On 2 October 2018, the Ministry of Education, University and Research in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation published the Interministerial Decree no. 634, with which it establishes the guidelines for the training necessary to serve in Italian schools abroad. The service abroad regards a single cohort of head teachers, teachers and administrative staff.

The selected staff will benefit of a training initiative which aims to guarantee to those who decide to work abroad the same professional development opportunities reserved for colleagues who operate on the national territory.

Indire on behalf of MIUR and MAECI has the task of planning and managing the training for school staff abroad which consists of two distinct moments:

• entry training, preparatory to the inclusion in the new working environment, with special focus on the knowledge of the system of Italian schools abroad;
• in-service training, for the purpose of professional updating.

The Institute ensures training through the creation of a dedicated online platform, aimed at accompanying teachers, university lecturers, head teachers and administrative staff in their professional and personal experience, supporting them in their adaptation process, in order to foster a proactive and open spirit to intercultural dialogue.

The training plan aims to spread the Italian language and culture abroad and at the same time to build intercultural paths starting from the heritage of traditions and culture of the host country.

In particular, the online learning environment is characterized by materials and video lessons especially created with the intention of soliciting reflection on the themes of learning/teaching Italian as L2, contact languages, intercultural dialogue, Made in Italy, and more generally of Italian culture, against the backdrop of an international, multilingual and multicultural scenario. There is also a digital repository that contains the relevant legislation, links to authentic sites and materials, as well as examples of national and international best practices.

For the design and delivery of the training programme, Indire makes use of the technical collaboration and operational teaching support of Università Telematica degli Studi IUL.