Bridging Continents through STEM Teacher Education: A Virtual Exchange for Equity and Intercultural Awareness

Cooperating countries: Tanzania and Austria

Coordinating institution: Johannes Kepler University Linz, Lana Ivanjek lana.ivanjek@jku.at 

Partner institutions: Ruaha Catholic University

Project duration: 

Budget: EUR 20.300

Abstract: 

Virtual Exchange (VE) can bridge the gap in access to quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teacher education between high-resource and low-resource contexts while promoting intercultural competence. STEM teachers in Europe often benefit from advanced training, innovative technologies, and strong institutional networks, unlike many in Africa. VE offers an opportunity to create collaborative learning environments where teachers from Africa and Europe can jointly develop content, pedagogical, and intercultural knowledge. However, VE’s potential remains underutilized in addressing the quality gap in teacher education, contributing to unequal learning opportunities and hindering progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). This project aims to develop and implement a VE program connecting preservice STEM teachers from Austria and Tanzania to collaboratively enhance STEM content, pedagogy, digital competence, and intercultural understanding. The course will foster co-creation, cultural exchange, and joint problem-solving, serving as an innovative international teacher preparation model. The project will be implemented through a partnership between Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Austria and Ruaha Catholic University (RUCU) in Tanzania. Key activities include (1) co-developing online modules on STEM content, pedagogy, and intercultural competence, (2) implementing the modules, (3) creating a context-aware framework for VE implementation, and (4) disseminating results. Expected outcomes include an empowered cohort of STEM teachers, academic publications, and a shared framework for scaling VE in teacher education.