Career Mentoring Programme

In session 24/25, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis from Monday 4th November for all students (except medical students). If your application is accepted and we can match you with a mentor, you will commence your three-month partnership at this point.

The final deadline for applications is 16th May 2025.

A separate MBChB programme will run in 2025 for medical students.

Undergraduate students from level 2 and above and postgraduate students from both the Aberdeen and Qatar campuses can participate. All participants must be over the age of 18 when the partnership commences.

The Career Mentoring Programme involves matching students with a suitable volunteer mentor in a relevant career area.

If matched on the programme, it is your responsibility to:

• Commit to a minimum of 1-2 hours per month during the 3-month programme. We recommend a minimum of three meetings, approximately one per month.
• Register an account with SUMAC, the mentoring software platform.
• Communicate with your mentor in the agreed manner (e.g SUMAC, MS Teams, Zoom or email).
• Take the lead in arranging, keeping track of and recording interactions with your mentor.
• Be open to ideas and feedback and be motivated to improve your prospects and employability.
• Provide feedback to the Careers and Employability Service about the programme.

Prior to joining the mentoring programme you will be asked to complete an online information course (20-30 mins) providing more details on what will be involved and to understand the scheme and expectations. On completion of this, you will be able to access the application link.

The programme does not guarantee a work placement or future graduate employment.

Mentors are experienced professionals (alumni of the University and non-alumni) who have volunteered to provide one-to-one employability advice and support to a University of Aberdeen student for the duration of the scheme. Mentors represent a wide range of professions and employment sectors.

For most Aberdeen based students mentors will be in the UK (though some may be located internationally). For students in Doha, mentors will mainly be in Qatar or in the UK. Watch out for the location to see if there is a time zone difference and arrange your contact time appropriately.

The career mentoring partnership should last up to three months and we recommend a minimum of three meetings, approximately one per month. You will dedicate a short period of time prior to this to undertake the online information course.

Students will complete an online information course, and following this will be invited to apply to join the mentoring programme through our specialised software, SUMAC.

Students are matched to a mentor based on the sector areas they are interested in and the skills they are keen to develop.

You should set aside approximately 1-2 hours a month to take part in the programme. Try not to let time pass with no contact at all. The more time you put in, the more you will get out of the programme.

It is understandable that you could be nervous when first contacting your mentor or when meeting them in person for the first time. Remember, you mentor is interested in helping you with your career aspirations, so please relax and remember your mentor was once a student too! Please also remain polite and thank your mentor for any help.

We have a range of resources to support mentors and mentees on the programme, including sample meeting agendas.

Please contact a member of the team if you have any questions or require further support at mentor@abdn.ac.uk.

No! The programme does not guarantee a work placement or future graduate employment. The programme is not a job referral network.

No. Due to the competitive nature of the programme, you can only take part once.

By signing up to this scheme, mentors agreed to maintain contact with their mentee throughout the duration of the scheme. The level of contact expected is a minimum of at least once per month. Please be patient with your mentor as there will be periods when they are very busy or could be on holiday. However, mentors should inform you when these busy periods are coming up, just as you the mentee should also inform your mentor of when you will be unavailable (e.g. holiday or exam periods).

If you have not heard from your mentor in a long time (more than 4 weeks), please contact a member of the team at mentor@abdn.ac.uk.