10 years of the Mentoring Scheme! And how to apply for April 2022

The launch of the Mentoring Scheme in 2019 - hopefully we'll be back in a central London venue for the launch in 2002

This year (2022) will be the 10th year of our Mentoring Scheme! The Mentoring Scheme is managed jointly by OBREMS (our alumni association) and the School of the Built Environment and is open to second year students on the BSc Real Estate and the BA Planning and Property Development as well as students on the MSc Real Estate. On Monday 31 January we will launch the OBREMS/OBU Mentoring Scheme for undergraduate students. The closing date for applications is 25 February 2022 - email rdixon@brookes.ac.uk if you would like to take part.

This year, the mentoring period for undergraduate students will start in April 2022, hopefully with a launch event in central London on the evening of either 31 March or 7 April (we'll let you know which nearer the time). The launch event will include guest speakers and a chance for you to network and finally meet your mentor. There are a wide range of mentors who volunteer to take part, from recent graduates to CEOs - and a lot of our younger mentors took part in the Mentoring Scheme themselves when they were students. All our mentors are alumni of Oxford Brookes (Real Estate or Planning and Property Development) and are also volunteers - they give their time to the Mentoring Scheme free of charge.

This year on the blog, I have collected together some feedback from students who started on the Mentoring Scheme in April 2021 to show their range of experiences so far:

The mentoring scheme has been working brilliantly. My mentor has such a wealth of experience and knowledge that I've been able to benefit from. Having a mentor supporting me has helped give advice beyond the industry at how I can improve my employability. 

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed time with my mentor. They've been really helpful teaching interview techniques and how I can further my skills in this area. I was invited to an industry open day which was very insightful and my mentor showed me around and gave me more information about the areas in which he specialises. This scheme has definitely helped me focus on areas to pursue.

I have loved being a part of the mentoring scheme. My mentor and I have facetimed a couple of times just to get to know each other better and have been emailing throughout the term and the summer. They have been very helpful on dissertation ideas and keeping me up to date with recent trends in the market that I might find interesting. 

The mentoring scheme has been great my mentor has been a big help especially in discussing questions to pose for my dissertation in the interviewing stage and pointing me in the direction of some people to talk to. 

My mentor has been a real help from working through my CV and covering letters to helping sort out work experience. We had a working lunch in London last month and it was great to meet face to face and see some sites that they were working on.

I feel the mentoring scheme has been a success so far. After making initial contact, we made a plan to do a video call every other week. While we have missed some calls for various reasons, there has still been a regular line of communication through WhatsApp. It has been great to chat with my mentor, getting their thoughts and insights into the industry as well as getting advice on plans for the future. My mentor has also been able to offer work experience in their office in London allowing me to be flexible to fit around other work experience I have organised later in the summer.

And finally, here are two of our students talking about their experience of the Mentoring Scheme in 2020 - the year mentoring moved online...

If you have any questions about the Mentoring Scheme please email: rdixon@brookes.ac.uk