Alumni Mentoring Scheme
As an alum of Imperial College London, share your expertise through the Imperial College Careers Service Alumni Mentoring Scheme. This initiative was established for current Imperial students to be mentored by a professional working in their sector of interest.
The Alumni Mentoring Scheme's purpose is to support the development of student employability through gaining an informed career insight and empowering students to achieve their career aims. It also seeks to advance diversity and inclusion by encouraging the networking propensity of students from underrepresented groups.
Students and mentors work together across the academic year with a minimum of five points of engagement. These engagements can be a combination of face-to-face, telephone, email conversations or via an online platform such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The scheme supports a structured partnership between an Imperial alum and a current student, whereby the alum can share their professional experiences, personal insights and employability advice.
With your support, we can help Imperial College London students to:
- Increase their career clarity
- Gain a deeper understanding of the graduate labour market
- Feel confident and prepared for their next career transition
- Explore a sector of interest and gain insights into the industry
The scheme is available to all Imperial students studying STEM subjects to participate as mentees, and we prioritise students that meet the College's widening participation criteria.
Any queries should be emailed to mentoring@imperial.ac.uk.
Mentoring Scheme
Benefits to Mentors and their organisations
The Scheme provides alumni and their organisations with the opportunity to:
- Share their professional experiences and learning with motivated students who are interested in the alumnus’ field of expertise
- Develop transferrable mentoring and coaching skills for future people management or leadership responsibilities within their own career
- Gain satisfaction from helping motivated students to increase their confidence and progress with their career choices and ambitions
- Promote their sector and profession directly to students, along with potential career opportunities within their organisation
- Build a strong link with Imperial College London
The Mentor role
The Mentor role is intended to support and encourage present Imperial students in understanding how best to use their time at Imperial to develop their professional skills, along with providing advice on preparing for the next stage in their career.
In order to promote the scheme's purpose, we are seeking alumni who completed a qualification at Imperial College London within the past ten years. This is to ensure that current students are paired with mentors who can share recent insights into entering the graduate labour market. We greatly appreciate all contributions made by our alumni and please note if you are unable to engage with the Alumni Mentoring Scheme there are various additional volunteering opportunities for Imperial alumni.
An ideal mentor would be able to help a student by:
- Developing confidence and networking skills
- Providing an insight into graduate career opportunities
- Supporting with one-to-one advice with CV writing and interview skills
- Working in collaboration to prepare for their next career transition.
The standard commitment from a Mentor will be a minimum of five points of engagement. These engagements can be a combination of face-to-face, telephone, email conversations or via an online platform such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The Mentee is expected to be responsible for organising these meetings.
Before you start as a Mentor you will be provided with our Guide to Mentoring which provides a more detailed outline of the division of responsibilities within the Mentor/Mentee relationship, Mentor/Mentee expectations, logistics and an overview of support for Mentors from the Careers Service. Mentors will also be invited to the Alumni Mentoring Scheme Induction Event where both will receive a brief training session on:
- Key mentoring and coaching skills
- Overview of roles and responsibilities
- Standard expectations and commitments
- Goal setting
- Planning and structuring contact
- Support from the Careers Service
Matching the Mentor and Mentee
Following alum registration, all mentor profiles will be collated into an anonymised directory accessible only be Imperial students via a restricted login area on our website. Your contact details will not be available to students.
In their applications, students will select their preferred mentor profiles and any matched students will have expressed a strong interest and motivation in gaining an insight into your sector or occupational area. Please be aware that the Mentee(s) you are allocated may not necessarily match your company's normal recruitment profile.
How to register
Registration for the 2021-22 scheme is now closed. If you are interested in acting as a Mentor for 2022-23, please complete our mentor application form.
If you have any enquiries about the scheme or the registration process please email mentoring@imperial.ac.uk