What happens when learners from different countries and cultures carry out real projects together?

Deutsche Version: The Horse Pilot 2024/25 – Interkulturelle Projekte von Lernenden

The Horse project makes exactly that possible: hands-on, intercultural and with the joy of discovery.

What begins online leads to insights into hands-on practice on site and becomes the starting point for lively international experiences. The focus is on collaboration, experience-based projects and showcases with global perspectives without physical mobility – Internationalization@home in practice.

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The Horse is a pioneering COIL project (Collaborative Online Learning) for Swiss and international vocational education, initiated in 2016. In 2024, «The Horse» received co-funding from Movetia (movetia.ch)^*) for a pilot project that was completed in early 2026.

As part of this pilot project, the concept, the digital action space and the BEFTER method^**) were further developed, tested and consolidated with scientific support.

This has laid the foundations for the further development and broader application of «The Horse».
*) Movetia is the national Swiss agency for promoting exchange and mobility in education
**) BEFTER, «before and after the experience», see below 

Health Boosters Compared
Switzerland meets Indonesia – an example project

Vocational student Abigail from Indonesia and vocational student Joas from Switzerland met at an intercultural event organized by «The Horse». Their first exchange led to a joint project idea: What strengthens health in a natural way – and how is this understood in Switzerland and Indonesia?

The intercultural team gathered practical experience on site, i.e. Abigail in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Joao in Bülach, Switzerland. Abigail conducted an interview with a pharmacist and Joao with former Miss Switzerland Jastina Doreen Riederer. The two compared local practices and showed how health is culturally shaped, explained and lived in Switzerland and Indonesia. In January 2026, their collaborative project Health Boosters compared – Switzerland meets Indonesia was published on dontwastemy.energy. 

To date, more than 230 collaboration
projects on a wide range of topics have been published on  dontwastemy.energy.

How does it work?

Such cool projects do not happen by themselves. Ambassadors and coordinators from The Horse support the project teams, learners and teachers throughout the entire cycle. 

Methodology: Based on COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) and the project’s own BEFTER method (BEFore & afTER the experience, PDF), a scientifically grounded learning logic with seven steps (beacons) for collaborative projects.
Experience is at the center: e.g. conducting interviews, visiting companies, carrying out surveys, etc.
Support: Ambassadors and coordinators support the project teams and teachers throughout the entire cycle.
Platform: An account-protected, data-secure website (The Horse collab) serves as an easy-access digital action space. Here, ideas are discussed, exchanged and commented on, teams are formed and work together, and numerous functions motivate and facilitate project work, such as video chat,  messenger, gamification elements, member card, etc.
Publishing: The projects are published on dontwastemy.energy and remain permanently accessible.
Taking part: «The Horse» enables institutions and teachers to get started easily at any time.

Who takes part?

The pilot project co-funded by Movetia was also clearly designed as a collaboration. In 2024/25, more than 250 learners and various partners from vocational education and training, intercultural competence and sustainability education took part. These included the Christ Nagar Higher Secondary School, Vocational Education Program (VOKASI) Universitas Indonesia, L’école Chempaka Serene Valley (IND, lecoleserenevalley.com), the BNKP Vocational High School Gunungsitoli (IDN, sch.id), the Wirtschaftsschule KV Zürich, the Berufsschule Bülach (bsbuelach.ch), and ikik (ost.ch) at OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. Other partners from earlier years came from Germany, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and everything began in 2016 at Wirtschaftsschule KV Wetzikon.

What participants say about the The Horse project

Benefits and special features for learners and teachers

🌍 Intercultural context: Direct exchange with peers worldwide breaks down prejudices and creates global awareness.
🧠 Media literacy: Practical application of numerous digital tools for project work and aspects of web publishing.
💬 Language skills: Learners use a foreign language, often for the first time, in a real project setting and with peers from other cultures.
🛠 Project skills: Participants go through the complete project cycle from idea, planning and realization to publication on  dontwastemy.energy and dissemination.
📍🚶Learning through on-site experiences: Connected online, experienced on site — a powerful approach. Knowledge is created where it can be observed, experienced and contextualized.
🎓 Certification: Participants receive a «The Horse» certificate documenting roles, e.g. Team Leader, Media Creator, and acquired competencies.

Study on the impact of the The Horse project and the BEFTER method

The 2026 evaluation study, conducted by the ikik – Institute for Communication and Intercultural Competence (ost.ch), Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, OST, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Stefan Kammhuber, shows:

The program can trigger strong effects and is sometimes experienced as a starting point for further international activities or even as a turning point in participants’ own biographies.

The vast majority of learners report positive effects on

• their self-reflection and self-management skills as well as their self-confidence
• their social skills
• their interest in other cultures and their own culture
• their confidence in their foreign language skills

Country-specific effects become apparent. International learners report stronger effects than Swiss learners.
Decisive factors for the success of the program, as well as for effects that were less pronounced, included the age-appropriate composition of the international project groups, the opportunity for direct international encounters, the time coordination of the participating groups within the overall project and across different time zones.

The results provide evidence-based indications for the further development of the The Horse project and of COIL programs in general.

Further foundations on the BEFTER method:

• The BEFTER method from the perspective of intercultural learning research (PDF)
• BEFTER – BEFore & afTER the Experience, a brief introduction

Outlook

Training sessions for Ambassadors are currently held weekly, and the digital collaboration environment is to be refined in a targeted way – for example in gamification, team-building tools and icebreakers for international interaction. The focus is on new collaborations, additional countries and institutions, as well as suitable framework conditions for the further development and testing of «The Horse».     

Links

• THE ! association (the-horse.education), association website
• The Horse Team (the-horse.education)
• Published projects (dontwastemy.energy)
• World map with projects (umap.osm.ch, Open Street Map)
• Project teams (dontwastemy.energy)
• The Horse Instagram (instagram.com)
• The Horse Facebook (facebook.com)

Documents

• The Horse Factsheet 2025 (PDF)
• The Horse information sheet (PDF), an overview
• The “BEFTER method” from the perspective of intercultural learning research (PDF)
  Prof. Dr. Stefan Kammhuber (ost.ch), Head of ikik (Institute for Communication and Intercultural Competence), Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences OST (ost.ch)

THE ! association

Eliane Suter, President of

THE ! association
The Horse Education ! association
Friedheimstr. 5, c/o B. Jäckli
8057 Zürich, Switzerland

www.the-horse.education
engage@the-horse.education

 

 

☷ See the project teams here »
☵ Some words about the contributions »
☴ Our sponsors and partners » (the-horse.education)