The power of mentoring

The Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (EAIT) Industry Mentoring Program (previously known as Meet a Mentor) strives to deliver enriching experiences and relationships that benefit both industry mentors and their student mentees. 

The program, now in its ninth year, has received positive feedback from both mentors and mentees on its ability to provide career development, leadership skills and networking opportunities to students, with industry enjoying the opportunity to give back to young professionals.

The program involves an online matching system that connects mentors and mentees based on key criteria including personal interests and motivations, career goals, and desired skillsets. 
In some stories, we hear of students finding work experience or the program leading to a career. Here is one of those stories: 
UQ Alumni and Chemical Engineer –Bianca Goebel from Orica has been an active mentor of the Mentoring Program for the last five years and sees the program as a way to pay it forward. 
“I have many leaders, mentors, and friends to thank for where I am today, and mentoring is a way for me to be a stepping stone in someone else's journey,” Bianca said. 
Bianca sees university students as future leaders and the Industry Mentoring Program of great value for all parties involved. 
In 2022, Bianca was matched with a chemical engineering student named William who she described as a bright and enthusiastic student. 
William joined the program as he valued the idea of speaking directly with industry professionals which helped him gain feedback and assistance in finetuning his resume and interview skills.
While not going into the program to find work but rather to build on his skillset and industry networks, William shared his career goal of working on-site in a chemical engineering role in one of his mentoring sessions with Bianca. 

The stars aligned as Bianca’s workplace had an ammonia nitrate manufacturing plant in Gladstone and were looking for a graduate for their Yarwun plant.  After a few further meetings, William left a very positive impression on Bianca, including “his stellar academic performance and work experience”. Bianca then formally recommended William for the role. William ended up progressing through the recruitment process and accepted a graduate position with Orica at the Gladstone plant.  “I have loved learning from my mentees over the years. Having been in the industry for over ten years, mentoring UQ students is both nostalgic and allows me to keep in touch with the ideas and opportunities of the next generation of engineers”, Bianca said. William mentioned he “found great value within the industry mentoring program”. 

“Connecting with my mentor, Bianca Goebel, has provided me the opportunity to learn about industry and ask questions about her own experiences that are of great value to me,” he said. 
“Bianca has been a valuable mentor, taking time out of her busy schedule to assist me. Overall, the industry mentoring program has provided a great learning opportunity in a comfortable environment, with the knowledge gained being vital moving into my professional career”. For penultimate and final year students across engineering, architecture and IT, William strongly encourages students to apply to the Industry Mentoring Program. 
“Moving into industry can seem like a big leap, and the Industry Mentoring Program provides a comfortable platform to ask questions and seek advice from someone with real-world experience, who were once in your shoes,” he added.