The relationship between a mentor and a mentee is different from that of a teacher and a student. Teaching involves sharing practical knowledge through formal lessons. Mentoring, however, is based on sharing the wisdom that the Mentor has acquired through their life experiences. It does not require a specific level of expertise as the Mentor builds upon the knowledge base of their mentee.

A Mentor’s role is to not offer you the answers on a silver platter but to pose the right questions that you need to seek clarity on to advance your Project. They can, at times, help you navigate your way through these questions and answers.

Since your Mentor is going to be working with you from Day One to the Culmination event, both of you must be on the same page concerning the:

1. Frequency of your checkpoints/ meetings,

2. The aim of your Project,

3. What you will eventually want to achieve through this Project,

4. Other details about your Project; your global context strand, the academic discipline you have linked it.

It is understandable to be apprehensive before your first session with your Mentor. However, remember that they are here to guide you; if you have any queries, doubts, or require clarity on certain aspects, make sure to bring them up during your meetings. The ideal first meeting should be the mentee sharing how they chose the said topic (walk them through your ‘getting started’ steps). Once you share all your ideas and thoughts with them, they will get a gist of how you could move ahead with this.