FAQ – Questions and Answers about Partnerschulnetz

What is Partnerschulnetz.de?
Partnerschulnetz.de is a virtual partner exchange developed in the context of the initiative "Schools: Partners for the Future" of the Federal Foreign Office. It provides German schools and schools outside Germany with the opportunity to approach international long-lasting partnerships.

Who is Partnerschulnetz.de for?
German schools as well as foreign schools from all over the world (no matter which school type) can register on Partnerschulnetz.de and start developing a long-lasting school partnership. It is open to anyone, not only to the network of schools of the initiative “Schools: Partners for the Future”.

How does Partnerschulnetz work?
The partner exchange will help you to: 

• get an overview of the schools already registered;
• register your school and create a school profile where you briefly introduce your school and describe your suggestions for school projects as well as your requirements concerning the partner school;
• find a partner school after you have registered – there are two ways: you either choose a suitable school from the list of schools on the page ‘School search’ and then contact the school, or you obtain a contact request from a school and answer it;   
  
• after that, you can discuss a partnership with the school you contacted and work on the partnership together.

Do I have to pay for the use of Partnerschulnetz.de?
No, the use of Partnerschulnetz.de is free of charge.

How can I find a school that will suit my needs? 
You can view the number of schools already registered by moving the cursor across continents on the page ‘School search’. If you want to look for a potential school partner, you can make use of the search engine that includes all schools registered. For that you either click on one of the continents or you fill in search criteria such as “school type”, “country” etc. You will obtain a list of schools according to your criteria. By double clicking on the name of the listed schools, you will obtain some information about them.

How can I get in contact with a school that I am interested in?
If you wish to contact one of the schools you will have to register on Partnerschulnetz.de first. Only then will you be able to access further school related information as well as personal data of the potential partner school, enabling you to get in contact.

I have not registered yet, but I still want to know something more about the schools that are in the school database already.

Every visitor of  Partnerschulnetz.de has got access to a brief introduction of each school. However, the detailed school profiles and the possibility to contact a school is only reserved for registered users. 

What is the purpose of the school profile?
Through the school profile, you introduce your school and at the same time enable other schools to get an accurate picture of your school and your ideas as to a future partnership. The more precise and up-to-date your data is, the greater is your prospect to find a new partner school!

Who is responsible for the contents in the school profiles?
The users themselves are responsible for what appears in their school profiles. The PAD does not verify the information given by the schools.  

How will I find a partner school?
You have to register first. For that, you will need a username and a password. After you have sent your registration, you will automatically obtain an e-mail from the Partnerschulnetz system. Please do not forget to confirm the link you will find in the e-mail. You will then be able to log in to Partnerschulnetz.de, create your school profile and find a suitable school which you wish to contact.

How do I register as a school searching a new partner school?
If you want to use the complete service of Partnerschulnetz.de, you have to open your own user account. You will find a registration form under ‘Registration’. As soon as you have filled in the form and clicked the ‘SEND’ button you will obtain an e-mail. You will find a link in the e-mail which you have to confirm in order to finally activate your account. The whole procedure is described in a users manual (link) step by step. After that you can log in with a username and a password and complete your profile with a picture and some additional information.

What can I do when I meet with problems during the registration?
You may download a users manual that describes the registration step by step. If that does not help you sufficiently, you may send an E-Mail to the Partnerschulnetz team and ask for help.

How can I enter the closed area of registered schools?
Registered users have to log in with their username and password to be able to get into the closed area. All non-registered users have to open a user account first.

Is it possible to undo the registration and begin anew?
Yes, it is. You obtained an e-mail from Partnerschulnetz.de after your first registration.
This e-mail contains a cancellation link which you may use to deactivate your school profile. If you already erased the e-mail from your in-box, you may ask the Partnerschulnetz team to deactivate the profile for you.

Who can help me with technical problems?
You may contact the Partnerschulnetz team by E-Mail and ask for help in case of technical problems at any time.

What shall I do when I forget my password?
When you forget your password, go to ‘Registration’ and click the ‘Forgot your password?’ button. Your password will be sent to your e-mail address.

Is it safe to work with Partnerschulnetz.de?
The school profiles are secured with passwords and can only be changed by users. The Partnerschulnetz team does not share the data with anybody else, not even with other registered users.

What shall I do when I find out that I accidentally entered false data? Can I change what I have written?
Every user who has logged in on the web-page can change the data or add further details to their school profile.

How can I put a picture of our school on the webpage?
Go to ‘School profile’ and then to ‘School picture’, there you can upload a picture of your school.

What do the coloured dots on the ‘School search’ page mean?
The coloured dots show the search status of each school. The green dot means that the school is not yet involved in a partnership and is looking for a new partner school at the moment. The yellow dot means that the school is already involved in a partnership and is nevertheless looking for another partner school. The red dot means the school is already involved in a partnership and is not looking for a new one at present. 

How to contact a school:

We have registered and we are looking for a partner school, i. e. we have created our school profile on Partnerschulentz.de, but we aren’t getting any contact requests from other schools.
You don’t have to wait until you are contacted. Be active and search for a suitable partner school yourself. New schools register on Partnerschulnetz.de every day. Your new partner school is sure to be among them! 

Why can’t we contact other schools although we are registered on Partnerschulnetz.de?
You have to log in if you wish to contact a school. Only then appears a “Contact” button at the bottom of the page ‘School profile’.

We are an Italian school and we are looking for a partner school from Asia. Why is it impossible for us to contact Asian schools?
Partnerschulnetz.de is a platform for German schools to initiate school partnerships with schools all over the world.

The funding of school partnerships:

Together with our partner school we are planning an exchange visit. Does the PAD provide funds for exchange visits in the context of school partnerships? How can we apply for financial support?
Partnerschulnetz is a platform enabling you to find a partner school. The Educational Exchange Service provides funds for school partnerships worldwide. Feel free to view and download all the information sheets as well as the application forms from the PAD web page.

What does the financial support provided by the PAD consist of?
Support granted to school partnerships in the context of the PASCH initiative includes financial support for preparatory visits, travelling expenses for student groups from outside Germany and partly for German groups as well, pocket money and insurance fees for students from outside Germany, and expenses in connection with a joint project of the German and the foreign school. You will find all necessary information as well as the application forms on the PAD web page.