Mentorship Program 2.0

Mentorship Program is an initiative by Women Who Code Delhi which serves as a platform to connect undergraduate women in STEM fields to women leaders in technology with an objective of furthering their professional development, expanding their professional network and gaining support in the field and their workplace.

It is a 5 week program with an agenda for each week. This year we had 10 mentors and 30 mentees. Each mentor was assigned 3 mentees.

Each week, each mentee had at least one call with her mentor, who answered her questions, and shared her journey, as well as assigned simple tasks in accordance with the agenda of that week. The agenda was flexible and could be changed as per mentees requirements.

On 11th January 2020, we officially launched the second edition of the Mentorship Program in our event ‘You, Opportunities and Everything in Between!’ held at Google office, Gurgaon and opened mentee registrations. We received an overwhelming response with 200+ registrations within just 5 days. It felt amazing to see even international students applying for the program! On 19th January 2020 we conducted an Introductory Hangouts call for all the mentees.

Week 1 majorly focused upon mentors getting to know their mentees and their individual goals and expectations from this program.

Week 2 majorly focused on Internships & Placements with mentors telling their mentees about various types of internships possible, their application process, how to prepare for placements and also conducted a mock interview with their mentees.

Week 3 majorly focused on Scholarships and various open source programs. The mentors guided their mentees about the various scholarships available for underrepresented communities in STEM such as Women Techmakers scholarship program, GHC scholarship by Anita B.org to name a few. They also guided them through the application process for each scholarship.

Week 4 majorly focused on Open Source Contributions/Machine Learning/Blockchain or any topic of study. Mentee was free to choose any topic as per her convenience.

The last week focused on “Creating Your Presence” where each mentee had a myriad of topics to discuss with her mentor such as having a website showcasing their projects, the importance of keeping an updated LinkedIn profile etc.

At the end of each week, each mentee wrote a blog article summarizing what she learnt in that week, therefore creating an environment of collaborative learning where all of them can learn through each other’s experience.

I have been a part of Women Who Code Delhi for almost 2 years now and I can’t say enough how amazing this community is. This community has given me a lot, and has helped me discover a new version of myself. The Mentorship Program is really close to my heart. From being a mentee in the first edition to leading the second edition, I have learnt a lot.

Being the lead organizer for this program was a phenomenal experience filled with learning and growing into a better version of myself. From designing the timeline for the program, reaching out to all the mentors, launching the program, selecting the mentees, conducting the introductory call, to coordinating with all the mentors and mentees it was a wonderful experience!

I would like to thank all the Mentors for taking out time from their busy schedule and volunteering for this program, putting so much effort in it by conducting weekly calls and answering mentees doubts with utmost patience. Also cheers to all the mentees for participating in this and making it a success!

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