Alternative internship at selected schools in Eastern Saxony
Table of contents
"Growing into school" - gaining practical experience continuously and purposefully
From the start of the 2024/25 school year, teacher training students at TU Dresden will be able to gain continuous practical experience at an early stage and learn to reflect on this and combine it with theory. This is made possible by a modified internship format and close cooperation between TU Dresden and the internship schools - starting from the second year of teacher training but also in higher semesters.
The students are supported in their semester-long school internship by the Chair of Education / inclusive education (EWIB). During their placement, which begins after the fall break and lasts for the rest of the school year, the students work in teams of four to organize a weekly learning day for their 5th grade class. The focus is on learning to learn, using innovative teaching and learning formats that have been tested and researched in the school trial Dresden University School.
Following the pilot phase with four schools in the Görlitz district, the alternative teaching placement has now been extended to include 15 schools in four districts.
The semester-long internship began in the 2024/25 school year at schools with particularly high rates of canceled classes in rural areas of eastern Saxony. The intensive cooperation of local supporters (e.g., school administrators, local authorities, parent representatives) and the solution-oriented approach enabled a new internship format for students in the 2024/25 pilot phase—recognized as a mandatory internship and paid on a pro-rata basis—but also more supervised learning time for students at secondary schools in Görlitz, Löbau Neusalza-Spremberg, and Zittau. In the 2025/26 school year, the project was expanded to other districts.
Schulleiterin Sabrina Hälschke und ein Student programmieren zusammen mit Schülern der Richard-von-Schlieben-Oberschule in Zittau Ozobot-Minicomputer. © Rafael Sampedro
Eine Studentin unterstützt Schülerinnen in der Schulküche der Richard-von-Schlieben-Oberschule in Zittau bei der Projektarbeit zum Thema Ernährung. © Rafael Sampedro
Auf dem Hof der Richard-von-Schlieben-Oberschule in Zittau: Studentinnen unterstützen die Schülerinnen beim Erstellen von Modellen von Küstenverläufen mit Sand und anderen Materialien. © Rafael Sampedro
Ministerpräsident Michael Kretschmer (l.) mit dem Prorektor Bildung der TUD, Michael Kobel. © SK/Dennis Machwitz
v.l. Sabrina Hälschke, Leiterin der Richard-von-Schlieben-Oberschule Zittau, und Professorin Anke Langner © SK/Dennis Machwitz
Pressegespräch mit Ministerpräsident Michael Kretschmer, der Dekanin der Fakultät Erziehungswissenschaften Prof.in Cornelia Wustmann und dem Prorektor Bildung der TUD, Michael Kobel © SK/Dennis Machwitz
Am 14. November besuchte Kultusminister Clemens die Goethe-Oberschule in Breitenbrunn. Mit Projektleiterin Anke Langner, Studentin Kimberley Dietz und Simone Lange (SPD) frischte er seine Mathekenntnisse auf. © TU Dresden
Vertreter des Sächsischen Kultusministeriums, der TU Dresden und aus der Lokalpolitik waren zum ALSO-Projektauftakt im November 2025 zu Gast an der Goethe-Oberschule Breitenbrunn. © TU Dresden
Since the start of the project in spring 2024, the ALSO internship for student teachers at TU Dresden has been featured in numerous reports in the press, radio and TV. You can find coverage in the ALSO media review.
© Sächsische Zeitung
© Rafael Sampedro für DER SPIEGEL
© Sächsische Zeitung
© Sächsische Zeitung
© Dresdner Morgenpost / TAG24
The semester-accompanying internship - developed at University School Dresden
The pilot project in East Saxony benefits from the experience that students have already gained at Dresden University School during their semester-long internships and with other innovative teaching and learning formats. Together with the students and the school communities, the academic director of the school trial and ALSO project lead, Prof. Anke Langner (Professorship Education Sciences / Inclusive Education EWIB), is developing the format further.
Dresden University School is a joint project of the state capital Dresden and the TUD Dresden University of Technology. It is a public and free community school run by the city, where innovative forms of teaching and learning are tested under academic supervision. In addition, it is a training school for future teachers and, in the future, a further education school for teachers. The school trial is being scientifically supported by the ForUS research center at TU Dresden.
Supporting organisations
The first pilot phase was made possible by the financial support of the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA) in Görlitz. The second phase is funded by the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding CASUS, which is also based in Görlitz and is an institute of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.
In addition, the project is being co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament (SMK) and receives funding from the TÜV SÜD Stiftung. TUDIAS made an important contribution to the implementation by administering the contracts and payments to students, which will be carried out by the Saxon State Office for Schools and Education (Lasub) from the 2025/26 school year onwards.
The local authorities support the utilization of the students and therefore encourage the student teams to prepare their classes the night before so to facilitate a smooth start to the learning day with the pupils.
Media inquiries
Please direct any media inquiries regarding ALSO to:
Maria Neuland Agüero
Tel.: +49 173 260 9451