Peer Mentoring

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought many vulnerable groups, including students, to the foreground. Many students in Freiburg, who relied on mini-jobs have lost their regular source of income and it has become even more difficult for them to find a full-time job after their studies. International students are facing even stronger competition and difficulties entering the job market.

The Global Shapers Freiburg Hub initiated a Peer Mentoring Program between students and alumni of the University of Freiburg aiming to allow students to leverage the experience and knowledge of their seniors who are already striving in their professional careers. The platform is envisioned to facilitate interaction between the academic and professional worlds and promotes mentorship relations between the students and the alumni who can guide them in crafting their professional profiles and documents.

A pilot project was conducted in 2021 with one of the Master programs where almost 30 students were matched with alumni mentors. The project was successful and we are happy to announce that the alumni network has decided to continue the program on its own. The big goal of the hub remains to give all students at the university the opportunity to take part in such a program and easily interact with alumni successful in their field of interest.

As part of this project, several online webinars have been organized. In the webinar on Job Search Strategies While Social Distancing a professional recruiter shared his advice on crafting the perfect CV, cover letter and managing social media profiles. Webinars were organized on other related topics as the Imposter Syndrome and Ikigai – finding purpose in your life and career.