Home» About Brunel» Policy and Regulations» Access and Participation» Brunel University Mentoring Programmes

Brunel University Mentoring Programmes

The Widening Participation (WP) department operates two strands of Professional Mentoring. Both programmes draw on experienced individuals from employers in the private and public sectors.  Home UK second and final year undergraduates from widening participation backgrounds and under-represented ethnic minorities are eligible to join either of the mentoring strands.

Professional Mentoring aims to assist mentees to:

• Prepare for the rigours of the graduate recruitment and selection process ahead
• Build a good working relationship with a committed professional recruited from a wide range of private and public employers
• Identify your career goals, and convert your aspirations in to practical steps towards graduate employment or further study
• Produce an outstanding CV and improve your interview skills
• Extend your network to include professionals in your target sector or profession
• Help you learn and develop vital interpersonal skills employers expect
• Get an insider’s view of a sector/industry

The Ethnic Minority Undergraduate Scheme (EMUS) targets undergraduates from ethnic minority backgrounds and is managed in collaboration with the National Mentoring Consortium (NMC). Brunel University has been successfully running the NMC programme for over six years. NMC is a national programme that is based at the University of East London.

WP Professional Mentoring is aimed at students from other under-represented groups. Students eligible to join this programme normally meet one or more of the criteria below:

• first generation within their immediate family to enter higher education
• have experienced serious disruption to formal education e.g. refugee, asylum seeker or young parent/carer
• eligible for a full maintenance higher education grant
• from low-income area with low participation in higher education
• studied vocational courses
• a mature student (25+)
• disabled student
• from Traveller communities
• a Local Authority care leaver

Both programmes operate from November to May. Mentors receive full training and give their time voluntarily over a period of seven months. Mentors and mentees meet monthly at the mentor’s workplace. Mentees are also required to attend induction training to learn vital tips on how to get the best from their mentor and the other activities and events built into the programme. These include career development workshops, mock interviews and networking events with employers.

These programmes also provide employers with a rewarding opportunity to contribute to the career and personal development of Brunel students, whilst developing their own professional skills and building links with a leading university.

To apply to become a mentee download the mentee application form (MS Word). Send completed forms to mentoring@brunel.ac.uk

Key dates for your diary: