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Mentoring

Why a mentoring initiative?

One theme expressed throughout the proceedings of MIT’s 2008 Diversity Leadership Congress is the need for more mentoring opportunities. Students, faculty and staff all recognize the value of a wise and trusted counselor or teacher who can help them navigate their work and life at MIT.  While seen as an invaluable part of any academic or professional experience, mentoring is not automatic and might take a little extra effort to find.

Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, various groups will sponsor events and programs related to mentoring. Information about these programs will be posted at this site as it becomes available.

Two 2009 articles in MIT Sloan Management Review bring new insights to mentoring. In “A New Approach to Mentoring,” authors Kram and Higgins explain the importance of creating a network of mentors and provide advice on creating such a network. In “How to be a Smart Protégé,” Chandler, Hall and Kram provide eight additional tips for creating a network of mentors.

The following resources are organized by the primary recipient of the mentoring (students, faculty or staff). But many of the tools and tips are universal, so feel free to explore.

Students

The most extensive resource for student mentoring is Mentorship@MIT. Here you will find links to a large number of mentoring programs, guidance about starting a mentoring program, and tips for mentors.

For those interested in being mentored, the “How to be advised” brochure compiled by the UA Committee on Educational Policy will be of value.

For those interested in starting a peer mentoring program, the Academy of Courageous Minority Engineers (ACME)  offers their experience. ACME provides a safe forum to strategically approach the challenges faced by graduate students, in order to facilitate graduate student development.

In addition, the following resources are particularly relevant to students:

UROP Mentor E-Newsletter - An e-newsletter designed for MIT faculty and others who regularly mentor UROP researchers.

Uinfo and Advising Gateway: Advising and Mentoring - Tools for building your network of mentors.

Program in Leadership and Undergraduate Success (PLUS) Mentor Program - Links upperclassmen to underclassmen in a peer-to-peer, one-on-one mentoring relationship.

BioMatrix - BioMatrix is a mentoring program for anyone interested in issues related to life sciences and engineering.

The First Year at MIT (for students) - A resource for freshman to help you get the most from your relationship with your advisor.

The First Year at MIT (for advisors) - A resource to freshman advisors to help you in your work with freshmen in their critical first year at MIT.

The First Year at MIT (for assoc. advisors) - A resource for upperclassmen associate advisors to help you in your work with freshmen.

Science Mentoring Research provides extensive research and guidance on mentoring in STEM fields, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Faculty

A Guide for New Faculty and their Mentors  provides guidance on how to most effectively use an academic mentoring relationship.

A good bibliography for research on faculty mentoring is prepared by the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

In addition, there are resources specifically for women faculty and faculty of color.

Individual departments have their own mentoring policies and procedures. If you are aware of one that might have broader applicability, please submit the information on the Share a Resource form.

Staff

Two publications are available from Human Resources:

The Inside Track is MIT’s online volunteer informational interviewing network providing MIT employees with a resource to help them make informed decisions about career choices and professional development.

Additional information about professional development mentoring can be found at:

“Mentoring: An Essential Leadership Skill” is an article which is part of a free professional development toolkit.

Management Mentors is a vendor who offers numerous free articles, blogs and podcasts.

Triple Creek Associates is a vendor who offers a free newsletter and podcasts.

Individual departments have their own mentoring policies and procedures. If you are aware of one that might have broader applicability, please submit the information on the Share a Resource form.

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