International Mentoring Day on 17 January is a global celebration of mentoring, designed to recognise mentors and mentoring initiatives across the world. It provides the opportunity for the Business School to pause and celebrate the impact of our Alumni Mentoring programme, for both student mentees and the alumni mentors.
Alumni mentors and staff at the Alumni Mentoring welcome event in October 2024
Some of the alumni mentors and staff at the Alumni Mentoring welcome event in October 2024

The Business School’s Alumni Mentoring programme plays a crucial role in preparing undergraduate students to successfully transition into their future careers.

With 91 students currently participating and more than 70 dedicated alumni mentors providing tailored support, the impact of these carefully-matched relationships is significant, with both students and alumni benefiting both in the short and long term.

As a core aspect of the Business School’s coaching culture, the programme is a key part of the Edinburgh Award for Effective and Responsible Leadership offered to our third and fourth year undergraduate students. It is a collaboration between the Student Development and Alumni teams, and is led by Programme Lead, Rebecca Gallacher.

Impact on students

Having a supportive alumni mentor can have a huge impact on students as they prepare for the working world. Mentees often highlight the positive impact of their mentoring relationships, with skills development; identification of career aspirations; increased confidence; improved resilience; and self-awareness all seen as key benefits.

Headshot of Fizza Kazmi

Current fourth year undergraduate student Fizza Kazmi gained so many invaluable insights from her mentor during her third year that she has chosen to continue with the programme in her final year. She tells us more.

“Mentoring conversations are invaluable as they are completely tailored to the needs of each individual and you can focus on different areas in different sessions. In my case, my alumni mentor helped me to better understand the application process as well as learn more on business etiquette. She also provided insights into her own industry sector.”

I’m excited to see how much more I can grow this year, and what more I can learn.
Fizza Kazmi

Impact on alumni mentors

Alumni mentors also gain a huge amount personally from the experience with many citing awareness of their own skills development and application of these to their own jobs; reverse mentoring; and sense of fulfilment through helping their mentee as key benefits.

Many alumni mentors return year after year, a testament to the positive experience and support they receive throughout their time as mentors. This includes a welcome event and extensive online resources, as well as interactive online sessions on taking a more coaching-focused approach to mentoring led by Kirsty McWilliam from ThinkEQ. CPD drop-in sessions have also been introduced for mentors this academic year.

Headshot of Sophie Mitchinson

Alumni mentor Sophie Mitchinson (MA(Hons) 2020 and MSc 2021), a public sector consultant with Deloitte, is now in her third year of mentoring on the programme.

She tells us: “I’ve enjoyed helping my mentees as they navigate the recruitment journey including providing guidance on assessment centres and psychometric tests, as well as being there to support them as they go through their honours years, with the many competing demands on their time.

“I also encourage them to look at longer term career aspirations, encouraging them to be aware of their strengths and what they can bring to roles.

“And what has been particularly rewarding is that I’ve been able to continue some of the mentoring relationships with my mentees even after they graduate, including one who I work alongside in Deloitte. Many of us will have benefited personally from guidance or the support of a colleague in our career, and this mentoring programme is a lovely way to pay that forward and provide that for my mentees.”

Volunteer to be an alumni mentor

Each summer we recruit alumni mentors for the forthcoming academic year. If you are an alum of the Business School and would like to express interest or wish to know more about mentoring, please contact the UEBS Alumni Team on alumni@business-school.ed.ac.uk