Mentoring Pathways
Birkbeck’s Mentoring Pathways gives final-year students the opportunity to engage in a mentoring relationship with alumni and corporate volunteers. These mentoring relationships provide students with guidance, advice and support as they navigate the steps to their future careers and professional development goals.
Mentors are drawn from our Birkbeck graduates and corporate partners working in a diverse range of professions and industries. Current organisations and partnerships include Arts Council England, Clifford Chance, Goldman Sachs and Salesforce.
Why become a mentor?
By becoming a mentor, you support Birkbeck's diverse student community and can improve your own skills such as coaching and active listening. You'll also attend a CPD-accredited mentoring training session.
Why become a mentee?
If you're a student, by working with a mentor you will develop vital skills to support your future career, gain advice on identifying and achieving your goals and expand your professional network.
What's involved?
- Mentors and mentees are hand-matched based on their interests and careers
- Mentors and mentees are required to attend an online training session in November. Then between December and June, meet your mentee once a month for an hour-long mentoring session, either online or in-person
- Invitations to events including a mid-programme feedback session and a celebration event to mark the end of the programme
How to apply
Applications for Mentoring Pathways 2024-25 are now open.
Programme timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 29 August 2024 | Mentor applications open |
| 29 August 2024 | Mentee applications open |
| 23 September 2024 | Applying for Mentoring Pathways - Student event |
| 24 September 2024 | Applying for Mentoring Pathways - Volunteer event |
| 7 October 2024 | Mentee applications close |
| 21 October 2024 | Mentor applications close |
| 25-30 November 2024 | Mentor training sessions (online) |
| 25-30 November 2024 | Mentee training sessions (online) |
| From 2 December 2024 | Mentoring matches announced |
| February 2025 | Drop-in clinic for participants |
| April 2025 | Mid-programme event |
| July 2025 | End of programme |
Mentoring testimonials
"As a mentor, there’s so much you can offer students using your own skills and life experiences. It's such a nice way for me to stay in touch with life and work in the UK. I like that sense of connection to Birkbeck. It's something that's worth doing because you learn so much. It's so important to be a sounding board for students as somebody that is independent. It's a privilege to find yourself in that position, to be that bridge between academics and the world out there."
Nerice Gietel, mentor and Birkbeck alumna
