Hansen, S.L.

Nielsen, Kirsten Mølgaard

Aalborg University is situated in the northern part of Jutland, Denmark. The faculty of Engineering and Science holds around 5000 students. At the university the curriculum for the education in engineering as well as in natural science is project organized studies. The projects can be design-oriented problems, which can be solved by theories and knowledge from lectures or it can be problem-oriented work dealing with unsolved problems in science and industry. In many ways the project work reflects the work process in an industrial company. A project-group consists of 4 to 6 students. Within the traditional classical engineering disciplines as electrical, electronic, mechanic and civil engineering the rate of female students is about 15% and it is going down. In addition the drop out rate of female students has been double the rate of male students. Consequently a pilot mentoring program for these students was established during the summer of 1998. This paper is based on the experiences we have obtained during the first pilot mentor program at Aalborg University. In the paper we will at first present the mentor program which is inspired from the Aalborg University tradition of group work, and followed by mainly e-mail correspondence and secondly some of the issues which have been raised during our conversations and evaluations with the participating students and mentors will be given. Finally we will present a number of questions which we will invite you all to discuss in groups and in plenum

    Aalborg UniversitetThe Mentor Program of Aalborg UniversityNielsen, Kirsten Mølgaard; Hansen, S.L.Publication date:1999Document VersionOgså kaldet Forlagets PDFLink to publication from Aalborg UniversityCitation for published version (APA):Nielsen, K. M., & Hansen, S. L. (1999). The Mentor Program of Aalborg University.General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.            ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.            ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain            ? You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ?Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at vbn@aub.aau.dk providing details, and we will remove access tothe work immediately and investigate your claim.Downloaded from vbn.aau.dk on: April 25, 20171THE MENTOR PROGRAM OF AALBORG UNIVERSITYKirsten M. Nielsen, associate professor of Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.Saskia L. Hansen, Industrial Liaisons Office, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.INTRODUCTIONAalborg University is situated in the northern part of Jutland, Denmark. The faculty ofEngineering and Science holds around 5000 students. At the university the curriculumfor the education in engineering as well as in natural science is project organizedstudies. The projects can be design-oriented problems, which can be solved bytheories and knowledge from lectures or it can be problem-oriented work dealing withunsolved problems in science and industry. In many ways the project work reflects thework process in an industrial company. A project-group consists of 4 to 6 students.Within the traditional classical engineering disciplines as electrical, electronic,mechanic and civil engineering the rate of female students is about 15% and it isgoing down. In addition the drop out rate of female students has been double the rateof male students. Consequently a pilot mentoring program for these students wasestablished during the summer of 1998.This paper is based on the experiences we have obtained during the first pilot mentorprogram at Aalborg University. In the paper we will at first present the mentorprogram which is inspired from the Aalborg University tradition of group work, andfollowed by mainly e-mail correspondence and secondly some of the issues whichhave been raised during our conversations and evaluations with the participatingstudents and mentors will be given. Finally we will present a number of questionswhich we will invite you all to discuss in groups and in plenum.THE PILOT PROGRAMThe pilot mentor program was initiated during the summer of 1998 when the Dean ofthe Faculty of Engineering and Science realized that something had to be done aboutthe higher drop-out rate of female engineering students within a number ofengineering disciplines than that of male students.Consequently the associate professors Mona Dahms and Kirsten M. Nielsen weregiven the task of supervising the program while Saskia L. Hansen from the IndustrialLiaisons Office was asked to take care of the practical implementation andadministration of the mentor program. The main aims of the program were defined assecuring a higher retention rate among the students and furthermore to prepare themin the best possible way for the labor market.During August and September 1998 letters were sent to a number of companiesasking them for female engineers who might be interested in participating in thisprogram. The letters were sent to the Human Resource Departments because wewanted the companies' official support and acceptance since the participating mentorswould have to spend some of their working hours participating in the program. 