Why is IEEE offering a mentoring program? IEEE has always focused on career development and established this program to complement other IEEE career development offerings.
Who can participate in the program? Participation is open to all IEEE members who are above the Student Member grade.
What is “The Training Connection”? The Training Connection is a vendor that developed a Web-based mentoring program to facilitate the matching process of a mentor to a mentee. This program allows the mentee to self-select their mentor from a list of potential mentor candidates.
What is a mentor? A mentor is someone who has experience, has gained wisdom and knowledge from their experiences, and can offer insight, guidance, and inspiration to another person. Their knowledge can come in many forms, depending on their experience level and years in the profession. A mentor can provide guidance and also learn from the mentee with whom they are partnered. The working mentoring partnership is a learning and working experience in teamwork. The one-to-one partnership can provide many insights into developing professional relationship building.
What is a mentee? A mentee is someone who has a passion for learning. They have made a commitment of time and energy to engage in a mentoring partnership in the hopes of learning from a mentor’s wisdom and experience. The mentee is leading the mentoring partnership by setting their goals and expectations and then selecting the mentor they feel best fits their goals.
Who selects the mentoring partners? The IEEE mentoring program uses the “informal style” of mentoring, where the mentee self-selects their mentor from a database of available IEEE members who have volunteered to participate in the program. The search criteria is selected by the mentee and can be determined by their geographical preference (country, state, or city) or by technical competencies based on the IEEE technical societies.
What is my obligation to the mentoring partnership? We would like each mentoring partner to commit to at least two hours per month for the success of their mentoring partnership. Communication between the mentoring partners can be by e-mail, by phone, or in person, all at their own choosing.
What kind of commitments should I expect? Each participant in a mentoring partnership should be committed to giving time and effort to develop their partnership. They need an understanding of their role and responsibilities, and each partner needs to stay in touch and follow an action plan that defines goals and outlines expectations for the partnership (use of phone or e-mail, length of meetings, how often they meet, etc.).
What should I expect to do in a mentoring partnership? Initially, you will have two forms to complete that capture your basic information, technical interests, educational background, and interests you bring to a mentoring partnership. If you are a mentee, you will then search the available mentors in the program to find one you feel matches your mentoring needs. When you find a potential mentor, you send an e-mail asking to begin a mentoring partnership. Once accepted, you and your mentor will begin discussing how the partnership will work and can develop a mentoring action plan to achieve your goals. The mentoring partnership will last for one year and, if you and your partner feel the partnership is not progressing toward the agreed goals, the partnership can be closed early.
What resources are available to the mentoring partners with this program? The mentoring program has a resource library that contains the Informal Mentoring Guide designed to provide practical information for beginning, maintaining, and ending your mentoring partnership. This guide will help you complete the profile and application forms, understand the roles and responsibilities for each partner, and offer guidelines in the steps to review and select your mentoring partner. Other features include a calendar, a private diary for each mentoring partner, and an open forum to all participants.
Where do I go for more information? Please visit the IEEE Mentoring Program page for more information. If you have any questions, please contact the IEEE Mentoring Program Coordinator at IEEEmentoring@ieee.org.

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Mentoring Connection Program

The Mentoring Connection program is a member benefit for professional and Graduate Student members of IEEE.

About the Mentoring Connection Program
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View the Mentoring Connection Program orientation webinar
Long Distance Mentoring
Frequently Asked Questions
Mentoring Testimonials

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