Pimp IT up

A mentor scheme and partnership between schools and businesses

At the end of 2005, ADA developed the pilot project for the ‘Pimp IT up’ mentor scheme in collaboration with the Karel de Grote-Hogeschool university college and the Sint-Lodewijk and Sint-Annacollege secondary schools in Antwerp.

The scheme is a two-stage project : the first stage consists of the introduction of the CD ROM "Informatisons !" ("Let’s get real about IT") to students in their last year at secondary school ; and in the second stage the girls are invited to spend a day shadowing a female IT worker, who shows them her work environment and the various tasks she deals with every day.

By taking the time firstly to show the students how varied and fascinating the IT sector is and to dismantle the limited way in which it is represented and then to take them to meet face-to-face with the women working in the sector, the conditions are set for them to make a well-informed choice.