The first Mentee sign-up period of 2024 is now closed. Mentor sign-up remains open year-round.  

The IMS Mentorship Program was created to support students and young professionals in their professional development through mentoring relationships. This program connects IMS members across experience levels with experts in the Instrumentation and Measurement field. The mentorship program aims to provide mentees with the resources, including advice, career guidance, and support, that they need to advance their careers via mentors. Whether you’re looking to break into a new field or need guidance on navigating academia or industry, this is the program for you!

Mentor applications are open year-round, while mentee applications are accepted twice per year over a two-week period. Fill out the appropriate application form below to take part in the program!

Questions? Contact us here. 

Program Details

While mentor applications are open year-round, mentee applications are open twice per year for the IMS mentorship program. During this two-week signup period, potential mentees can apply to take part in the program by filling out a short questionnaire about their interests, expectations, etc. This information will be used to match potential mentees with 3+ potential mentors which they will be able to rank. 

Based on the rankings, the mentorship program team will match mentees with a mentor. The team will provide an initial introduction and some resources related to creating effective mentor/mentee relationships.  After that, it will be up to the mentor and mentee to build the mentorship relationship through meetings, communications, etc.

Frequently ASked Questions

1. Can a professional member get mentoring?

Absolutely! Mentoring services are not limited to student members. Any IEEE IMS member can sign up as a mentee.

2. Can I be both a mentor and mentee?

Yes! You will need to sign up both as a mentor and mentee.

3. Is the mentorship program free?

Yes, the mentorship program is free and relies on mentors volunteering their time.

4. Do I need to be in the same country as my mentor/mentee?

No, you do not need to be in the same country as your mentor/mentee. In both the mentor and mentee application, we ask for location and whether or not it is important to the applicant to have their match be in a similar location, which can be a factor in scheduling meetings due to time-zone differences. This is used for matching criteria.

5. Do I need a professional social media account to join the mentorship program?

No, you do not need to have a professional social media account. However, including a link to your LinkedIn, google scholar, ResearchGate, personal website, profile on your university website, etc. in your application can help mentees get to know you better during the matching process.

6. There are several mentorship programs. What makes the IEEE IMS mentorship program different?

This mentoring program provides the opportunity to connect with professionals that are in line with your technical interests. Our mentors are spread across academia, industry, and government and many also have taken on service roles in the I&M society so they can provide advice in terms of career, technical work, and getting involved with professional organizations.

7. How many times am I expected to meet with my mentor/mentee?

This is up to you and your mentor/mentee - every mentor/mentee relationship is different, and we want you to do what works best for you! We encourage you to do a video call or phone call meeting at least once so you can get to know each other and establish your expectations for the mentoring relationship.

8. Do I need to be an IEEE IMS member to participate in the mentorship program?

Yes, you need to be an IEEE IMS member.

9. What happens when I try to apply outside the mentorship program deadline?

Mentor applications are open year-round! You can apply at any time throughout the year to be a mentor. The mentee application is only open for two weeks at a time twice a year. If you do not apply to be a mentee during one of these time frames, you will have to wait until the next application cycle opens.

10. How will I be matched to a mentor/mentee?

After mentee applications close each round, we review the applications and provide each mentee with 3-6 mentor options which they rank. We then review the rankings and make the mentor/mentee matches. The mentoring team will provide an introduction for each mentor/mentee pair.

11. What if I am not a good match with my mentor/mentee?

The program strives to find the best match for mentors/mentees. We understand that sometimes, the matches will not work. Please reach out to the program coordinators to request another match.