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Good practice Imported

IT Specialist for a Day [Informaticien-ne d’un jour]

Belgium · Brussels · Regional · See the Belgium profile

The aim of IT Specialist for a Day is to promote academic orientation of young people toward computer science. It is based on a partnership between professionals in schools and companies, and led by Interface3. The project allows schoolgirls and schoolboys to: discover the divers

3,120 people
People reached (2007–2011)

Details

Maturity
Discontinued
Promoter
Interface3 — website
Type
Policy
Status
Ended
Target groups
Marginalised young people and children, Migrants, Unemployed and those facing social problems
People reached
3120
People targeted
3120
Period
2007-01-01 – 2011-12-31
Region (NUTS)
BE10
Keywords
Computer science, ICT, training, young people, academic orientation

Context

In the Brussels-Capital Region, ICT professions have experienced a disaffection among young people, causing a workforce shortage in this vital economic sector. Girls are especially underrepresented in ICT professional studies.

Objectives

The project promotes academic orientation of young people, and girls in particular, toward computer science: raising awareness of ICT career possibilities, demystifying prejudices about ICT professions (difficulty, poor working conditions), and stimulating student and teacher thinking on gender stereotypes in IT.

Activities

Led by Interface3 in partnership between schools and companies, each group of 15–20 students received a 3-hour lesson at school (a 1-hour session on the history of ICT and professions, via videos and success stories, plus a 2-hour programming workshop) followed by a half-day visit to an ICT company or department to meet professionals and see their daily work away from clichés.

Results

The programme, run between 2007 and 2011, reached 3,120 people through 11 operational staff, with an innovation rating of 4 out of 5.

Conclusions

Interface3's own evaluation combined qualitative and quantitative methods, but no specific findings, comparison group or independent study are documented in the available sources.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Not quantified in the source material; delivered through short in-school sessions plus company visits, staffed by 11 people.
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Ran from 2007 to 2011; each cohort received a single 3-hour lesson plus a half-day company visit.
Staffing & skills
Interface3 trainers (11 operational staff), partner-school coordinators, ICT company/department hosts for site visits

Conditions for success

  • active partnership between schools and ICT companies
  • trainers equipped to address gender stereotypes directly
  • buy-in from professional school teachers who influence student orientation

Common failure modes

  • persistent sector-wide gender imbalance in ICT may limit long-term impact without follow-up
  • programme ended in 2011 with no evidence of continued funding or a successor initiative

Where it fits

Governance type
NGO-led (Interface3) with regional government support (Brussels-Capital Region Employment Ministry)
Scale
regional
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes ESF+ — European Social Fund Plus

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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