Positive recap on WESA's first mentorship program semester!
This autumn semester, WESA kicked off a 1-1 peer mentoring program among Wind Energy and Sustainable Energy Masters students at DTU. This new program serves to help new students from all around the world become quickly accustomed to student life at DTU, and have a safe and friendly place to ask about finding a student job, research, classes, and adjusting to studying at DTU in general. In October, twenty first semester students were paired with students further on in their degrees who has similar backgrounds and interests. The 16 mentors are an eager and accomplished group that joined on a volunteer basis and participated in a training session for peer mentoring. The program kicked off with a quiz night and introductions over zoom, and since, mentor-mentee pairs have been meeting up for meals and drinks or virtually to connect and share experiences.
One mentee reflects, "It was nice to have someone to ask questions about courses, teachers, and life at DTU. It made the process of moving to a new country and a new university a lot easier." The program has been just as rewarding for the mentors: one mentor shares "The mentor program was a great opportunity to meet new students and share my academic experiences! It was fun to find that my student and I have a very similar background we both made tough decisions choosing between music and technology. We ultimately chose a field involving renewable energy because of its power to make the world a more sustainable place".
The mentoring program is fueled by WESA's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive community at DTU -- helping students feel welcomed, heard, and valued at the university. The first semester of the program has been a success, and we look forward to welcoming in new students in February!