Best Practice I: Mentoring System
Title: Margadarshak Mentor-Mentee system
- Objectives
The main aim of the Margadarshak mentoring program is to inculcate the best attributes.
- To help the student identify a career path through a program designed to link students with an advocate from the similar profession, who will provide honest insights as students explore and evaluate their potential, educational and career options.
- To expose the students to the experienced industry professionals, alumni and faculty at PIM on a one-to-one basis to understand the art of making ethical and informed decisions in their professional life.
- To improve problem-solving, communication, leadership, research and entrepreneurship skills of a mentee.
- The Context
Mentor-Mentee System started in 2008 at PIM, where interaction among mentor and mentee brought out positive dynamics. Thereafter the mentoring system became one of the important and strong pillars of PIM since its establishment in 2005. The most important mechanisms of fruitful mentoring connections are a stable commitment, preparedness to invest time and energy by both the mentor-mentee, and clarity about expectations. Mentoring relationships like partnerships started developing over time. Both mentors’ mentees worked to make a fruitful and long-lasting mentoring relationship. With the growth of Institutions and increasing strength of mentee, the dynamics changed. The other challenge bubbled was that the youth of this generation was not willing to easily share their concerns with the mentor.
- The Practice
Mentoring forms an indispensable and significant aspect of a student’s life. Mentor-Mentee System is an invaluable program of PIM where each student of the PIM is nurtured holistically by faculty. It becomes the students endeavour to understand the intricacies of the Life both professionally and personally on these grooming platforms provided by PIM through the mentoring system and a robust Buddy System. That leads to their overall development of professional competencies, human values, work ethics and spiritual values.
Mentoring promotes knowledge-sharing and experiential learning between the experienced faculty. The mentees, in turn, develop everlasting bonds with their mentors as role models, and philosophers which are maintained throughout their professional pursuits.
In an effective mentoring system, the benefits that accrue to the Mentor-Mentee are manifold.
Benefits for Student
- Help a better understanding of self
- Provide an insight into the work environment in which they would work
- Provide relevance to their program of studies
- Assist students to be better equipped to have control over their futures.
- Promote amongst students a better evaluation of relevant careers and subjects pursued.
- Greater understanding about the field or industry of their interest
- Enhancement of skills
- Greater confidence and self-esteem
- Learn about potential career options from someone who has been in their shoes
- Obtain practical advice from a different perspective
- Network with professionals in his field of interest & expose themselves to the professional environment
- Learn about the operations of a specific company and industry
- Share their educational and career aspirations
- Encouragement
- Seamless Transition from academics to real work Life
Benefits for Mentors
- Personal Satisfaction
- Feedback
- Enhanced self and professional awareness
- New & valuable Insights
- Experience Sharing
- Access to the vast talent pool
- Evidence of Success
The mentee can talk to their mentors anytime, but a monthly mentoring session is fixed for First Friday i.e., every first Friday of the month (or the following working day in case of the holiday on Friday) of each month in the academic year. The agenda is set a week before the meeting and mentor-mentee know the agenda of the meeting. Agendas are related to the requirements proposed by mentee for the mentor group.
Attendance of mentee in the session is recorded. mentor reports about the session held are recorded. A monthly report of the mentoring session held is submitted to the Institute. There are formats (user manual and forms) which are used to record the sessions and reports. The user manual is a compiled format of the Institution Mentoring system covering the number of mentors: mentees and the session agendas. User manual forms is a report which individual mentor submits to Institution’s Mentoring Program Coordinator and to Head of the Institution about his/her respective group of mentees. The success of the mentoring system is evident when mentee after post graduating returns to meet the mentor and remains in contact with their mentor for a lifetime
- Problems Encountered and Resources Required
With the growth of the PIM, coordination and monitoring of the Mentor-Mentee system became very challenging. Getting connect between the mentoring group (Mentee & mentors) was becoming difficult.
Therefore, an online email system/whatsup group was introduced in 2018.
Mentor-Mentee System –
Step-1: Mentoring Program Coordinator Selection (MPC)
Step -2: Faculty Mentor Allotment
Mentoring Program Coordinator assigns Faculty Mentor to each student of the Institute. One Faculty Mentor can be assigned to 5 – 10 Mentees depending on the strength of Mentees and Mentors available.
Step -3: Setting session agenda
Step-4: First Friday of every month – Mentor-Mentee Session
- Faculty Mentor and allotted Mentees meet on First Friday of the month
- Marking of attendance of mentees.
