‘We are proud of our mentee students’: the mentoring programme comes to an end at St Petersburg University

The St Petersburg University Mentoring Programme is a model of informal learning and communication between a mentor and a student or a recent graduate at St Petersburg University who want to build a successful career strategy and to learn how to apply and use their competencies. 

‘There is a great demand among students in how to gain practical experience and skills,’ said Kamilla Sherzai, a curator of the project. ‘Mentors share the experience they have gained over the years of practice, devoting their free time to helping students decide on a career path, explain how to narrow down a career path, and tell them what soft skills and hard skills are missing for a successful start in their path to career success.’ 

The mentors of the general track are graduates at St Petersburg University who have gained extensive professional experience and have confirmed it with successfully implemented projects. 

According to Vera Bondareva, a corporate head of talent management at Alers Russia, the programme is set to offer an opportunity for companies to informally communicate with the generation that is just entering the workforce. ‘For me, mentoring is another evidence that today’s students are prepared to become better every day in every way. They are flexible, have a wide range of interests, and truly believe in their abilities and talents,’ she said. 

Polina Vanevskaia, a research analyst at VK, particularly focused on the excellent results of the work in a month and a half: ‘I see that the mentors have a deeper understanding of the structure and methods of UX research. We found an internship and are already preparing for the interview. It’s a very inspiring experience.’ She also expressed her hope to participate in the programme in the subsequent periods.

Until 5 February 2024, graduates at St Petersburg University can apply for the programme to take part as a mentor in the general track. On 12 February, the University starts enrolment of students for the new stream of the St Petersburg University mentoring programme.

Under the guidance of mentors, participants created individual career plans and improved the professional skills necessary to be competitive in the labour market. ‘I have already begun to implement my career plan. Thanks to my mentor, I identified my strengths and decided how I can develop them, because there is no limit to perfection. At the mentoring programme, I met students from other areas of study, learned about their projects and took part in them,’ shared Valeriia Timofeeva, a fourth-year student in law. 

Students in physics, mathematics, and computer and information sciences joined the partner track.

The partner track of the mentoring programme of St Petersburg University and Nexign to support students to build a career in the IT industry was launched in 2022.

According to Valeriia Teniaeva, Nexign’s HR Director, compared to the last year, the number of applications submitted to the project increased from 30 to 50. Yet, only 25 people became mentees. ‘We are proud of our students. Three of them have already got an opportunity to intern at the company, and two more are undergoing interviews. This is good evidence that the St Petersburg University mentoring programme is producing real results,’ she said. 

Among the mentors were representatives of Nexign top management in analytics, product development, quality control, personnel management, and internal communications. ‘As a mentor, I tried to share with students the knowledge that I lacked at their age. We particularly focused on soft skills, i.e. the skills of building competent business communication that will help you get the desired position,’ said Kseniia Kharabet, Nexign’s senior analyst.

Nexign is a Russian IT company that develops systems and solutions for telecom operators and digital transformation for business.

‘While working with a mentor, we analysed my skills, and it turned out that I already had everything I needed to start a career in IT. All I had to do was to identify a direction: development or systems analytics. We met with representatives of these areas and talked about how the work process is built in these areas. As a result, I chose analytics. By March, I will have implemented two projects to put my knowledge into practice and build a portfolio. Next, I am planning to apply for an internship at Nexign’, said Ekaterina Khludneva, a student in mathematics.