182engineers from a vide range of companies signed up and the response from femalestudents was overwhelming and some even had to be put on a waiting list.Organization of mentors and menteesThe organization of the mentors and mentees is partially based on the specialpedagogical model of Aalborg University with its focus on problem-based learning.Consequently the organization of students into project groups was transferred into theorganization of this mentor program.The project committee decided to match one mentor with two mentees (if possible afresher and a graduate) and each mentor was matched with another mentor, forming asmall group of two mentors and four mentees. This group could then exchangeexperiences, the mentors could assist each other and if one mentor were to beextremely busy for a period the other mentor could take over prime responsibility.Likewise the mentees were invited to exchange their experiences - our aim was thatthe older students in this way could be a help for the freshers.The matching of mentors and mentees was rather difficult in that we had 18 mentorsand 35 students whose disciplines did not exactly match. We had too many electronicengineers and too few electronic students and likewise many civil engineeringstudents and only few mentors. This is partly due to the fact that the main mobilecommunication industry is situated in and around Aalborg and consequently manyelectronic engineers joined the program. One student was doing an internship inZimbabwe and was matched with an engineer in Copenhagen who only wanted toparticipate through e-mail.The specific matching of mentors and mentees was made by us in the projectcommittee, since we in this first pilot program only had a very limited number ofmentors to offer the students.Means of CommunicationThe communication of mentors and students was intended to be only through e-mailapart from the meetings which are part of the program. It turns out that some of thosementors who work and live in Aalborg also invite their students out for lunches anddinners. Furthermore many mentors have invited their students on company visits,even those mentors who work in companies that are situated far away from Aalborg.This means that the communication in many ways has been more personal and directthan the originally intended e-mail communication.Launching the programThe program was launched with an initial meeting for the mentors and a month later,a meeting where mentors and students could meet for the first time. SuzanneBrainard's Handbook for Mentors and Mentees was handed out since we do not yethave information material modified to Danish culture and written in Danish.3There was a midterm evaluation in early February and there will be a final evaluationin June. All mentors and students can continue on the program if they would like to,but the pilot program only asked people to make a commitment for one year.  A newprogram with new students and mentors will be launched in September. In thecontinuation of the existing program and in the new program we will make changesrelating to the response we have received through discussions at the midtermevaluation and through e-mails and other conversations  with mentors and students.DISCUSSIONS DURING THE PILOT PROGRAMIn the following some of the topics which have been discussed through the first partof the pilot program will be introduced and this will form the background informationfor the following sessions in discussions groups.Gender and TechnologyThe issue of Gender has been highly debated in relation to our program and it gives animpression that in Denmark it somehow is not quite legitimate to make initiativeswhich focuses on only one of the two sexes.Firstly quite a few of the companies contacted were not interested in participating inactivities with a gender focus and some of the female engineers themselves alsoreacted towards this mentor program and thought that the program tried to make aproblem out of being a female engineer and engineer student. Secondly theparticipating mentees all want men to be part of the program as well. Opinions differfrom men somehow being included in the current mentor program to suggestions ofrunning parallel programs for male students and male engineers. Likewise a majorityof the mentors would like to mentor male students as well or at least ensure that malestudents are given the same opportunity.Some of the participating mentees have been bullied by their male co-students andteased with having a need for a "nanny". Other male students have been rather jealousand find it unfair that this opportunity is offered only to female students.Mentor programs and preparation/trainingUsing mentor programs is something quite new in Denmark and in our program thishas raised the issues of how the mentees can use their mentor, which questions theymay ask, how much they can demand of their mentor and likewise the mentors havebeen insecure as to how often they should get in touch with their students, how theyshould react when students do not answer e-mails etc. This leads directly back to thequestion of the information material available for mentors and mentees and the overalltraining and preparation of both mentors and mentees.We used American information material which has not worked very well in a Danishcontext. Many of the specifics in the American handbooks (such as instructions about4behavior etc.) simply do not fit in with Danish mentality. Furthermore the fact that thematerial was in English has made some mentors and students simply put the materialaway; not because they don't read English, but because they found that this did not fitwith the information they needed.At the midterm evaluation one suggestion was to make a small guide introducingvarious activities