IE HST Mentor Program | Enhancing the student experience

HST Mentor Program

What is the HST Mentor Program?

It’s a year-long program in which alumni from programs of the IE School of Human Science and Technology offer support to current students through regular mentorship. Mentors take a human-centered approach in the design of their sessions, which further enhances the student experience at HST.

BENEFITS

BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS

• Feel Supported: It’s an opportunity for students to share any ideas or qualms with alumni. Since mentors have been through the experience before, they can empathise and provide encouragement and support, or simply offer an ear to listen.

• Network-Building: Students can build meaningful relationships with different generations of alumni from their programs, many of whom will be valuable connections in the future.

BENEFITS FOR MENTORS

• Portfolio Development: Mentors develop their portfolio and professional experience, while continuing to be an active part of the IE community. Through the use of Human-Centered Design, mentors strengthen their professional skills and leadership.

• Network-Building: Mentors can build strong, meaningful relationships with the growing HST community, many of whom will be great connections in the future.

Programs currently offering HST Mentor Programs

In 2018 the Master in Customer Experience and Innovation (MCXI) began the first HST Mentor Program.

In 2019 the Bachelor in Behavior and Social Sciences (BBSS) and the Master in Visual and Digital Media (MVDM) began their respective HST Mentor Programs.

In the future, we hope to launch Mentor pilots with even more programs at HST.

How do the mentor sessions work?

Launch

Mentors and students are first introduced to each other through the Academic Director of the program, usually at the beginning of the academic year. This is often known as the “launch” of the Mentor Program.

Monthly Sessions

Mentors and their groups have mentoring sessions of 1hr/month. The first session is a little longer to help us get to know each other.

Specialized Activities

Mentors design, prepare and deliver value-added activities for their group. These sessions are designed using Human Centered Design and Design Thinking techniques.

Ongoing Contact

Aside from the official mentor sessions, students and mentors are encouraged to stay in touch and share any ideas, insights or tips throughout the year.

How can I become a mentor?

1. Confirm

1 1. Confirm

Alumni should confirm if the HST Mentor Program is offered in the program from which they graduated. If so, they should reach out to their academic director or Laura.McDermott@ie.edu for more information.
2. Apply

1 2. Apply

Alumni then apply to be a mentor in the HST Mentor program relevant to their program.
3. Get Selected

1 3. Get Selected

Alumni are selected to be mentors based on their application and availability.
4. Receive Training

1 4. Receive Training

After being selected, mentors are given training, assigned to their teams (typically one mentor per team) and research their groups prior to session 1.