Program Design and Outcomes
The APWiL Mentoring Program is a year-long commitment matching a mentor and mentee from one of the participating APRU member universities. Each participating institution can be represented by up to two mentors and two mentees. Institutions should nominate the same number of mentors as mentees in order to ensure that we have even numbers in the program. (If your institution is nominating one mentee, then you should be nominating one mentor. If your institution is nominating two mentees, then you should be nominating two mentors.) Depending on mentor/mentee balance the program will have a maximum of 50 pairs of mentors and mentees.
One-on-One mentoring
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Mentor and mentee will develop a mentoring agreement identifying goals for the program.
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Mentor and mentee will set a schedule of bi-monthly virtual conversations (at least six meetings during the program duration).
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Mentor and mentee will provide an update half-way through the program to assess their progress, as well as a final report on their goals and key achievements.
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A final program evaluation will be completed by each mentor and mentee.
Resources
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Mentor and mentee will participate in virtual workshops and seminars with the cohort which offer resource sharing, professional training, and international exchange to increase the awareness of challenges that aspiring women leaders face within the region and to introduce global and intercultural dimensions to leaders across the APRU network and beyond.
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Mentor and mentee will participate in a virtual orientation for all program participants to kick-off the program.
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Mentor and mentee will be invited to participate in an in-person graduation ceremony (optional) to celebrate the strong cohort of women leaders. As the APWiL Mentoring Program cannot support individual participants’ travel to this ceremony, institutions are strongly encouraged to support the travel of their participants.
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Mentor and mentee will join informal networking opportunities to connect senior leaders at APRU institutions with emerging women leaders to create an effective network.
Resources
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Mentor and mentee will have access to a tool where they can share upcoming travel (e.g. conferences, professional associations, etc.) in order to see who else from the program may also be there. Mentors and mentees are encouraged to schedule in-person meetups directly and connect with each other in person as a way to build connections within the network.
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By inviting our alumni to program events, workshops, and seminars, participants connect and engage with the ever-expanding network of inspiring, accomplished and mutually supportive leaders who have graduated from the Mentoring Program.
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Mentor and mentee will have access to a resource library as well as suggested topics for discussion throughout the program.
Time Commitment
The success of the Program is, in large part, thanks to the engagement and drive of the participants. Mentors are volunteers giving their time to support the development of their mentee. Based on the first two years of the program, participants who got the most out of the Program are those who whole-heartedly committed to, and invested time and energy in, the Program and their mentoring relationship.
This is a one-year program, starting with the orientation and kick-off in November 2022 to the graduation ceremony in October 2023. Participants are located in all parts of the Asia Pacific Rim.
Once the pairs have been announced, each mentor/mentee pair is responsible for managing their own meetings with the onus on mentees to drive the engagement. We suggest that pairs meet bi-monthly with at least six sessions during the entirety of the Program. Most mentees and mentors will reside in different time zones. There is a need for flexibility in scheduling meetings in order to find a time that works for both parties.
In addition to the one-on-one mentoring between pairs, APWiL will also arrange virtual workshop and seminars which are an essential piece of the program where participants connect with their cohort beyond their mentoring pair. (See page 10 below for dates). Both mentors and mentees are strongly encouraged to attend all workshops/seminars. We also actively encourage participants to organize their own discussion groups and social events to expand their network and further support each other, especially when traveling to conferences/gatherings where other program participants may also be attending.
Program participants are invited to join an optional in-person graduation ceremony at the end of the program to celebrate the strong cohort of women leaders. As the APWiL Mentoring Program cannot support individual participants’ travel to this ceremony, institutions are strongly encouraged to support the travel of their participants.
Language of Delivery
Workshops/seminars and all group mentoring sessions are delivered in English.
Cost
The Program, including workshops/seminars and one-on-one mentoring are free of charge for both mentors and mentees thanks to the generous support of our participating institutions. Face-to-face meetings will be subject to travel costs including flight, food, lodging, transportation, etc. For the 2022-23 cohort, the concluding graduation ceremony will tentatively be planned in-person coinciding with the APRU Senior International Leaders Meeting. We will not be charging registration for the face-to-face graduation ceremony. However, as the APWiL Mentoring Program cannot support individual participants’ travel to this ceremony, institutions are strongly encouraged to support the travel of their participants. Outside of this, all workshops and seminars will be held virtually.
Evaluation Process
As this is the first year the mentoring program will be fully implemented across the entire APRU network, a formative evaluation approach will serve to inform program improvements for replicating and scaling in subsequent years. As such, key objectives for evaluation are to gather participant feedback on the program as it relates to the following:
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How well did the mentorship program meet participants’ needs (i.e. achieve articulated goals)? How might participants’ needs differ from what was planned / anticipated?
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What worked well and not so well?
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What challenges / barriers, new opportunities, or ancillary impacts (positive / negative) resulted from participation in the program?
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How can the program be improved?
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What mechanisms are most effective for monitoring implementation?