Group mentoring programme spring 2023
Group mentoring programme for bachelor´s and master´s degree students of University of Eastern Finland and Savonia University of Appliend Sciences. In group mentoring you can share your own experiences and knowledge to small group of students. The students can be from different backrounds and study level. The group will be chosen according their own wishes regarding the mentoring. The programme will be executed during the spring 2023
The schedule of the programme is the following (the overall workload per mentor is aprox. 20 h)
- Online training for mentors (in English) on Wed. 14th December 2022 at 2 pm – 4 pm
- Online kick-off meeting on Tue. 17th January 2023 at 2pm – 4pm
- 4 to 6 mentoring meetings with your own group. You can choose together with your group whether you want your group to meet online or if you wish to meet face to face.
- Online intermediate meeting for mentors on Tue. 14th March 2023 at 2pm – 4pm (introductory lecture: “Work wellbeing” senior lecturer Harri Virolainen)
- Final meeting on Tue. 16th May 2023 at 2pm – 5pm in Kuopio, Savilahti Campus
The themes of the mentoring can be: professional growth and career development, identifying one’s own competence, job search skills, self-branding / social media visibility (LinkedIn) and networking, Finnish culture and working life, motivation and future goals, entrepreneurship and (research) funding, well-being at work and time management.
Mentoring can be executed either face to face or online. The group agrees on the method of implementation and possible face to face meetings*.
A mentor in this programme is a person in working life who can offer support, new perspectives and networks to group of students. The aim is to form mentoring groups around the areas of expertise of the mentors. However, depending on the background of the applicants the groups may also be multidisciplinary. All professionals in working live have plenty to offer to students regardless of their study field.
The call for mentors for spring 2023 has ended, but if you are interested to join our mentoring pool for future rounds, then please contact: marko.pietila@uef.fi
Mentoring offers the mentor
- new perspectives and fresh information about actors’ training fields
- possibilities to expand professional networks
- development of coaching and interaction skills
- the opportunity to learn about different cultures
- the opportunity to structure and mirror your own skills and experience.
As a mentor, you are expected
- active listening and to be present on agreed meeting times (about once a month)
- to give support for the development of actors’ working life skills
- readiness to agree on practical issues with the actor group
- setting goals and giving feedback in a conversational and questioning manner instead of giving instructions
As a mentor, you are not expected
- to have expertise and answers to all the actor’s questions
- dealing with issues outside of general professional guidance
- offering a job or internship placements for the actors
Training is available for the mentors
Savonia University of Applied Sciences offer a YAMK-level 5-credit course “From Professional to a Mentor” for free for the mentors selected for the spring 2023 mentoring program. In the course you will develop your mentoring skills and put them into practice during the spring mentoring program. More information about participating in the course will be sent after the mentors have been selected.
*Please note that, unfortunately, we cannot pay for possible travel or other expenses related to mentoring meetings.
