Job shadowing and teaching activities abroad
Teachers, school principals, and other school staff spend a period of time abroad doing a job shadowing or teaching at a school. During job shadowings or teaching assignments they exchange their experiences and good practice. This experience abroad allows them to establish an international network of teachers.
Overview
For whom
- Teachers, school principals, and other school staff
Duration
- 2 to 60 days (job shadowing) or 2 to 365 days (teaching assignment)
Where
- Worldwide for persons from Switzerland (outgoing)
- In Switzerland for persons from abroad (incoming)
What we fund
- Financial support for organisation, travel, stay, and language preparation
What to do
- Schools look for one or more partner schools, jointly plan the project and submit a funding application
Deadlines
- Application deadline: 5 March and 1 October 2025
- Project start: 1 June and 1 December 2025
In detail
Teachers, school principals, and other school staff spend a period of time doing a job shadowing or teaching at a partner school abroad. They gain insights into different school cultures outside of Switzerland, get to know new teaching methods and improve their language skills.
This activity is funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. This programme enables Swiss institutions to carry out similar activities as offered by the European education programme Erasmus+, in which Switzerland can currently not participate as it is not a programme country.
Requirements
For participants:
- You are a teacher, school principal, or other school staff at a public or a private school at primary, lower or upper secondary level (general-education) based in Switzerland (outgoing) or abroad (incoming).
For applicant institutions:
- Your institution is a public or private school based in Switzerland.
- Your institution is an educational institution or public educational authority based in Switzerland (e.g. school, cantonal authority, university of teacher education, etc.), which coordinates a project involving school staff from at least one school in Switzerland.
To be considered when planning a project with your partner school:
- At least two partner schools from two different countries (Switzerland and another country) are involved in the project.
- A project consists of one or more activities (visit and return visit, job shadowing and/or teaching assignment).
- The entire project lasts for a minimum of 2 days to a maximum of 60 days (job shadowing) or from 2 days to 365 days (teaching assignment).
- The project contributes to the quality development of schools in Switzerland and fosters international collaboration.
Funding amounts
- Organisation fee for the institution: 420 CHF (outgoing) or 240 CHF (incoming) per person
- For the journey: 400 CHF to 1’000 CHF per person (depending on country of destination)
- For the stay: 72 CHF to 192 CHF per person and day (depending on country of destination and duration)
- For language preparation: 190 CHF per person, with proof of requirement
- For the specific needs of individuals with disabilities or those suffering from physical, mental, or chronic illnesses: Max. 12,000 CHF (actual costs based on the note of requirements)Insurance and any visa fees are at your expense.
You can find all the funding contributions and the calculation in detail in our grant table:
Procedure
Essentially, all collaborators of an educational institution can initiate and jointly plan a project with the partner school(s). However, the funding application needs to be officially submitted by the school in Switzerland.
Job shadowings and teaching assignments abroad are funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. In addition to these activities, the programme also funds continuing education for school staff as well as individual and class exchanges abroad in the field of school education. Several activities (individual, group, and staff mobilities) can be combined in one application if all activities are thematically linked and pursue the same objectives.
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1. Finding a partner school
For a job shadowing or teaching assignment abroad, your school needs to find one or more partner schools in another country:
- Mobilise your personal and professional networks.
- Find a European school with exchange experience. In the Erasmus+ portal you will find all the projects funded by Erasmus+ and the partner schools involved. You can also find inspiration for a project idea from projects that have already taken place.
- Our ambassadors can also provide a network of schools abroad and can arrange contacts if required. Find out more about their experiences and get in touch with them.
- Job shadowing or teaching activities abroad are possible worldwide, with a few exceptions. Make sure that the partner institution you envisage is located in an eligible programme country.
- Get more information on the topic find an exchange partner.
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2. optional Form a consortium
If several Swiss institutions are pursuing the same goal, they can apply for funding for mobilities as a consortium. Find out whether a consortium project brings additional benefit to your project.
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3. optional Preparatory visit
Would you like to meet potential project partners on site to get to know each other or jointly develop a project? Get financial support for a preparatory visit.
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4. Planning the project
- Define the objectives you want to pursue with your job shadowing or teaching assignment abroad. Your objectives should be aligned with the planned activities. The project is expected to contribute to the quality development at the participating schools and foster international collaboration. Use the award criteria (in german) as a guide.
