Workshops, seminars, networksApply now! Horizonte scholarship program for teacher-training students with an immigrant background

27 May 2024, by Marie Schlicht

Photo: UHH/Schlicht

Leticia Costa Cunha on the Von-Melle-Park campus

Leticia Costa Cunha is in the second semester of her program to become a primary school teacher. She is being funded through a Horizonte scholarship from the Claussen-Simon Foundation. This program targets prospective teachers from immigrant backgrounds. The next application round begins on 1 June. In this interview, scholarship recipient Leticia Costa Cunha talks about the special aspects of the scholarship and what she values most about the German education system.

You come from Brazil and are now studying in Hamburg. How did this come about?

I initially came to Germany as an au pair. My host family lives near Hamburg and after my year with them, I wanted to stay near them. After my au pair year, I attended an intensive German course and then a pre-semester preparatory course at the Studienkolleg here to prepare for my studies. That’s when I fell in love with the city. Since 2023, I have been studying to become a primary school teacher for German, math, and English. I had already become aware of the Horizonte funding program during the Studienkolleg.

One requirement for being accepted to the program is social commitment. What did that look like in your case?

I had to be there for my family in Brazil and take care of my 3 younger siblings and sick relatives. And I had to end my teaching degree program for English, which I had already started, to support my family. Due to this, I had no time to become socially involved before I became an au pair. In Germany, my top priority was earning money to continue to support my family. So I am even happier that the foundation recognizes family commitment as social engagement and has given me this opportunity—especially because I do not have a German Abitur. By now I have settled into daily academic life and I am also socially active.

In what area are you involved?

I am working in a project with the Diakonie Hamburg called STUBE. That stands, in German, for a program that flanks your studies. It targets students from the Global South. There are 30 students from many different countries and together, we inform ourselves on different topics, for example, sustainability. We organize workshops on these topics for other students or for schools.

In the upcoming winter semester, I will also help out with the orientation modules at Universität Hamburg and I am applying to PIASTA to get to know more international students.

Regular seminars and training are an important part of the Horizonte program. What do you learn?

Every month, we have a tutorial related to our teacher training. In April, for example, we had vocal training, meaning how you can use your voice in the classroom and we trained it to prevent long-term damage. We also have a seminar every second month, also focused on supporting teachers, for example, working together with parents. So far, my favorite topic has been “foregrounding immigrant backgrounds.” It was about whether my being an immigrant should be a topic in my later classrooms. It was good to question that.

In what other ways do you benefit from the program?

In addition to the financial and regular thematic support, there are also a lot of great opportunities for personal development. At the beginning of our scholarhip, for example, we had help from a coach formulating different goals. One of my goals is to work with music in my classrooms. As part of the program and also in my studies, I now want to think about how I can integrate music concretely into my lesson plans.

In a few years, you will be a teacher. What are you most looking forward to?

Even before I came to Germany, I wanted to be a teacher and as I got to know the school system through my au pair charges, my interest in and enthusiasm for the job grew. It is great to see that the classroom is so focused on the children’s interests and different developmental states. In primary school, knowledge is still imparted in a playful way and the children are so curious. I am really looking forward to working and learning with children at this early stage.