Mentoring the students

The word teacher brings to mind an individual with a professional degree imparting skills and knowledge to students in a classroom or any such controlled environment. A Mentor however is much more than a teacher. Our history is replete with such mentoring relationships.Jesus is a key example of a mentor who took under his wings twelve disciples whom he trained with a specific objective, i.e., to spread the good news. He lived with them and taught them through direct sermons, stories, proverbs, illustrations and various other means. When in doubt or fear the disciples turned to him throughout, not just until his crucifixion but even after his ascension. Jesus shaped the lives of poor men through mentoring.

Similarly in the Mahabharatha, Dronacharya taught Arjuna, skills of warfare but it was Lord Krishna who mentored Arjuna. He guided Arjuna, who invariably turned to him when faced with a dilemma. Krishna did everything within in his might to ensure his mentee / protégé, remained undefeated and attained his goals. In return Arjuna looked up to his mentor with reverence, gratitude and unwavering trust. He opened himself up to his mentor and revealed his fears, worries, strengths and weaknesses to his mentor.

Thus mentoring, as a means of transfer of knowledge from an experienced mentor to a young mentee has probably existed from the beginning of time.Being fully aware of the benefits of such a mentoring programme, NBA accredited colleges especially the best business schools in India, have included it in their process of nurturing and developing industry ready young professionals. The Mentoring programme is structured with the ultimate goal of delivering to the industry not just professionals but leaders ready to contribute immensely to the growth, development and success of the organisation in an ethical manner. At the heart of this process is the bond of mutual respect and trust, between the mentor and the mentee that is built and established through the structured mentoring programme.

Mentoring helps students move ahead seamlessly in their journey of learning and self-discovery, equipped with confidence and the right attitude. The general objectives of mentoring are

·        Developing a reliable bond between the mentor and the mentee

·        Identifying  and reviewing individual SWOT

·        Goal setting and evaluation of the learning process based on a robust feedback mechanism

·        Creation and development of employment networking contacts

·        Pooling and Dissemination of information in areas beyond and above the course structure through Live projects, Group Discussions, Micro Presentations, Group Presentations, Extempore talks, Debates and so on.

·        Development of Analytical and Critical thinking skills

·        Development of Public speaking & Communication skills

·        To inculcate important practices like Punctuality, Organised living and Discipline

·        Development of logical thinking skills and improving memory

·        Maintaining a record of the student’s odyssey from an anxious student to a professional leader by the student himself/ herself with valuable insights from the mentor

The mentoring programme outlined above has been part of the curriculum for many of the MBA colleges in Uttar Pradesh and fine-tuning the process every year to ensure that specific industry requirements are catered to and inculcated in to the framework in a timely manner.