Mentee and mentor experiences
Our Beyond Barriers mentoring scheme offers benefits for both mentors and their students. Hear first hand from previous participants and discover what you stand to gain.
Beyond Barriers
Beyond Barriers is our successful student mentoring programme. Every year, it pairs around 300 students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds with industry professionals.
On the scheme, mentors offer one-to-one, impartial guidance and support. They encourage students to grow, develop and fulfil their potential.
Hear from the mentors
Mentors in the Beyond Barriers scheme come from a range of industries and organisations. They offer one-to-one, impartial support and guidance to help students reach their potential.
I am a completely different person since I started mentoring others. Mentorship has broadened my horizons and helped me sell myself better as an expert in what I do. More importantly, it has given me the satisfaction of sharing my knowledge and seeing another human being thrive.
Becoming a mentor to someone during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic could have gone either way. As it happened, I felt this new ‘virtual mentoring' redefined the programme, and it was even more successful than what I'd done in my previous experience as a mentor.
Meet the mentees
Beyond Barriers Student mentees benefit from tailored advice, industry insight and support over a six-month period. Check out what some of them have to say about their experience of being mentored.
If you're in the middle of your studies and worried you don't have it all figured out, I'd definitely recommend having a mentor. I felt a bit lost about where I was heading career-wise, so my mentor Barbara helped me explore possible future career paths, including further higher education options which I hadn't thought about. She worked with my strengths and ambitions and helped me discover what would help me truly thrive and achieve my potential. It meant so much for someone to take the time and effort to put me at the centre of it all.
The whole experience was so much more than I could have asked for. I had an amazing mentor, who went out of her way to help me achieve the targets we set. Thanks to the guidance of my mentor, my confidence, skills and knowledge have moved to a whole other level. I would definitely recommend this incredible opportunity to anyone who is looking for personal growth, guidance or support. I am very glad I decided to join the programme!
When you're having difficulties, it's easy to lose some confidence in your abilities but my mentor reminded me how far I'd already come. She made me believe what I was truly capable of. She was helpful, reassuring and understanding, and the whole experience was extremely rewarding. This is an experience I have recommended to so many other students I know, and I can definitely say it will enrich your experience at university. It doesn't detract from your study time, in fact I studied more effectively.
Interested in becoming a Beyond Barriers mentor or mentee?
Find out more on the Beyond Barriers page, or by emailing us.
