Mentoring

What is mentoring?

The mentoring process focuses on the mentee’s individual professional and personal development. Mentoring is an intergenerational, supportive learning relationship between 2 people with different experience and expertise. Both participants enter the relationship voluntarily, the mentor offers her services on a volunteer basis, and there is a high level of confidentiality.

Central to the process is the exchange of knowledge, drawn from the mentor’s professional experience and expertise, and the development of a definite and clear perspective. In short, the mentor combines first-hand knowledge of a profession with an outside view and assessment.

Mentoring has a proven track-record in career development, particularly during the transitional phase between study and working life. As such, these programs are gaining traction in universities as a means of developing career potential and talent.

Universität Hamburg has taken a leading role in implementing innovative mentoring options for women at all stages of their education. As part of a pilot program, Universität Hamburg is now offering a program on diversity, combining the research findings and experience gleaned from earlier programs.

The diversity-oriented mentoring program offers you:

• a female mentor, selected to match your field and personal characteristics after you have been accepted into the mentoring program;
• one year of one-to-one mentoring with an experienced female manager or holder of a leadership position;
• professional selection procedure with individual feedback;
• support in your individual and professional development;
• the opportunity to develop networks and contact with mentees in other faculties; and
• organization of a small mentee group project.