Each year on the last week of August, training is held for students for the title of student mentor. These are students who know the structure of the university very well and are ready to help first-year students adapt to student life.
On August 24th, candidates for mentors will begin training in all of the layers of university life: the academic process, extracurricular activities, and knowledge of the university structure.
We spoke with the head of the System of Student Mentorship Valeriya Chachina and found out what mentorship is and what special things they can expect in the coming academic year.
– Valeria, tell us, what is student mentorship?
– Student mentorship is activities which enable first year students’ comfortable adaptation to the university environment with help from senior students. Over the first year of education, these students help the new students, send them in the right direction, tell them about some organizational moments, and help them get to know the university. This includes both academics and extracurriculars.
– How does student mentor training go?
– This training begins from August 24th and lasts 6 days. It consists of us giving the basic knowledge of student life. We introduce students more thoroughly to the structure of the university, teach them speaking skills, give them contact information, and tell them where they can go with their questions either about academic or non-academic issues.
This year we included the consultation center TOP-500, which will give us knowledge about how to correctly organize the adaptational process for first-year students, so that the mentors can make a team out of a group of people.
– What qualities and skills should a mentor have?
– A mentor must be able to work with people and be a leader. Of course, it’s very important to know the university – from cafeteria locations to knowing where the departments and offices are. Mentors must know how the academic process is built as a whole, what responsibilities academic group leaders have, and when students get scholarships.
– Tomorrow, the candidates will begin their training. How will this event look for them?
For the student mentors, tomorrow begins at 10:00 in the university conference hall. Typically, this rally has been held at Sigma, but this year we have a huge wave of applicants. After the conference hall, the young mentors will be spread out to work with senior curators, who represent individual institutes. Together, they will figure out what a mentor is, what the goals and tasks are for a curator, and what subordination is. After this, the students will go into two sequential classrooms where they will hear a lecture about scholarships and extracurricular work. They will also be joined by a combined council of students and the professional committee.
– How many students will become mentors this year?
Right now I am facing a pretty global task: pick the best of the best. This year, we received around 400 applications, from which we can only choose half. We think that only about half of the 400 people will become mentors. The selection will be completed based on results of open and closed testing on the knowledge of the university.
– What are the advantages of working as a mentor?
The main advantage that beginning mentors have is self-development. I think that it is honorable to be a mentor. First of all, this person will become better as an individual. Secondly, he will learn how to work with a group and find common ground with them. That is, he will receive the necessary skills of communication, develop as an individual, and get to know many new, interesting people.