Making the most of your Mentors

MENTORING SESSIONS - C3 AND C33 THE EXCHANGE

30th OCTOBER
13th NOVEMBER
20th NOVEMBER

- Who are your mentors?

Mentors are business people who work outside the university. They come from
a variety of occupations ranging from bankers and business advisors to
entrepreneurs running their own enterprises.

- What is their role in the Entrepreneurship and Business Module?

Mentors bring business experience to help inform and advise on the Ingenuity
creative problem solving process.

Naturally their experience differs and so, therefore, may their advice!

Experience has shown that mentors can be particularly helpful when groups
are selecting a problem and later when they are designing the best solution
because they highlight the importance of the potential customer’s viewpoint.

- How Mentoring works in Practice.

Mentors will circulate around their allocated groups (usually five). They will
question groups on progress and unresolved issues. They will try to keep
groups moving forwards through the creative problem solving process or pull
them back if a stage has been omitted or insufficiently explored.

In order to avoid ‘over mentoring’ they may wait until groups request support
and advice. They will also understand if groups ask them to come back in a few
minutes in cases where discussions are working well and the team approached
does not wish to be disturbed.

- Preparing for the ILB Coursework (The Integrative Learning Barometer ILB)

It is sensible and useful for each team member to take brief notes and keep a
record of their experience during the groupwork sessions. Reflecting on the
mentor’s advice and observations will be very helpful when responding to the
respective ILB.