Mentoring provides an opportunity for an exchange of ideas between professionals at different stages of their careers and a possibility for mentors to get acquainted with the world of today’s students in the field. Mentoring is a learning process that benefits both mentors and students.
Mentoring Program
The mentoring program is intended for students in the final stages of their studies as well as recent graduates (no more than 5 years since graduation).
Note: If you are not yet a member of PI, you need to apply for membership to participate in the mentoring program as a mentee. Join here.
How to apply and be part of the program?
- The call for mentor candidates is open year-round. You can become a mentor candidate by filling this application. By completing the form, you create a profile that mentees can view and use to make their mentor selection.
- The call for mentees opens on October 27, 2025, and closes on January 4, 2026. PI will review the mentee applications, and the accepted mentees will be able to select their mentors based on the published profiles from February 2–8, 2026.
- The first joint mentoring meeting will be held on February 18, 2026!
Program for 2026:
Kick-off event: February 18, 2026
Pair meetings:
- Meetings approximately every 4–6 weeks, about 2 hours each.
- Meetings between different mentor pairs are also possible
Mid-term meeting(s): May 2026
Closing event: November 2026
All meetings in 2026 will be held in a hybrid format. The first meeting will be a joint session for all pairs.
Mentoring Program Schedule - 2025
Kick-off Events: February-March 2025
Kick-off meetings will be held in different locations for students and recent graduates in those areas. The kick-offs are held in conjugtion to the Pulp&Breakfast events.
- Oulu (Backstage, Tellus, University of Oulu): February 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
- Tampere (B2-19, Tampere University of Applied Sciences): March 11, 2025 at 8:30 AM.
- Espoo (Restaurant Factory, Otaniemi): March 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
- Lappeenranta (University Student Hall's TEK-studio, LUT University): March 27, 2025 at 8:30 AM.
Midpoint Meeting: Tuesday, May 27th, 2025 at 3 PM - 4.30 PM (Virtual meeting)
Mentor-mentee Meetings: Held approximately every 4-6 weeks, about 2 hours each. Meetings can also be conducted fully virtually. Meetings between different mentor-mentee pairs are also possible. The program will be on break during the summer.
Closing Event: 13.11.2025 Einstein meeting room, VTT, Kivimiehentie 3, Espoo (hybrid)
What is mentoring?
• Open and confidential, private relationship which aims to career development
• Guidance and support from a more experienced colleague to a person interested and able to develop him-/herself (at the beginning of his/her career)
• Mentor is a coach, who’s sharing his/her own experiences but doesn’t give direct answers
Examples of the discussion topics
• How to finish studies, masters thesis work
• Job hunting, getting employed
• Career goals & possibilities, career planning
• Networking
• Working life
–Adjusting to the working community
–Leadership
–Requirements of working life
• Internationality
• How to combine work (study) life and free time / family life
• Self-knowledge
–Setting targets and achieving them
–Personality tests
• Self-improvement
–Further education, learning at work
Experiences from the previous mentoring project:
“It was great to talk with the mentor and hear their opinions on the field, the career, and work.”
“The mentoring project developed my confidence and I believe that it helped me to get a job that really suits me at the moment.”
“Having interesting conversations and thinking about different issues also helped me to realize new aspects of my own career.”