Step- 5: Both faculty mentors and Mentoring Program Coordinator write the reports documented.
Step-6: Facility to give session feedback is provided for Mentor-Mentee.
- Notes (Optional)
Mentoring is a tool that educational institutions, organizations must use to nurture and groom their student mentee. The experience of mentoring is one of a kind, mutually benefiting the mentor as well as a mentee.
Students and mentors with similar interests will have the opportunity to communicate with each other on a regular, informal basis. A mentor act as a guide, counsellor, friend, philosopher, teacher, coach & role model who shares his experience, knowledge and wisdom. Higher education institutions may face challenges because of the modern generation of youth but with time a strong relationship is built between mentor-mentee which not only helps the mentee groom but also help the nation by providing a strong, stable youth.
- Training is required to nurture mentoring skills in Faculty mentors.
- Orientation programs of mentee are required to help them understand the importance of mentors in their lives.
- Industry Interactions support mentoring when mentee get direct guidance from area experts.
- Alumni Linkages support the mentoring system by connecting to their junior and joining alma mater for events /seminars /Conferences organized by existing students/mentee. Alumni act as advisors to help the mentee organize the conferences and help in building the confidence and leadership skills of the mentees.
Best Practice II
- Title: Prajna Vaibhavam
- Objective
- The main aim of the Prajna Vaibhavam is to inculcate the best attributes and overall development of personality.
- To help the student identify and overcome loopholes through a program designed to develop rapport students which will provide honest insights to students, explore and evaluate their potential, educational and career options.
- To improve problem-solving, communication, Presentation, leadership, research, group dynamics and entrepreneurship skills
- The Context
Prajna Vaibhavam Program System started in 2012 at PIM, where interaction among students and program judges brought out positive dynamics. Thereafter the Prajnavaibhavam Program system became one of the important and strong pillars of PIM. The most important mechanisms of fruitful results of the programs are a stable commitment, preparedness to invest time and energy by students and faculty. Prajna Vaibhavam is an interclass, intergroup Competition held every semester to uplift the student’s soft skills and overall personality development. the other challenge bubble up is students do not come prepared, absenteeism, communication gap, no group effort, no proper groundwork.
- The Practice
Apart from subject related specific activities for enhancing the learning experiences, the weekly two-hour slot is provided for a unique business-related activity for students. The activity consists of different events like debate, company presentation and business plan. Each team consists of six members and each team has to make a presentation using ICT for about thirty minutes in front of all other students and faculty members. The performance of the teams is judged by a panel of two judges on a rotation basis and due recognition is given to the winning teams and to the outstanding performers. Such activity is supposed to enhance team spirit, team coordination, communication skill, business knowledge and also supposed to get rid of stage fear as every student has to make a part presentation of the task assigned to the team.
Benefits for students
- Help a better understanding of self and team
- Provide an insight into the team coordination and group dynamics
- Provide relevance to their program of studies
- Assist students to be better equipped to face the interviews.
- Promote amongst students a better evaluation of relevant and subjects pursued.
- Greater understanding about the field or business knowledge of their interest
- Enhancement of soft skills
- Greater confidence and self-esteem
- Obtain practical advice from a different perspective
- Learn about the operations of a specific company and industry
- Encouragement and Seamless Transition from academics to real work Life
- Evidence of Success
Every Thursday 11.00 am to 1.00 pm session is fixed (or the following working day in case of the holiday on Thursday) in the academic year. The topics are given to the respective team 15 days before by lottery system. the team should come prepared with respective topics all team members should participate in the event. marks are awarded by judge’s base on individual as well as group. The report will be submitted to the program coordinator of PrajnaVaibhavam. the scrutinization of the report will be done co-ordinator sessions will continue and one team and one individual selected at final. The success of Prajna Vaibhavam are that students are improved a lot with all their loopholes and gain a confidant to face any type situations. There is a swift change in their personality and Knowledge.
- Problems Encountered and Resources Required
Lack preparedness from students’ side for postponing their team activities, absent of team members, individual effort, no group dynamics. holidays, strikes, bandh is the root cause for interruption of the session. resources required ICT, Public addressing system seating arrangement. two faculty judges for the session.
- Notes (Optional)
The event outcome does not only help the student but also enhances
- Inculcating analytical skill, reasoning ability and logical analysis in handling specific business situations
- Developing team spirit, effective communication and coordination skill
- learning about healthy practices to make professional life stress-free and enjoyable
- Make the students ‘corporate ready’ on completion of two years of MBA program
- Preparing future entrepreneurs to initiate their own start-ups