. Included are special schools, primary schools, comprehensive schools, and grammar schools. For the project year 2026/27, around €581,000 in Erasmus+ funding is available to the consortium.
Newly admitted to the consortium are:
· ESS Primar
· Kirchbergschule Schwalbach
· Sophie-Scholl Comprehensive School
· Albert-Schweitzer Comprehensive School
· Gemeinschaftsschule Sonnenhügel
· Gemeinschaftsschule Am Warndtwald
· Friedrich-Bernhard-Karcher School
· Graf-Ludwig Comprehensive School
· Gemeinschaftsschule Bellevue
· Gemeinschaftsschule Bruchwiese
· Herbert-Binkert School Güdingen
· Gemeinschaftsschule Kleinblittersdorf
· Gemeinschaftsschule Ludwigspark
· Gemeinschaftsschule Klarenthal
· Gemeinschaftsschule Nohfelden-Türkismühle
· Otto-Hahn Grammar School
· Cusanus Grammar School
· Albert-Einstein Grammar School
Among other things, student mobilities as individual or group mobilities as well as teacher mobilities, for example for further training and job-shadowing, are funded. These mobilities should be linked to specific goals of school and organizational development or to projects from the school profile and respective subjects. Central educational policy topics such as democracy and participation, inclusion, sustainability, digitalization, and media education can also be connected with international activities. Another focus is on expanding existing European partnerships. As part of the France strategy, mobilities to Montpellier are to be enabled, among other things, and cooperation with the Académie de Nancy-Metz is to be further intensified. Cooperation with schools in Poland is also to be expanded.
Within Erasmus+, the European online platform eTwinning also plays an important role in the internationalization of schools. It enables schools to carry out digital projects with European partners and to establish international cooperation even before a physical mobility. For commitment in this area, the Christian von Mannlich Grammar School in Homburg was awarded the national eTwinning quality label during the event for its project “European voices across generations.”
The Ministry’s Erasmus+ theme portal offers an overview of all participating vocational and general education schools as well as further information about the program: https://www.saarland.de/mbk/DE/portale/erasmus-plus/home.
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