Speed mentoring at speed!
Text by: Chris
On Friday 23 February we kicked off the second edition of the HK Libraries Connect Mentoring Program. Held in the Multipurpose Room of HKBU Library, the event saw prospective mentors and mentees come together for some speed mentoring.
Similar to our first-ever mentoring event, our goal was to let everyone get to know each other in an informal environment without the pressure of a long-term commitment. The idea is simple. Every mentor and mentee has a brief conversation. These interactions are strictly timed, and when each round is over the mentees have to move on to the next mentor.
We were thrilled to have seven prospective mentees attend - these included current library science students as well as early-career professionals. Including the HKLC coordinators, there were 8 mentors, which meant the event was almost perfectly balanced (every mentor got to have a break!)
The most common bit of feedback from the last speed mentoring event was that the time allocated for each round (three minutes) was not enough. This time we extended the length of each round to five minutes, but it still felt too short! It was clear that everyone, mentors and mentees alike, had a lot to say and share with each other.
Special thanks to Angela Wong for her help with timekeeping and photography!
Coming up next
Our next step is to make the pairings based on the information gathered from participants. We’re looking forward to the mentoring program events, including the Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon and a visit to the Data Studio @ Hong Kong Science Park.
You don’t have to be a mentoring program participant to come along to these events. Contact us if you are interested!
