CTN Mentor Program

Mentors are an important part of #ChangeTheNow.  Mentors volunteer to support participants to complete their #ChangeTheNow innovative response or idea to address the calls to action under the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We call this an SDG Campaign.

Mentors share their knowledge and insights with #CTN Innovation Teams and have the opportunity to build their own capacity to better understand critical competencies around Flourishing, Systems Thinking and Sustainability. If you want to have a positive impact and can offer participants insights taken from your professional, academic or lived experience, then you are the ideal person to mentor #ChangeTheNow Teams as they create diverse and innovative solutions to complex problems.

Below outlines a few guidelines about the role of a Mentor.

 

YOUR ROLE AS MENTOR

  • To onboard into our virtual Mentor Community of Practice and work through 3 – 4 hr asynchronous tasks to understand the design tools and system thinking information that students work through.
  • To set up a meeting schedule with a CTN Innovation Team and virtually meet at regular times through a semester (for approximately 7-14 weeks)
  • To guide teams through their SDG Campaign development by listening, questioning their process and directing them to information that can help them.
  • To share your experience, knowledge and interests with the team members as they work through their SDG Campaign.

What might a typical mentoring session look like?

  • While every mentor and team are welcome to approach and facilitate their sessions in whatever way is most optimal for them, a typical mentoring session might follow this 1 hour framework
    • 5 minutes: Check-in to see how everyone is doing
    • 25 minutes: Team shares what they worked on and some of the challenges and breakthroughs they experienced
    • 15 minutes: Mentor would offer feedback, insights and questions, based on their perspective and background, in order to deepen the level of exploration for the teams
    • 15 minutes: Confirmation of next steps for the team and checking if the team is on the timeline towards their deliverables. Confirm next meeting time and calendar invites are sent.

 

EXPECTATIONS

  • Open to virtual meetings and working with digital tools on CTN platform
  • Volunteer 3-6 hours a month
  • Coordinate and mentor 1 to 3 teams within a given semester (September – December OR January – April OR May – August)
  • Participate in the CTN Community of Practice to share best practice, tips for building team dynamics and engaging in topic sharing and amplify your knowledge.
  • Provide feedback on your experience and help inform future version of #ChangeTheNow

 

MENTORSHIP BENEFITS

  • Connect and network with like-minded individuals in the Changemaker Community.
  • Upskill your leadership, problem-solving and facilitation skills.
  • Gain a digital #CTN Mentor Passport that showcases your mentor work to your professional network.
  • Bragging rights on how you nurtured future changemakers—our leaders of tomorrow!

 

We would love you join us and help #ChangeTheNow.  Contact us to be considered for this Mentor opportunity!