Would you like to mentor UCC students?

As a UCC alum, your guidance makes a huge difference to students starting out on their career path. Whether you have a long career and a great deal of experience or a more recent graduate just starting out, your journey after UCC is of huge value to our students. By mentoring you can offer unique insights and tips to UCC students deciding on their own path after graduation.

Benefits of becoming an alumni mentor

• Expand your skill set: Develop your leadership, communication and management skills through mentoring a student who is interested in a career in your field. 
• Enhance your CV: Volunteering is valued by employers and will add another dimension to your resumé.
• Gain confidence in your own abilities: Mentoring gives you an opportunity to reflect on your own achievements and experience, and to realise how far you’ve come in your own career.
• Reconnect with UCC: Give back to your university by helping the next generation make the transition from student to young professional.

What time commitments are involved in mentoring?

You will be invited to attend an orientation session and a meet and greet with fellow mentors and mentees in October 2023. The mentoring programme consists of three one-hour virtual meetings over the course of six months, organised by the student mentee. We also ask that you are available to offer advice via email and answer any queries your mentee may have when possible

How do I become a mentor?

By completing the application form, you are providing us with a mentor profile which we can then use to manually match you with a student mentee who is interested in pursuing a career in your field of expertise. To find out more about becoming a mentor, please contact alumni@ucc.ie

Mentoring resources

To learn more about your role as mentor, please read the Mentoring Handbook

Feedback from past mentors on the programme:

“I found the experience very interesting and rewarding. My mentee prepared well for every session, and I hope I helped him to consider all his options and different angles before he made his decisions”.

“I really enjoyed mentoring and couldn’t have asked for a more engaged and willing mentee”.

“It was a rewarding and beneficial experience”.

“I had an incredibly positive experience with my mentee this year. We had 3 meetings in total – the first was virtual and we met on UCC campus for the following two. We worked very well together, and I thought we were a very good mentor/mentee match in terms of areas of interest. We have agreed to keep in touch over the summer as my mentee looks for a job next year, and I have a feeling our mentor/mentee relationship will continue beyond that again”.

Feedback from past students on the programme:

“I found the mentoring programme beneficial for a number of different reasons. I felt by talking through my future plans with someone who has experience with making these decisions very insightful and helped me to identify what my future career goals were. In practical terms it was very helpful in knowing what specific skills and qualities employers look for and identifying any gaps in my knowledge and how to bridge this gap. Also through talking to someone in a senior role it was very useful with regards to gaining insight into what it is like to carry out research in a lab over a number of years and the importance of the university culture being a correct fit for you.”

“I received invaluable advice from someone with experience within my field. This programme taught be to believe in my decisions and made me more confident in myself. It is extremely beneficial to get to bounce ideas off of someone who understands your uncertainties, and to receive relevant advice.”

“The mentoring programme was really beneficial in allowing me to make connections and expand my network. It was also helpful in teaching me valuable aspects of what is important to look for in future careers, what I should work on now to better my chances of getting into my job, aspects of bettering my CV as well as helping me create more networks on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.”