The 11th run of the SMU Alumni Mentoring Programme was officially launched by the Office of Alumni Relations (OAR) on 14 October 2015.  

A total of 144 mentors were successfully paired with 237 mentees. During the current run which ends in February 2016, 270 SMU alumni have signed up to be mentors, and 402 SMU students have registered to be mentees.

In his Opening Remarks, Director of OAR Associate Professor Low Aik Meng praised the mentors for their selfless dedication and their willingness to take time out of their busy schedule to guide and coach their juniors at SMU. He pointed out how both the mentors and mentees have benefitted from the mentorship programme, and emphasised the importance of forging a comfortable relationship between a mentor and his mentee, leading to a win-win outcome. He also urged the mentees to encourage more of their fellow students to join the programme.

[Caption: A total of 144 mentors were successfully paired with 237 mentees during the current run of the mentoring programme.]

Initiated by the SMU Alumni Association in 2010, the SMU Alumni Mentoring Programme aims to provide SMU students with an opportunity to learn from an alumni's experiences, personal insights, industry knowledge, and career opportunities. The programme offers alumni a platform to contribute back to the SMU community and develop valuable mentoring skills. The programme has two runs a year, with each run lasting five months.

Mr Brennan Neoh, who graduated from the School of Information Systems in 2013, has been a mentor for two years. Explaining his reasons for joining the Alumni Mentoring Programme, Brennan said “I joined the programme to stay connected with SMU. As a fresh graduate, I realised that there was a gap between students’ expectations and the working world, so as mentors, we try to bridge the gap. Having gained much knowledge and experiences during my undergraduate studies at SMU, I feel that the least I could give back to SMU and society is to volunteer as a mentor.”

Ms Jomain Lim, a Year-4 student from the School of Accountancy, became a mentee while in her second year to get some career advice and guidance from her mentors, as well as to meet new people. “All of us need mentors in life. There's nothing better than to get a mentor that has gone through what you are going through since they’ll be able to relate to it and they can give advice accordingly.”

Since then, Jomain has participated in the Alumni Mentoring Programme as a mentee several times. “So far, all my mentors have been very kind and helpful. I benefitted a lot from the career guidance that they gave, and got to learn about the practical aspects of my dream job from someone who is already in that job. They even offered to vet my resume. They will also keep me updated on the openings available and the respective deadlines. I was very lucky to get mentors who were very pro-active and responsive. Most importantly, the mentorship became more of a friendship that lasts even after the session ended,” she enthused.

[Featured photo: Office of Alumni Relations Director Associate Professor Low Aik Meng interacting with alumni mentors.]