Jain (Deemed-to-be University)’s Vishwas counseling center organized Padhanweshi – a half-day workshop on mentoring for faculties as a part faculty development program on 22 September 2018. The speaker of the session was Dr. Uma Warrier, professor and chief counselor, Jain (Deemed-to-be University).
The session began with an icebreaker where the group of faculties was asked to draw “tree of life”. Dr.Uma Warrier explained the way to analyze the picture they had drawn. This indeed helped the group to introspect and understand oneself better. After the icebreaker, the faculty members were asked about their personal experience of having a mentor.
The roles and responsibilities of a mentor such as faculty coordinator, skill development consultant, career consultant, and role model were explained to the group in detail. Another topic discussed was about mentor role dimensions. The group was educated about how to handle the mentees in tough situations.
The 3 phases of mentoring program was also another area of discussion. The participants were provided with a mentor communication checklist that would facilitate the mentors to introspect and improve. CIGAR model for mentoring was another topic that was discussed. The group disclosed some of their concerns and the possible solutions to the concerns were discussed.
Spokesperson proposed the formation of CAMP (committee for an academic mentoring program) with its structure and constituents, A Mentor- Buddy- Mentee system and specific steps to be followed at SET from the induction of new batch of students with respect to the mentoring system.
The last phase of the workshop was role play. Groups were formed department wise and they were asked to enact after discussion on how to handle mentees when encountered with difficulties and challenges. Different scenarios were given by the facilitator to all the 8 departments to cover the maximum number of mentoring scenarios. The group came up with role plays where they portrayed the challenges and the solutions for the concerns. A handbook on the mentorship program was handed over to the head of the respective departments.
