The Importance of Mentoring for University Students

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Universities and Colleges want their students to thrive and achieve their goals. But how do you do it? Well, mentoring is an effective way to improve and enhance your students' learning and prepare them for the workplace.

Being a student is hard work, there's no denying that. But mentoring provides them with the support they need to go forward in their academic journey, giving them the motivation they need to reach their full potential. Throughout this article, we will be discussing the types of mentoring that can be used with your students and the reasons why mentoring is important.

What is Mentoring?

Let’s start with the basics. What is mentoring? Well, simply put, mentoring is a relationship between individuals that helps them develop their potential and improve their personal and professional development.

Mentors can be defined as individuals who have more experience or wisdom in a specific topic, and who work alongside their mentees to help them develop.

The mentor works with the mentee to help them set and achieve their goals, whilst offering support during the process. A mentor is also incredibly valuable for developing interpersonal skills and upskilling in areas that are beneficial for the workplace.

The best mentors are those who are truly interested and passionate about helping others succeed, and willing to share their knowledge with another person to help them truly thrive.

Types of Mentoring

When it comes to mentoring, many methods can be used to help your students. Listed below are examples of the types of mentoring we recommend for Universities.

One-to-one Mentoring

When you think about mentoring, you’re more than likely thinking about one-to-one mentoring, which can be classed as the traditional method of mentoring. This type of mentoring is where the mentor and mentee develop a relationship which focuses on helping the mentee thrive, succeed and achieve the goals they have set.

In the traditional sense of mentoring, this type is where the mentor has more experience in a specific area that allows them to guide, support and advise their mentee on the choices they make. An example of this in a University setting could be a master's student, supporting a first-year student during their academic studies.

Peer Mentoring

Whilst similar in nature to one-to-one mentoring, peer mentoring can be described as two individuals coming together to form a mentoring relationship. Whereas, compared to one-to-one mentoring where the mentor has more experience, in peer mentoring, both members are at a similar level.

In these mentoring sessions, each individual takes turns acting as the mentor, with the sessions planned to share knowledge, wisdom, and encouragement. An example of this would be two individuals on the same University course, connecting and supporting each other with a recent task set.

Group Mentoring

Group mentoring is a style of mentoring, where there is one individual who is a mentor for several mentees within a group setting. The mentor is often a more experienced and knowledgeable individual who shares their wisdom with the group. The mentor leads the mentoring sessions, whilst the mentees add in their own experiences and support to other members.

This style of mentoring is becoming incredibly popular, and whilst it may seem like traditional classroom teaching, this method allows the mentees to engage with one another and create a safe environment where mentees can share their own stories and upskill faster. An example of this would be having a professional mentor University students in a group session.

5 Benefits of Mentoring for Students

Mentoring is incredibly beneficial for students, whether they're looking for ways to improve their assignment writing or want to have a step ahead in their career, mentoring can help. When it comes to running a mentoring programme within your College or University, within no time, you’ll be pleased with the results you see, and so will your students!

Read our latest case study with Bath Spa University to see how mentoring helped prepare students for the workplace.

It Expands Network

One of the biggest benefits that people talk about when it comes to mentoring, is that mentoring helps individuals expand their network. An important factor that determines the success of your student's career is their ability to network. When students expand their network, it gives them a step-up within their career,  allowing them to improve their opportunities.

Whether their mentor is a senior professor, or another student, there are plenty of opportunities for their network to expand, this way, they are increasing their network in the field they want to enter. Building professional relationships is incredibly significant, especially for students who want to enter the workforce after their studies.

Better Grades

When it comes to mentoring, it’s not always about upskilling. One of the main benefits of mentoring for students is that it can help them improve their grades. People learn in different ways, and mentoring might be the best way for some of your students. Having the opportunity to connect and gain support from someone in a similar situation, will improve your student's engagement with learning.

Whether their mentor helps them with assignment formatting or provides them with the skills to effectively manage their studies, a mentor for your student is guaranteed to help them during their academic journey.

It Gives Students a Sounding Board

When your students have a mentor, it allows your students to speak to someone and discuss their ideas. Since their mentor is someone who has a similar interest and is in a similar career, they can offer relevant feedback and know the industry.

Having someone to speak to and share ideas creates open conversations and allows the mentee to make important career goals and decisions. The mentee can help the student make decisions that will directly and positively influence their future.

It Helps Boost Confidence

Mentoring helps boost the confidence of your students. University/College students are under a lot of stress, from assignments to trying to navigate their surroundings, being a student can be tough.

This often leads to anxiety and stress amongst your students, which will result in a lack of confidence. Students are just starting in the world, trying to make critical decisions which will ultimately influence the rest of their life. Having someone who can offer them support and encouragement can help boost their confidence both personally and professionally.

Upskilling

When it comes to being a student, one of the reasons they enrol within a course is to actively improve their chances of gaining their dream role. However, some things can be taught in a lecture hall. Mentoring greatly improves the chances of upskilling, because it creates a culture that fosters learning and makes others want to thrive at what they do.

Mentors can help their mentees achieve the skills they need that are relevant to the industry and career they choose, typically learnt from prior experience. Upskilling is incredibly important for students and something they should deliberately seek to do.

Final Thoughts

Now you know the importance of mentoring for your students, where do you begin? We highly recommend looking into mentoring software that you can implement, to make the process seamless.

PushFar is the leading mentoring software, helping thousands of organisations across the world fulfil their mentoring needs. Our software helps you streamline the mentoring process, supporting mentoring through our technology. If you want to learn more about how we can help mentoring thrive within your organisation, request a free demonstration with us today.