The World University Service, German Committee e.V. (WUS) is a non-governmental organization that is active in over 50 countries and is particularly committed to the issues of education, human rights, environmental protection, the empowerment of women, sustainable development and equality of rights and opportunities.

“Grenzenlos/Across Boundaries – Global Learning in Vocational Education” is a project targeting the human right of education with special focus on sustainability issues. offered by the World University Service. The project is a wide network of teachers from vocational schools and foreign students, and procures teaching cooperations at vocational schools in the following federal states: Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland. The guest speakers are students from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, who are studying in one of the participating German states and bring education for sustainable development (ESD) topics into the classroom of vocational schools. They sensitize vocational training students to sustainability issues, strengthen their intercultural competencies and encourage a change of perspective. The teaching cooperations make students fit for a globalized world. "It's important to show young people in Germany what happens in other countries, especially with regard to sustainability issues”, said one student after a teaching cooperation. During the COVID-19 pandemic the teaching cooperations took place as online-events. These online events boosted a double learning effect: the pupils learned about sustainability and at the same time acquired new skills of handling digital learning tools. 

Methodologically, the teaching cooperations follow the aims of the Agenda 2030 and focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the cross-curricular Framework for Global Development Education (2016) by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK).

Another goal of "Grenzenlos/Across Boundaries" is to empower students from Africa, Asia and Latinamerica. Therefore, they can benefit from a four-module qualification series. After a final examination, they receive the certificate "Facilitator for Global and Intercultural Education". Concerning the side of the vocational training schools, the project also offers ESD school development in the sense of the "whole-school approach": committed schools, which actively engage themselves with the project, can apply for the "Grenzenlos/Across Boundaries" school seal and thus become part of a nationwide network comprising with 37 vocational schools.

Since the beginning of the project about 14,500 vocational school students have been reached in more than 700 teaching cooperations at 123 schools. 239 multipliers have been trained and 228 teachers cooperated with students from 40 nations. The project awarded 37 schools with a special seal and certificate for their activities towards sustainability.

In 2017, "Grenzenlos/Across Boundaries" was awarded the Global Education Innovation Award of the Global Education Network Europe (GENE), as well as the German Sustainability Award "ZeitzeicheN" of Grüne Liga Berlin e.V. In 2018 and 2019, the project was recognized as an Outstanding Network of the UNESCO Global Action Programme on ESD. The project is a recognized facilitator for global learning of the RENN-West Network and a member of the umbrella brand „Nachhaltigkeit lernen in Hessen/Learning sustainability in Hesse“. In 2020, "Grenzenlos/Across Boundaries"  was chosen to be a "lighthouse project" of the German Action Days of Sustainability and honoured for its innovative ESD approach in times of the COVID-19 pandemic by the German Commission for UNESCO.

"Grenzenlos/Across Boundaries" is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via Engagement Global gGmbH and by the German States Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland.

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