Q&A: Mentoring Programme 2018 - 2019

What is the primary goal of this programme?

The Code to Change programme’s objective is to contribute to the achievement of gender equality (UN Sustainable Development Goal 5) and economic empowerment of women through digital inclusion.

What problem are you solving?

We aim to address the existing skills gap in the ICT sector and the associated digital gender divide.

Why a mentoring programme?

Sharing knowledge through a mentoring programme can empower women in the technical field, and contribute to increasing confidence, acquiring new skills and feeling supported on the learning journey.

Who is the customer?

Women out of work (e.g. after maternity leave, in between jobs): Women who have either left the workforce for personal reasons – such as care responsibilities – or those who have lost their job because of lack of opportunities to update their digital skills.

Women looking for better career opportunities Women who are already working – including those who want to change their career in the ICT sector – but don’t know where to start

Structure of the mentoring programme

One-on-One matching by committee, based on interest of the mentee and knowledge of the mentor

Who will be responsible long-term for the programme, if it continues?

Designated person to lead the programme and team from The Code to Change programme.

What advisors and experts are needed to make this programme succeed?

Developers Web in Frontend, Backend or Fullstack
Mobile Developers
QA Testers
Optional (based on some mentees): Mentors on Data Analysis, Product Managers

What are the programme constraints?

Finding mentors matching the expertise mentees are looking for.
The model mentoring programme
Communication with remote mentees

Mentoring Programme 2018 - 2019

Mentors skills required

2+ Years of experience
Willingness to share skills, knowledge and expertise
Positive attitude
Can provide guidance and constructive feedback.
Values the opinions and initiatives of others.

Expectations

Mentee: As a Mentee I identify myself with these expectations:

Improve coding skills with the guidance of a mentor, who I can ask when I feel stuck or I need an opinion.
Develop a project where I can apply coding skills to gain experience.
Feel support and sense of direction on IT from a knowledgeable mentor
Prove to myself that I can learn anything and apply it in real life

Mentor: As a Mentor I identify myself with these expectations:

Help the mentee by solving questions, giving opinions, weigh up situations, exploring alternatives to acquire or improve coding skills.
Work with a mentee who is willing to learn, independently and responsible of their own learning process.
Work on a project during the mentoring programme (defined by mentee or together) to apply the acquired knowledge.

Organization: As ChunriChoupaal organization I expect from this programme:

Contributing to the reduction of the skills gap in the ICT sector by empowering women with technical skills and the support of a solid community

Model Mentoring Programme

Time Required per Week

All the selected mentees should be able to commit to minimum 2 hours a week, the mentoring will last in total 5 months with all the preparation and showcase meetup, but the work between the mentees and their mentors will last just 3 months, saying this, the success of the program will depend on how much time the mentee dedicate each week to work towards her goals.

Matching Process

Mentor and mentee are matched according to their knowledge and expertise (required and offered). Below you can find the example tables for mentees and mentors. After all information is filled in we will execute the matching process based on criteria on both sides and assign the corresponding mentor to mentee.

Mentee	Interest of the Mentee				Amsterdam based	Previous Knowledge
Mentee	Frontend	Backend	Fullstack	QA	Amsterdam based	Previous Knowledge
Diana Bos	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes
XX XXX	no	no	yes	no	no	no

Mentors

Mentor	Mentor Expertise				Special Requirements
Mentor	Frontend	Backend	Fullstack	QA	Amsterdam based	Previous Knowledge Required
Alexandra	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no
Esteban	yes	no	no	no	yes	no

First meeting one-on-one (mentor and mentee )

This is one of the most important meetings in the early stage of the mentoring programme, to establish a successful relationship between both parties, to set expectations, goals, and to discuss available time and others topics. Feedback is the key part during the whole programme. Below you can find a checklist for the first meeting.

Checklist for the first meeting (As a mentee and mentor):

What do you expect from this programme? Expectations
What is your main goal?
Available time every week (express time on both sides, you as a mentor and she as a mentee)
Agree communication channels (Email, Slack, Hangout, Skype..etc)
Feedback communication: Every two weeks mentor and mentee will report their feedback to the programme, in order to keep track of the progress and solve potential issues. This feedback could contain

Name of the project
Goals achieved during last two weeks
Blockers or issues
What can be improved
Rate 1 to 10, how happy are you with the programme

Channels and resources

During this programme the mentee and the mentor could set up as many communication channels as needed, according to what works for each one. In order to keep in touch the participants can choose any communication channel that fits their needs. (If you considering sharing screen, you can use Google Hangout, skype).

Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct establishes a set of guidelines whose main goal is to provide a benchmark for ethics and good practice in coaching and mentoring, ensuring that coaches and mentors conduct their practice in a professional and ethical manner.

Guiding principle for mentors.

A mentor does not give advice, but rather helps the mentee to weigh up situations, through a process of reflection, questions, challenge and feedback, allowing the mentee to come to a decision themselves. The mentor will conduct themselves with dignity and will act in a way that respects diversity and promotes equal opportunities.
The mentor’s role is to respond to the mentee’s needs and agenda; it is not to impose their own agenda.
Mentors will agree with the mentee how they wish the relationship to work, adopting the most appropriate level of confidentiality
Mentors and mentees will respect each other’s time and other responsibilities, ensuring they do not impose beyond what is reasonable.
Either party may dissolve the relationship at any time throughout the period of the mentoring relationship.
The mentor will not intrude into areas the mentee wishes to keep private until invited to do so. They should, however, help the mentee to recognise how other issues may relate to these areas.
Mentors should never work beyond the bounds of their capability, experience and expertise to the point where they do not feel confident in providing the mentee with proper support. Where appropriate, mentors should seek advice or refer mentees to another point of contact or enterprise support professional.

Mentors have a responsibility to highlight any ethical issues (such as conflicts of interest) that may arise during a mentoring relationship at the earliest opportunity.
Mentors should not attempt to do the mentee’s job for them ‐ the mentee has the ability and the potential, the mentor's job is to help them realise it.
Mentors will maintain their professional competence through participation in continuous professional development
The mentor provides guidance for pursuing a specific course of action.
The mentor will check and keep accountable the mentee for the work the mentee has agreed to do during a certain period of time

Guiding Principles for Mentees

The mentee is ultimately responsible for their own actions.
The mentee will commit to a minimum of 2 hours of work per week, to finish the assignment that the mentee has committed to
The mentor provides guidance for develop a specific project.
This guidance will be based on the mentor’s specific knowledge, specific experience, specific preferences, and specific biases. In practice, any project will usually present specific advantages and specific disadvantages, and the optimum project will often not be clearly defined.

The responsibility for choosing a specific project belongs to the mentee, not to the mentor. But the mentor could offer guidance.
The mentee will be able to provide links/code/files with the work that The mentee has done during the week, or agreed period

Experience sharing meeting (showcase)

Looking back is always a good opportunity to celebrate, learn and grow. At the end of the programme the idea is organize a Meetup to share the experiences, projects. The main objective is look back and review the strengths and weaknesses.

Schedule 2018 - 2019

November	Start mentoring programme, notify all the parties and set the first meeting.
December	Christmas holiday
January - February 2019	Continuation of mentoring programme
March - 2019	Meetup showcase