Designing and Running Effective Mentor Programs—OPEN ’23 Foundation Session
Many institutions rely on mentors to guide students and student teams through the challenging innovation process, be that as part of a competition, bootcamp, accelerator, or class. However, research demonstrates that not all mentorship efforts are effective. During this foundation session, panelists with experience from across more than six different mentorship programs discuss how they have leveraged research and lessons learned to turn mentorship program deficiencies into opportunities. Practical insights shared include how to structure mentor programs, how to select, support, and engage diverse mentors, and how to forge productive and enduring connections between mentors and students. Speakers: Taysha Williams, Texas Tech University; Kimberly Gramm, Tulane University; Josh Green, George Mason University; Bob Smith, George Washington University; Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Pennsylvania State University; Abdullah Konak, Pennsylvania State University; Khanjan Mehta, Lehigh University.
