Online mentoring
Pilot program connects UD students with mentors at Aberdeen Proving Ground
5:16 p.m., Oct. 27, 2014--Two University of Delaware offices are teaming with the Army's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) at Aberdeen Proving Ground to pilot a new eMentoring initiative to encourage and guide STEM students at UD.
Using online communication through email, this program helps students understand the connection between their classroom studies and their future in a professional work environment.
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The eMentoring program — coordinated with UD's Bank of America Career Services Center (CSC) and the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships (OEIP) — is designed to help increase retention of UD students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines by helping freshmen and sophomores understand the connection between academia and potential employment opportunities. Often a mentoring relationship will significantly improve a student’s chance of academic success while also supporting a smooth transition into the workforce.
This fall, five UD engineering students were matched with "near peers” from CERDEC’s research and development center. The students submitted an application through the BOA Career Services Center indicating their career choices and areas of interest. Mentors were recruited and selected based on their technical expertise, knowledge and professional experience in order to make the best match with the students.
In September, an orientation session was held on the Newark campus so students could meet their mentors in person. The students and their mentors will continue to communicate via email on a weekly basis for the remainder of the academic year.
“Feedback from the mentors has been positive. The mentors take their role of helping students achieve their academic and professional goals very seriously,” said Stacey Lambert, CERDEC outreach development specialist, who initiated the program after realizing that many students who begin their academic careers in engineering and science often switch to non-engineering majors before graduation.
Managing the program for UD is Joyce Henderson, assistant director for employer partnerships at the BOA Career Services Center.
“This is an excellent program for undergraduate students who desire to be mentored but do not have a lot of time in their schedule to meet face-to-face," Henderson said. "Technology makes it easy for both parties to collaborate and share ideas. The students who are participating in the program are very excited about having professionals who pursued similar educational goals to provide guidance and advice about their career development.”
This project is the latest in a series stemming from the 2010 signing of an Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), which is managed at UD by OEIP.
After the September orientation session, David Weir, director of OEIP, called the new initiative "impressive." "We are excited to participate in a new, untested idea that will connect our students with additional employment opportunities at Aberdeen Proving Ground.”
The eMentoring pilot program will continue through May 2015. The goal is to expand this opportunity to a broader network of students.
For more information about the UD-US Army eMentoring program, contact Joyce Henderson at joyceh@udel.edu.
About Career Services
The BOA Career Services Center strives to provide the highest quality comprehensive career services to all matriculated undergraduate and graduate students and alumni of the University of Delaware. The career center functions as a vital component in the total educational experience of students, primarily in the development and implementation of career and educational plans. It also fosters partnerships with employers, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators and the greater community to increase their participation in providing opportunities for the career development of students.
About OEIP
The mission of the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships (OEIP) is to develop social and economic value from UD’s knowledge-based assets by
• advancing the University's intellectual property, inventions and technologies from the laboratory to the market place through partnerships and collaborations;
• promoting innovation and entrepreneurship within and without the University community; and
• providing leadership in the creation and growth of small businesses in Delaware.