Student to Student Mentoring

Mentoring is a relationship in which the more experienced individual supports the development of a less experienced individual by being an advisor and guide. Mentoring can be done in the following three ways:

  • Mentoring: From Student
  • Mentoring: From an Industry Professional
  • Mentoring: From an Industry Leader

 

In student to student mentoring, the senior student becomes a mentor to a junior student. Junior students value learning from their seniors, as they:

  • Will be of similar age groups
  • Understand each other much better on an emotional front
  • Can easily develop trust based relationship

Mentoring makes students better and effective listeners. It teaches them time management, technique of empowering others and improves their communication skills. This in turn develops their leadership skills and capabilities. For the mentee (junior student) it is easy to trust someone who has faced similar thoughts, queries and challenges, and learn how they overcame those situations.

Study habits, subject expertise, and practice methods of seniors fosters the development needs of juniors. Senior and junior student can speak and understand each other in an excellent manner, through a structured mentoring program.

For example,

1. A student in a college mentors a student of school on a subject or topic which of relevance for the school student. The objective is to make peer to peer learning easy and effective.

2. A student pursuing post graduate program (MBA, B.Tech.) mentors a student of school or of college on a specific development or support area. The objective is to make peer to peer learning easy and effective.

 

Difference between Mentoring and Coaching

Mentoring Coaching
Mentor focuses on the development of an individual. It is driven by development. Coach focuses on the performance of the individual.It is driven by performance.
Mentoring is a relationship in which the mentor works towards success of the mentee’s professional and personal life. Coaching is a task in which the coach focuses on developing the identified skills of the coachee.
Mentoring aims towards building informal relationship for career development. Coaching aims at building formal relationship to accomplish a particular task.
Mentoring is long-term relationship as the mentee’s overall growth and development is involved. Coaching is short-term as it has a specific agenda of honing the coachee’s skills.
Mentoring is structured which involves a strategic purpose and requires a design phase. Coaching can be done on any specific area and does not require strategic purpose or design.
Mentoring is an on-going relationship. Coaching is for a specific task and fixed duration.
Mentoring takes a broader view of the person. Coaching focuses on specific development areas.
Mentee sets the agenda with mentor’s guidance to achieve goals. Coach sets the agenda to achieve specific, immediate goals.
Mentoring aims at imbibing positive beliefs and value systems in mentee. Coaching aims at improving a particular skill or behavioural aspect of the coachee.