MCI Mentoring Program

Mentoring focuses on the personal relationship between an experienced mentor and a mentee.

A mentor shares his/her personal and professional experiences with the mentee. Mentoring is based on experiential knowledge and long-term exchange, and combines consulting and networking. Mentor and mentee jointly design the respective mentoring process in terms of scope, type and manner/channel and intensity/depth according to their needs and interests

Our mentors are MCI graduates with at least 3 - 5 years’ professional experience and come from a variety of industries and professions. Our mentees are students from all full-time MCI programs and are in their last year of studies.

It is not important what the level of hierarchy the mentor is at. What counts is their willingness and ability to accompany young people in their development process by sharing their own experiences and milestones in their lives. Mentorship is based on voluntary participation. Mentors do not receive any financial remuneration for participating in the program. For students, the mentoring program is an optional opportunity.

Being a mentor primarily means that you make your time and experience available to help another person to cope with a situation that you have already successfully overcome. Moreover, you act as an advisor, coach, companion, critic, role model and support a less experienced/young person (mentee) in their professional and personal development.

You give the mentee the opportunity to reflect on his or her concerns and plans, also in relation to your own experiences, and thus help him or her plan the next steps of development.

Your task as a mentor, above all, is to empower mentees and open up space for reflection in joint discussions.

The MCI Mentoring Program lasts 9 months, starting on October 1 and ending on June 30. We recommend a minimum of 5 meetings of about 1.5 hours, i.e. your time commitment for a mentorship is about 8 to 10 hours.

In principle, each mentoring pair should agree on the schedule together. Ideally the time commitment and expectations should be defined at the beginning. In general, the intensity of the mentoring depends on the commitment of both the mentor and the student.

As soon as you have sent us your mentor profile (personal information, LinkedIn profile, photo, Word-Rap), we will publish it on a password-protected page for our mentees. The mentees (students in their final year of study) can then choose a mentor of their preference from the pool of mentors on a first-come-first-serve basis. The Student & Career Center checks this selection for suitability and communicates the name and profile of the mentee to the mentor. The mentee is then responsible for making initial contact with you.

We greatly appreciate your interest and commitment and thank you in advance for showing your commitment to your university in this special way. We would of course like to make the mentoring task as easy as possible for you and provide you with the best possible support throughout. Therefore, we will summarize the essential contents and information in a compact preparation webinar (approx. 45 minutes), which you can attend from the comfort of your own home, and in your own time.

The MCI Mentoring Program provides a clear framework (duration, minimum number of contacts, completion), but the individual design is the responsibility of the mentor and mentee. The mentee is responsible for the process in that he/she takes the initiative, asks questions, approaches the mentor, etc.

In addition to the organizational framework, both mentor and mentee receive online support during the mentoring phase (9 months) in the form of bi-monthly e-mails with stimulus questions. These tools can, but do not have to be used.

If you have any questions, the Student & Career Center staff are very happy to assist. Contact us at mentoring@mci.edu.

If the mentee does not make initial contact with you by September 20, please contact mentoring@mci.edu.

The MCI Mentoring Program lasts 9 months. It starts on October 01 (first contact takes place in September) and officially ends on June 30.

The MCI Mentor Badge is awarded to mentors who have successfully guided at least one student through the MCI Mentoring Program.

An MCI Mentor Badge is a digital certificate or badge issued by MCI | The Entrepreneurial School that describes and qualitatively documents the contribution of the mentor. In contrast to traditional confirmations in paper form, badges can be collected in a virtual rucksack and distributed online as required. For example, badges can be imported into the personal LinkedIn profile with one mouse click.

You can find more details about the badge here: www.mci4me.at/badges

Mentoring focuses on the personal relationship between an experienced mentor and a mentee.

As a mentee, you will receive personal and in-depth insights into the working world through your mentor. The mentor gives you access to his or her personal and professional experiences and is available to provide you with support and advice. You will benefit from an interesting, stimulating exchange of ideas and can orientate yourself professionally, sharpen your profile and hone already-existing potential. Both mentor and mentee design the respective mentoring process together according to their individual interests and needs in terms of scope, type and manner/channel and intensity/depth.

The MCI Mentoring Program is open to all students of full-time MCI programs who are in their last year of studies (unless separate mentoring programs are offered for specific study programs).

Our mentors are MCI graduates with at least 3 - 5 years’ professional experience and come from various industries and professions. Mentors are selected based on their willingness and ability to accompany young people in their development process by sharing their own experiences and milestones in their lives. Mentorship is based on voluntary engagement. For students, the mentoring program is an optional development opportunity.

Mentees are students who take responsibility for their professional and personal development and who see added value in being accompanied by an experienced person (mentor). This results in a high degree of self-motivation, interest and commitment to the mentoring process.

As a mentee, you are primarily responsible for the organisation and the focus of the mentoring phase. This includes, among other things, finding dates for meetings, working out and defining topics (personal topics, topics for studies, career entry, etc.) and goals, asking questions, discussing issues, trying out and implementing new approaches, and receiving and acting on feedback. Throughout the entire program, it is up to the mentee to stay in touch with the mentor and keep the mentoring relationship going.

The MCI Mentoring Program lasts 9 months, starting on October 1st and ending on June 30th . We recommend a minimum of 5 meetings of about 1.5 hours. As a mentee, you should prepare well for these meetings and allow sufficient time for them as well.

In principle, mentors and mentees should jointly agree on a meeting schedule at the outset of the program, including time commitments and expectations. In general, the intensity of the mentoring depends on the commitment of both the mentor and the student.

As soon your department informs you of the mentoring program , you can submit your mentee application (by the deadlines specified ).

Once your study program and the Student & Career Center have approved your application, you will be given access to a pool of possible mentors from which you can select your preferred one, on a first-come-first-serve basis. Criteria such as current employer, profession, expertise, former course of study, place of employment, language, etc. can play a role for your selection. You should consider what aspects may be helpful and even crucial for you and your future career path.

As soon as your selection of a mentor is approved by the MCI, you will receive the mentor’s e-mail address. As a mentee, you are responsible for initiating the first contact with your mentor.

The MCI Mentoring Program provides a clear framework (duration, minimum number of contacts, completion), but the individual design of the program is the responsibility of both mentor and mentee.

Apart from the organizational framework, both mentor and mentee receive online support during the mentoring phase (9 months) in the form of bi-monthly e-mails with stimulus questions. These tools can, but do not have to be used.

If you have any questions, the Student & Career Center staff are available to assist you. Contact us at mentoring@mci.edu.

As a mentee, you are responsible for making initial contact with your mentor. This should take place already in September. If the mentor does not contact you by September 20th, please contact mentoring@mci.edu.

The MCI Mentoring Program lasts 9 months. It starts on October 1st (first contact takes place in September) and officially ends on June 30th.

The MCI Mentor Badge is not for mentees but is awarded to mentors who have successfully accompanied at least one student through the MCI Mentoring Program.