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Our Objectives

Our objectives are to provide ALL STEM students in the United States with access to effective mentorships in a vibrant community committed to student success; to develop a scalable mentoring platform that combines the technology of social networks with the social science of mentoring; and to deliver evidence-based programs that address the critical issues impacting STEM student success.

Our new scalable platform for mentoring combines the technology of social networks with the social science of mentoring. Our platform permits us to strategically match STEM students and professionals in compatible mentoring relationships, deliver evidence-based programs that address the issues impacting retention and success in STEM fields, and conduct controlled studies and evaluation to identify and verify factors that impact student success.

Our Vision and Mission

MentorNet envisions a “Diverse 21st Century STEM Workforce” in which all citizens contribute to innovation and experience prosperity. MentorNet’s mission is to foster a prevalent culture of mentoring in STEM that empowers individuals to persist and succeed in their fields.

Mentoring Cycle

  1. STEM professionals and students in higher education create individual profiles on MentorNet’s platform in response to questions about themselves and about their desired match. This profile information is incorporated into match recommendations in support of high-quality mentorships.
  2. Mentees are presented with their top nine (9) mentors based on matching of their profiles. Of note, mentors’ and mentees’ profiles are not publicly visible to the entire MentorNet community. Rather, mentees and mentors are introduced only through MentorNet’s recommendation process.
  3. The mentee selects a mentor and initiates the mentorship via a personalized email invitation. The selected mentor reviews the mentee’s profile and may accept or decline. If the mentor declines, MentorNet recommends an additional STEM professional and the mentee is, again, presented with (9) potential mentors.
  4. When a mentor accepts a mentee’s invitation, a four-month mentorship cycle is launched. Together the mentee and mentor determine the best meeting times in relation to their schedules and may communicate using MentorNet’s on-platform chat interface or by Skype, Google Hangouts, email, phone, or text.
  5. The pair receives weekly topics, called “prompts,” to guide their discussions. MentorNet’s prompts are customized to reflect the mentee’s educational level and focus on topics that support student success and persistence in achieving a STEM degree and career.
  6. As our mentees graduate and become STEM professionals, MentorNet encourages them to rejoin as mentors. And MentorNet encourages the ongoing participation of our STEM professionals as master mentors. As our community grows, we are advancing our mission “to foster a prevalent culture of mentoring in STEM that empowers individuals to persist and succeed in their fields.”

MentorNet for Students

MentorNet for Organizations

Mentee Testimonial

MentorNet Program Levels

MentorNet has been providing STEM-focused virtual mentorships between college and university students and STEM professionals serving as mentors since 1997. In that time we have supported over 32,000 successful mentorships between STEM students and working STEM professionals. MentorNet joined the Great Minds in STEM family of programs in December of 2014 and with that partnership, we are now able to offer three levels of tailored mentorship programs to corporations, colleges/universities, and professional associations. Check out your area of interest below.

Corporate Programs

Many companies who depend on diverse STEM talent have a variety of programs through which they build relationships with college students – their future workforce. They may offer internships, provide scholarships, cultivate potential future employees through career fairs and so on. MentorNet can help your company maintain an ongoing and strong relationship with students by creating a branded mentoring community specifically to connect your employees (mentors) and these students (mentees) in virtual mentorships.

College/University Programs

Is your institution interested in providing high-quality mentoring programs for STEM students? MentorNet’s tailored program can help connect your STEM students with your alumni who are STEM professionals, locally and across the nation. Let your alums provide real-world mentoring to your future STEM graduates – the STEM professionals of tomorrow!

Professional Association Programs

Are you seeking ways to provide value to your STEM student members, attract new students to your association, and increase engagement of your professional members? MentorNet’s virtual mentoring program can connect the students you want to support with your professional members in one-to-one virtual mentorships that are rewarding, convenient, and effective.

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Contact

Do you represent an organization interested in MentorNet?

  • Are you interested in having your students, employees, or members participate in MentorNet?
  • Are you interested in the benefits of being a MentorNet sponsor?
  • Are you interested in learning how MentorNet can help you advance your organization’s STEM diversity or retention objectives?.

MentorNet is a division of Great Minds in STEM (GMiS), which is recognized as a non-profit organization by the IRS Code Section 501(c)(3).

Tax ID #95-4577359