Mentoring is a relationship between an experienced person (mentor), who shares his/her professional knowledge, experiences and insights with a less experienced person (mentee). The aim is to support the mentee in finding and pursuing his/her career path through conversations, recommendations and possibly connections with the help of the mentor’s network.

While the conversations in a mentoring relationship can include a development on a professional and personal level, the mentor should not be regarded as a coach or trainer. Mentors are not trained to provide counselling sessions for their mentees – instead, their strength lies in sharing their personal experiences in a field that interests the mentee.

In the case of Talk.Connect.Grow., we believe that in a good mentoring relationship, the vibes between mentor and mentee must fit. Therefore, we do not “match” mentor and mentees together but leave the initiative to the students: Mentees contact one (or more) potential mentors, have a first chat with them, and if they would like to continue the conversation and build a “real” mentoring relationship, they can easily ask the mentor if she has the capacities to meet on a regular basis.

We are still living in a world where most CEOs, board directors, entrepreneurs, and other leaders are male. Some might argue that this is because many females do not want these positions, however, we believe that the real reason why so many well-educated, smart and ambitious women don't have a top position – and if they do are often paid less than their male co-workers – is because we have a lot of internal and external pressures, triggered by the system we are living in. While most men cannot relate to this pressure we are feeling – as well as the questions and fears we have – we know that there are many women who do understand us. Female leaders and change agents who have already pursued the path you are interested in. Let them support you. Let’s talk about it, let’s connect and grow together. By bringing together female students and alumni, we can share and be energized by inspiration, connect to like-minded people and to build a network in which we actively support each other.

Talk.Connect.Grow. differs from a standard alumni network in four key ways. First, we are more exclusive, as we only target female mentees and mentors. This allows us to build a trustful network, which makes participation easier and helps us to grow sustainably over time. Second, our goal is to create real connections between our members that help them support each other. These connections can be between a mentee and mentor, but also between mentors (as well as between the mentees) during our network meetings. Third, we expand the boundaries of “only alumni” by enabling an (bilateral) exchange between students and alumni, which ideally helps both sides mutually. Fourth, we include mentors into our program that have not studied the MIBAS, but similar programs at other universities, and who now work in the field of sustainability.

The scope of a mentorship at Talk.Connect.Grow. is completely up to the mentees’ and mentors’ individual capacities and needs. The mentorships can range from only one phone call about career opportunities and choices, to a structured, long-term companionship of the mentor and the mentee. In this case they have the time and capacity to build a trustful relationship, set concrete goals for the mentee, and talk on a regular basis about the fulfilment of the goals and challenges that come with it. We encourage students to reach out to a potential mentor by scheduling a first meeting and – if they feel like this mentor could help them in a longer period – ask about the mentor’s capacities.

A session is initiated by a student or recent graduate, who reaches out to a female alumni via the “let’s connect” button on each profile. The meeting is booked via Calendly, where the mentors offer these time slots when they are available. The first session is usually 30 minutes, and is for the student to ask questions about the female alumni’s experience – in career, profession, and personal interests (see the “talk to me about” field of each profile). If this first exchange was helpful and both parties want to continue the relationship, the mentee can ask for a follow-up call, which can then lead to a mentor-mentee relationship.

You can cancel or reschedule your appointment via Calendly. However, please respect the time of your mentor/mentee and only reschedule when completely necessary (https://help.calendly.com/hc/en-us/articles/223145167-How-to-cancel-reschedule-and-make-changes-to-an-event).

MIBAS (Master of Innovation, Business and Sustainability, former: Master of International Business and Sustainability) is a master programm at the university of Hamburg. If you are interested: https://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/studienbuero-sozialoekonomie/studiengaenge/ma-mibas.html

MIBAS+ refers to mentors and network members who did not study the MIBAS program, but a related program at another university and now work in the field of sustainability. We believe that our mentees can also learn a lot from MIBAS+ mentors, and their presence enriches our network meetings.