- In the project application you describe the planned activities and provide information on the following points:
- Details of all partner institutions
- Brief project description with objectives and measures
- Overview of planned mobility activities
- Information on the preparation, on-site support and follow-up of the mobility activities
- Measures for internal and external communication of the project results.
- It is important to us to also enable persons with disabilities or with physical, mental, or chronic diseases to participate. Therefore, we provide additional funding for persons with special needs, for which you can apply in the funding application. You may also submit a request for funding for special needs at a later stage during the project duration. You can find more information under Inclusion and equal opportunities.
- Consider environmentally friendly means of transport in the planning of your project. Find out more about green mobility.
- We are happy to offer individual consultation sessions to clarify any questions you may have about planning, submission, and implementation. The consultation can take place by phone, online, or on site.
- Plan the stay in close collaboration with your partner school(s). Please keep in mind our funding criteria.
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5. Submit funding application
- Submit the funding application online. Beware of the deadlines in March and October.
- Open the application form as early as possible to get acquainted with the requirements. We open the application forms when we launch the spring or autumn call for projects, usually in December and June. You can save the application form temporarily and continue filling it in at a later stage. If you are submitting an application for the first time, you need to register once.
- Only one application is required for all persons involved in the job shadowing and teaching assignment. In the same funding application you can also apply for funding for continuing education abroad as well as for individual and class exchanges abroad, if all the activities are thematically linked and pursue the same objectives.
- The application needs to be signed and submitted by the school principal of the school in Switzerland. In the case of a consortium an educational institution submits an application on behalf of several schools and acts as the coordinator.
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6. Contract and payout
- We will review your application once the application deadline has expired.
- You will receive the notification of funding at the end of May or the end of November.
- In the case of a positive decision we will send you a contract.
- The project starts on 1 June or 1 December. You can choose between a project duration of 12 or 24 months.
- Within 30 days upon receipt of the signed contract, we will pay out the first part of the funding: 80% of the approved total amount for projects with a duration of 12 months, and 40% for projects with a duration of 24 months. As soon as you have used up 70% of this amount, you can claim the next 40%. We will calculate the remaining amount once the final report has been submitted.
- Payments are made exclusively to school education institutions based in Switzerland.
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7. Implement project
- In-depth preparation for the exchange and prior arrangements with the partner school(s) are necessary in order to get the best out of the experience.
- After the start of the project we organise an information meeting. You will receive all the necessary information in order to successfully carry out and complete your project. The event also provides you with the opportunity to get to know your contact persons and other project managers.
- You can use the notification of requirement for additional financial support for persons with special needs if you have not already done so in the funding application.
- Please notify us of any changes to your project (e.g. duration, project partners, budget) with a Request for Amendment of Agreement.
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8. Submit final report
- You submit a short final report within 60 days of the expired project contract.
Depending on the number of mobilities realised, we will pay out any remaining amounts or issue a reclaim.
- You submit a short final report within 60 days of the expired project contract.
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9. Spread the word
- Implement the planned communication measures. Be sure to mention the funding from Movetia. We provide the logo and text modules for this purpose.
- Share the content widely via your institution's channels, e.g. newsletter, social media, blog, etc. Thus, you can present your institution as an innovative, open-minded and attractive employer. You will also stimulate professional exchange in the education sector.
- Contact us to increase your reach, e.g. by placing a magazine article on our website.
- Disseminate the learning outcomes within your institution to lend visibility to your project so that as many people as possible can benefit from your experiences.
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10. Establishment of school partnership
Establish a school partnership with a partner school to institutionalise exchange activities at your schools in the long term. Use our agreement template for support:
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11. Further development of mobility project
Have you taken part in an exchange and as a result developed concrete ideas for the implementation of newly acquired approaches in your school? Are you motivated and inspired to make a difference at your school? We offer funding for implementation measures which ensure that your experiences have a lasting impact at your school. Find out more in our further development of mobility project funding programme.
Q & A
What exactly is a job shadowing?
During a job shadowing you observe a teacher or school principal at work to gain insights into their everyday work life and practice. As a participant observer, however, you do not teach yourself. This practice-orientated type of learning allows you to become acquainted with the daily work routines and processes at your partner school.
