"Ask a Mentor"
"Ask a Mentor" makes it possible to share what you know in a single, focused conversation.
What is Ask a Mentor?
"Ask a Mentor" is a career development concept at Aalto University based on the principles of speed mentoring. It connects doctoral students and researchers with experienced professionals, alumni, and industry experts through, focused online conversations. As a mentor, you offer practical insight into careers, working life, and professional development based on your own working life experience.
Why become an "Ask a Mentor" expert?
Sharing your experience benefits you as much as the researchers. Here's what's in it for you:
- No long-term commitment: One conversation, 45 to 60 minutes, on your own schedule. No ongoing obligation, no follow-up. Just one focused exchange.
- Growing your network: Meet doctoral researchers with sharp expertise and fresh thinking. Today's conversation could be tomorrow's collaboration, or your next great hire.
- Fresh perspectives: Step outside your daily routine and hear how the newest generation of researchers is approaching your field. Their questions might be exactly the angle you didn't know you needed.
- A pulse on where your field is heading: Doctoral researchers work at the edge of new ideas and emerging research. One conversation gives you a direct line to what's coming next.
- Developing your own communication and mentoring skills: A short, structured format that still builds real mentoring experience, sharpening how you explain, guide, and influence.
- Giving back, with real impact: Helping others has been shown to boost wellbeing. Sharing what you already know costs you an hour, and it could change the direction of someone's career.
As a Mentor, you help a doctoral researcher move forward on a real career question and walk away having learned something yourself.
What can you share?
Ask a Mentor conversations are organised around practical, career
related themes such as:
- Industry careers, entrepreneurship, or leadership
- International careers and academic careers
- Research commercialisation and sustainability
- Recruitment practices, workplace cultures, and employer expectations
- Career transitions and professional development
- Recognising and communicating transferable skills
How does Ask a Mentor work in practice?
Ask a Mentor is built around one time, low threshold conversations rather than ongoing mentoring relationships:
- Sign up: Fill in a short application to let us know you're interested in becoming an expert.
- Theme selection: A theme is chosen based on the needs of doctoral researchers, for example industry careers, entrepreneurship, leadership, international careers, sustainability, academic careers, or research commercialisation.
- Orientation session: Join a short online orientation to learn how the format works and what to expect from your conversation.
- Your profile goes live: Your expert profile is published on the booking platform for about one month.
- Researchers book you: Doctoral students and researchers browse expert profiles and book a one time conversation with the expert of their choice.
- The conversation: A single online session of 45 to 60 minutes, either one to one or as a small group discussion with 3 to 4 researchers.
- Reflection and feedback: After the conversations, you're invited to a short online feedback session, and your input helps shape future rounds of the programme.
No long-term commitment is required at any stage. Just your time and experience for one conversation.
Who can become a Mentor?
The opportunity is open ºÚÁÏÍø alumni, industry partners, and professionals from public organisations and other professional communities that has competed a Doctoral Degree. All you need is willingness to share what you know.
How can I become a mentor?
We are currently identifying volunteer experts for the "Ask a Mentor" pilot. If you'd like to take part, get in touch, we're happy to tell you more about this flexible way to share your career experience with doctoral researchers.