DC Terra is an educational institution in the border region that offers a wide range of educational programs for both young people and adults. As a partner in the MOVE-certificate project, DC Terra contributes to the comparison and development of educational programs. DC Terra also organizes and delivers the developed educational programs for groups of students from the Netherlands and Germany, and provides guidance and administers exams for these students.
But why would a school choose to participate in the MOVE-certificate? Policy Officer André Veenendaal explains, and his answer has everything to do with the region in which DC Terra operates.
DC Terra believes it is important for students to be well prepared for their role in the job market. And that job market is larger and more diverse than many people realize. “We have not only a Dutch part of the region, but also a German part,” André explains.
Students who graduate in this region will regularly interact with customers, suppliers, or colleagues from across the border, or with people who speak a different language or have a different cultural background. The MOVE-certificate offers a concrete, practical way to prepare them for this. Students learn to collaborate with peers from another country, become familiar with a different educational system and work culture, and discover how the same field is structured in Germany. “Besides being enjoyable and fun, this is also important for the profession they’ll pursue after graduation,” says André. It also increases participants’ chances of finding suitable employment.
In addition to professional and personal development, André also places great value on the MOVE-certificate. The certificate is signed by both a Dutch and a German educational institution, giving it cross-border recognition. According to André, it holds value “because a lot of hard work has gone into building trust”: trust in what a participant has learned and in their ability to apply that knowledge in practice.
“The student can demonstrate that he or she has learned something relevant and has essentially earned a dual degree. The student knows that with his or her degree and the certificate, he or she can work on both sides of the border.”
That trust works both ways: students who have participated in the exchange gain self-confidence because they’ve experienced that they can function in an international environment.
DC Terra hopes that participants will view the MOVE-certificate as a life experience they’ll never forget and as a stepping stone to a job that suits them, on either side of the border.
