funded by:

Thank you all! For your inputs in the first both contents and financial annual reporting, which has now been accepted Note that all reports can be found on our UPDATE website

Pre-financing issues The amount of the first pre-financing will be 85% of the estimated costs to be incurred by the consortium in its project during the first reporting period and the first half of the next period. The total amount of pre-financing can not exceed 80% (Article 182 of the IM especially paragraphs 2, 3 and 5) of the total Community financial contribution for the project NOTE: Sums exceeding the given pre-financing can be qualified as definitive payments through the financial reporting (already on second project year)

Girls’Day at a car centre in SoestGirls’Day at a car centre in Soest Final, definitive payments The total EC contribution will never be more then the maximum EC contribution as defined in the contract If the reports and financial statements are approved, the Community financial contribution is paid. In this case, • all or part of the pre-financing is re-qualified as a definitive payment (settled payment - subject to the results of any audit or review which may be carried out up to five years after the end of the project)  Be prepared for the audits!

Management expenses In the UPDATE project, all direct expenses are either “Other specific activities” or management Please pay attention to the 7% maximum of management costs. The 7% threshold for costs of management activities is determined not on the basis of the EC contribution initially foreseen in the contract but on the basis of the contribution actually received by the consortium (that is on the basis of the actual costs incurred)

Please note this: NOTE: “For Specific Support Actions, where the total eligible costs claimed are lower than the grant foreseen in the contract, the reimbursement rate shall be 95% of the eligible costs, without prejudice to the limitations per activity established in this Article”. (fourth paragraph of Article II.25 of Annex II (General conditions) to the FP6 model contract): This means that if the total eligible costs are inferior to the maximum Community financial contribution mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 5 of the core-contract, the Community financial contribution is equal to 95% of the total eligible costs and not to 100%.  It is the interest of all partners that the whole funding will be wisely used!

Share of project pre-funding 2008

Aims of the project - to examine why girls drop out from technology education at different stages of their education - to create new ways and educational methods to make the image of technology and technological careers more attractive for both boys and girls - to promote, encourage and mobilise especially girls and young women for engineering and technology both as a career and as active users of modern technology

UPDATE Website - a web-based collaborative environment - collaborative working space for the online editing and compilation of questionnaires and texts - a blog for supporting partner communication and dissemination activities, also participations of schools and children - work package spaces - mailing list - Update portfolio for workpackages public part for diverse audiences -

Using the website WP Portfolios: I Curriculum Analysis II Case Studies III Pedagogical Practices All project partners have agreed to use the website! Managing each WP-specific site is on the responsibility of the respective WP leader

Near future deliverables Month 18 D2.1 Curriculum content analysis report (national and cross-national levels) D3.1 Elementary school curriculum content analysis report (national and cross-national levels) D4.1 General school curriculum content analysis report, interim report D4.2 Interim teacher guidelines D4.7 Initial report on international comparative study

Month 20 D5.1 Publication of the results: a list of possible barriers, a list of motivating and encouraging factors (national and cross- national levels) Month 22 D6.1 Analysis on regional/ national status of the girls drop-out issue in transitional educational stages (curriculum content analysis connected to the identified barriers and bottlenecks) Month 24 D2.2 Description of best pedagogical practises D2.3 Report on factors that have impact on self-image related to technology