What is a Mentor?
A mentor is a trust counsellor, guide or a caring friend of the working world who kindly agrees to commit some of his or her personal time to mentor a student. Mentoring is a learning process as well as a teaching process. The mentor/mentee relationship is one of mutual empowerment. Mentor is synonymous with leadership. It will be most helpful for the mentor and mentee, in the initial stage, to agree on the level of commitment, mode and frequency of interaction, as well as the preferred focus through the mentoring experience.
Roles of Mentor
- Willingness to give personal and professional advice to mentees that will assist in their educational, social and personal growth.
- Informs mentees about careers in the selected industry or profession
- Focus is on challenging and stretching mentees to achieve their potential
- Organizing activities for encouragement and friendship
A mentor may...
- Consider to involve your mentees in your social activities
- Challenge your mentees intellectually
- Connect your mentees to other leaders for building up relationships
- Share your thoughts and feelings with your mentees
Duties of a mentor:
IS student/alumni/professional mentors are preferred to focus on the following in planning their mentoring activities:
- adaptation to the university life
- enhancement of sense of belonging to the department
- development of professional/business intelligence in the discipline of IS
- career exploration
- goal setting
The kind of activities and communications totally rest upon the agreement between the mentor and mentee themselves. The mentorship may be formal or informal. Communication may include regular phone calls, e-mail exchanges, lunch-time or after-work meetings to discuss areas of interest, concern and further development.
Mentors and mentees may set alternative focus and activities they are interested in. It is expected that the mentors can meet their mentees throughout the semester and at times convenient to both parties.