Career Design Lab

Join the Aalto University Mentoring Programme

The Aalto University Mentoring Programme connects students and Aalto University alumni to facilitate career design and self-development. It is about mutual benefit and learning. The programme brings together over four hundred Finnish and international students and alumni in Finland and abroad each year.

The next mentoring programme will be launched at the end of January 2025. Mentor candidates sign up and students search for a mentor on our new mentoring platform. A link to the platform will be published on this page in January.
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Aalto University Mentoring Programme runs annually from January to June. The core of the mentoring programme are the monthly one-to-one mentoring meetings between the mentor and the actor.

Due to the building of our new mentoring platform, the 2025 programme and registration will start slightly later than usual. 

Schedule 2025

  1. Mentors sign up as mentor candidates 7th-16th January 2025 
  2. Students search for a suitable mentor candidate and send a mentoring request 20th-26th January 2025.  
  3. Briefing Sessions are organized for matched students Tue 28th January 2025 (on campus) and for new mentors Thu 30th January 2025.

What does the Programme include?

The Aalto University Mentoring Programme includes

  1. Briefing sessions for students (on campus) and for mentors (on Zoom)
  2. One-to-one mentoring meetings approximately once a month during January-June
  3. Halfway check-in survey and feedback survey at end of the Program

The programme starts with briefing sessions to go through the key practices of mentoring. These sessions will be held separately for students and mentors. The mentors' session is particularly recommended for new mentors, but all are welcome.

The core of the mentoring programme is in one-to-one meetings between a mentor and an actor. The topics for the meetings may include various themes related to working life and career according to the actor's own needs.

It is recommended that mentoring pairs meet once a month in 1-2 hour mentoring discussions. The time and place of the meetings and whether the meetings are held face-to-face or remotely can be agreed by the pairs themselves. We recommend face-to-face meetings. However, there are also mentors and exchange students living elsewhere in Finland and abroad participating in the Programme, for whom face-to-face meetings are not possible. Please take this into account when applying to the programme.

What has been said about Mentoring Programme

”As a mentor, I always learn how new minds start to approach the business world. New ideas, new enthusiasm and also new topics like sustainability.”

“There is an outstanding reward in sharing experiences as it empowers the individual and also builds an even stronger community of tomorrow.”

“The experience that I gained guiding someone to plan and achieve his/her goals. The networking and friendship that we've built. On top of that, the inner satisfaction of helping someone was great.”

“I understand more about my strengths and weakness. What types of jobs could fit better my profile. I learn about the many types of certifications that can leverage my profile. Also, many aspects of the local culture, like taxes, loans, bank accounts, how to get housing and savings.”

Mentoring conversations are fruitful for both mentor and mentee because they help both to structure their thoughts.

Mentor, Aalto University Mentoring Programme

Join the Aalto University Mentoring Programme

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Become an actor

You are eligible to apply as an actor if you are a master's or doctoral degree student.

Career Design Lab
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Become a mentor

Share your experience with an Aalto student, learn and be inspired by new perspectives!

Career Design Lab

Reach out for more information

 Kaisa Paasivirta

Kaisa Paasivirta

Manager, International Talent Program & Mentoring

Read about mentors' and mentees' experiences

Yhteiskuvassa Khanh Vu ja Junhui Wang seisomassa rinnakkain, taustalla valkoinen seinä. Junhui Wang nojaa kevyesti Khan Vuta vasten kädet tämän hartioilla.

'After the mentoring, I feel I have more courage and can do the things I actually want to'

A mentor and a mentee from Aalto Mentoring Program share their stories.

News
Pouyan Mohseninia & Ondřej Zajíc

The Road to Resilience in New Media Design

This mentoring pair in service design talks to Aalto about the industry, the competition and being an international student in Finland.

For alumni
Kati Wolff & Anniina Pöllänen

The Stuff Between Buildings

This mentoring pair in landscape architecture talks to Aalto about their unique collaboration in an exceptional field.

For alumni
Mentor Ville Karttunen

‘The students I have met will do well in their careers’

A desire to help others made Ville Karttunen, Head of New Ventures at Caruna, become a mentor for students.

For alumni
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