that mentors and mentees could do together. This could also beactivities such as company visits where e.g. also the male students from the mentees'project group or class could be invited.Furthermore the need for physical meetings has been stressed. Both mentors andmentees find it a lot easier to communicate through e-mail if they have seen theircounterpart and also these meetings add another dimension to just writing through e-mail. Most mentors and mentees conclude that actual meetings are necessary in orderto establish a good relationship.The organization of the programEveryone agree that the organization of the program in groups is great. The mentorshave pointed out that they get the opportunity to get in touch with engineers fromother parts of the industry and that it is a help to have another mentor to exchangeideas with. However most of them see the general meetings as an opportunity to gettogether and establish an informal network among these female engineers. In theproject committee we will try to establish special activities for these engineers in thenew program and thus substantiate and support the basis of the network.The students likewise are happy about the organization, but for those groups includinga fresher and a graduate the gap in maturity and experience is simply too big. Thegraduate is already focussed on getting a job whereas the fresher is slowly getting toknow the world of university. Consequently a proposal from a group of mentors andmentees is to establish groups of 3 mentees and one mentor. The mentees should thenconsist of a fresher, someone in the middle of her studies and a graduate. This wouldfacilitate a better exchange of experiences than the current model.Furthermore an issue has been the static aspect of this type of organization.Suggestions have been that mentees should be able to circulate in a wider group ofmentors. Depending on which project the mentee is working on or problems she isengaged in, she should be able to temporarily adopt another mentor who could helpher with the specific question in mind. This would mean a better use of the mentorsskills and abilities, give the students better and varying opportunities for help andadvice, but would also mean a lot of extra work for the mentors. This increasedflexibility might limit the difficulties involved with matching students and mentors;many students have been critical of their match with a mentor of different disciplinarybackground than their own which it is difficult to avoid unless many more mentorsjoin the program.5The supply & demand situation concerning engineersAs in many other countries Denmark today is facing a severe shortage of engineersand scientist - and the number of female students within this field is very lowcompared to the fact that more woman than men are engaged in higher education.This problem is accentuated by the fact that the soft disciplines such as the humanitiesand arts experience an ever growing number of students.This dilemma is a growing headache of politicians, the industry as well as lower andhigher educational institutions. Initiatives that can stimulate the interest of primaryschool children in science and technical areas is discussed as well as initiatives moredirectly aimed at primary and secondary school girls.We find it strange or rather curious that in a country such as Denmark, appraising theequality of the sexes, there still is a marked gender difference concerning the fields ofengineering and science.Topics for group discussionsGender and technology- how do people in you state/country consider the issue of gender especially inrelation to special initiatives directed towards women in technology?- if it is the case that the issue of gender is a more legitimate issue in the USA thanin Denmark, why do you believe this is the case? Could this be because of thespecifics of national culture & values?- if you have experiences with mentor programs, have the mentors and menteesbeen critical towards the fact that the program is for females only?- has anyone used male mentors and if yes, has this been successful?- how do you consider the influence of national culture on the issue of affirmativeaction; what is your experience?Mentor programs and training- which are your experiences with the preparation of mentors and mentees?- have you used written information material and how successful was this?- have you had separate training sessions for mentors and also mentees?- has there been meetings for mentors and mentees?- how do you match mentors and mentees?Organization of the program- how are the mentor programs you know of organized?- how would you compare the advantages and disadvantages in relation to one-on-one mentor programs and programs based on groups of mentors and mentees?- how do you find interested mentors and students?- is the company of the individual mentor involved in this process?6The supply & demand situation concerning engineers- how are the political actors, the higher education institutions and the industry inyour state/country dealing with the issues of the growing demand for engineers?- is the issue of gender part of this?ReferencesKjersdam, Finn & Enemark, Stig, The Aalborg Experiment, Project Innovation inUniversity Education, Aalborg University Press, 1994,ISBN 87-7307-480-2.Gertje Joukes (ed.,VHTO), Good Practice Handbook on mentoring of girls andwomen in or towards technical jobs, VHTO/UETP-Randstad, 1998, ISBN 90-72912-12-8.

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