| MESSAGE FROM VICE CHANCELLOR’s DESK |
| From this session, we have initiated the Mentorship program with a view to foster the culture of strong bonding between students and academia. In mentorship program a teacher will act more as a campus guardian ensuring over all development of the student, by way of individual attention to each student. |
| We expect from the students of the senior batch as well to develop a healthy relationship with junior students to advice and encourage them. The basic aim of the Mentorship program is to provide holistic environment where creditable students develop as better human beings with social and moral responsibility. |
Justice N. N. Mathur
Vice Chancellor |
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INTRODUCTION |
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| NLU is making a new endeavor by providing students with the wide array of opportunities and qualitative assistance to achieve success in university itself and beyond. Our foremost goal is to provide students with experience and relationship that will enhance their development (individually and professionally) and to promote success in university education and beyond. |
| The mission of the NLU Mentoring Program is to provide positive role models to support, nurture student’s personal development, and academic success. The goal of mentoring is to help mentees gain the skills and confidence to be responsible for their own futures, with an increasing emphasis on, academic and occupational skills. It requires believing in and caring about young people their future and ours. Mentors guide students in the following ways: |
• Field trip assistance
• One-on-one relationships
• Career development.
• Development of self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Dropout prevention.
• Job-search strategies.
• Personal growth and development.
• Academic support
• Workshop presentations
• Job-shadow opportunities
• Preparation for exams, job / internship interviews etc. |
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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES OF MENTORING |
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| The major objectives of the program are as follows: |
• To provide an opportunity for students to interact on an informal basis with an experienced Mentor
• To reduce the feeling of isolation of new students with social and academic support during their semester and increase engagement with the Faculty
• To help to encourage students to remain productively engaged in their chosen course of studies
• To provide students with a wider social and academic support network
• To increase the confidence of students in their course and in using the facilities
• To provide new students with a wider support network
• To help to build communication and interpersonal skills |
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WHY MENTORING? |
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| Today, if we introspect we find that adolescents are an increasingly isolated population because of changes in the structure of the family, in community, neighborhood relationships, and in workplace arrangements. There are fewer “natural” opportunities for youth to sustain durable relationships with adults. |
| Many young people lack nurturing and supportive primary adult relationships. A mentor can provide that role and, perhaps more importantly, teach and guide the mentee to find others to fill that role as well. |
| NLU recognizes the benefit of mentoring and how it supports the goals of university. The transfer of skills and knowledge from experienced professionals to less experienced professionals in the organization provides continuity, succession management and continued learning for all involved. Mentoring empowers younger professionals with skills they may traditionally have acquired through trial and error. |
| To that end, NLU is committed to assisting the mentoring program by facilitating the formation of effective mentoring relationships. This manual is designed to provide a map to mentorship for mentors, mentee and the concerned. |
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MENTORS & COMMITMENT |
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| A mentor must be willing to make a specified commitment of time … and keep to it. A good mentor program requires time to enable a mentoring relationship to flourish. The quality and frequency of time spent together will enhance the potential for developing strong rapport. |
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HOW WILL MENTORING BE DEFINED? QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER INCLUDE |
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- Will the Mentor be considered an advocate for their Mentees or an academic advisor or a guiding friend or a mixture of all of these?
- What are the expectations of both parties in terms of this relationship?
- What if one or both parties want to extend the boundaries of the relationship?
- How will any conflict / concerns within a group be handled?
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BENEFITS TO MENTORS |
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- Development of interpersonal and communication skills
- Opportunity to share knowledge with others
- Opportunity to become more involved with members of the Faculty
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BENEFITS TO MENTEES |
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- Orientation with the University and to the Faculty
- Opportunity to develop a support network with experienced students
- Advice in relation to the facilities and processes of the Faculty
- Development of interpersonal and communication skills
- Encouragement to stay motivated and focused on your goals
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TIME COMMITMENT |
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| The expectation of the time commitment required by Mentors and Mentees needs to be clearly indicated and accepted at the outset. The exact number of times that a Mentor and Mentee meet is up to the participants. As a suggestion, Mentors should arrange a first meeting with their Mentee and at this first meeting further dates/times could be agreed, or at least the date/time/place for the next meeting. |
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WHAT A MENTEE WANTS FROM A MENTOR |
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| When asked, most mentee say they want the mentor to help in three areas: advice, access and advocacy. Be sure to ask your protégé what he wants from you. Early in the relationship the protégé may not have a good answer to the question. Try again after several meetings to see if he has developed an answer. By the same token, it is important for the mentor to realize what he wants from the protégé. Remember every good mentor is a good listener. |
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES |
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| There are many activities that mentors and mentee can work on together that will help reach specific goals. No activity should be undertaken simply as something to do; activities must be directly related to the reasons why the relationship was created. With that in mind, here are some potential activities that a mentor might assign: |
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Suggest reading a specific paper or article, or attend a lecture, short course or seminar that relates to the goals of the mentee. |
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The mentee and mentor attend a business reception together with pre- and post-reception discussions. |
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The mentee prepares and gives a presentation related to his or her work and the mentor will review and discuss the aspects of the work. |
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The mentee writes letters or brief reports that the mentor reviews and discusses with the mentee. |
| The purpose of any development project is to expand the mentee’s understanding of the profession, to develop his or her skills and help solve problems. |
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UNDER GRADUATE MENTORING PROGRAM |
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| The following plan provides suggestions for activities or topics for discussion over meetings between Mentors and Mentees. |
Getting to know each other |
| Mentors and Mentees may discuss some of the characteristics of the teaching and learning environment in the Faculty. |
| Lectures & Tutorials - |
- Attendance
- Expectations of lecturers
- Asking questions
- Reading assigned material & coming prepared to class
- Participation in class discussions
- How to contact Faculty staff
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| Optimum Use of Facilities / Infrastructure available at University |
| The Teaching & Learning Unit and Assessment in the Faculty: Assessment at NLU might be different from your first university / school. It is important to understand your lecturers’ expectations regarding: |
- Plagiarism and Academic Honesty
- References and Citations in academic writing (Footnoting in NLU)
- Meeting the stipulated deadlines in project submission
- Presentation, viva and related activities
- Ethical code of conduct
- Willingness to adapt
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| Essays - Structure is extremely important |
Exams / Examination System |
- Case studies
- Questions regarding specific concepts
- General questions where it is up to the student to narrow down topic
- Essay questions: form, content, ideas, ability of student to back up argument with facts
- Look up old exams at examination cell / library
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Other features of teaching and learning in the Faculty |
- Group essays / group projects
- Class participation
- Case studies
- Presentations
- Reports
- Tutorial participation
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| Social Activities on Campus (Nice quiet places to work & relax) |
- Library has silent study areas
- Sporting activities
- Cafeteria is a nice place to meet friends & have lunch
- Cultural activities including fresher’s and thanks giving parties
- Voluntary participation in activity of choice
- University representation in Moot Courts, Sporting events, Debates, Quizzes etc.
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