BMO Mentorship Program at Haskayne
Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership in Business (CCAL)
The BMO Mentorship Program at the Haskayne School of Business gives students the opportunity to connect and learn from individuals in the business community through six one-on-one meetings over the course of 8 months. These connections help bridge the gap between what students learn in the classroom and what is happening in the real world. It is an excellent chance for students to practice and build their leadership capabilities by connecting with the business community to gain applicable insight and knowledge relating to their future endeavours.
The program’s focus is leadership development and offers meaningful learning experiences to BComm (2nd year and up), MBA and Master of Management students.
Students are required to attend an orientation session in advance of program launch so that they are equipped to think about their goals and come to meetings with their mentor well prepared. Students and their mentors connect in-person, over the phone, or virtually to discuss their personal, professional and leadership goals and skills development.
As the value of mentorship grows more and more evident in today’s business environment, BMO Financial Group expressed their support of mentoring relationships, through a generous gift of $1.25 million in 2018. The program, now officially named the BMO Mentorship Program at the Haskayne School of Business, will continue to provide students the resources and opportunities needed to help facilitate personal and professional success, to help students build on the strengths they have and identify opportunities for growth. The Program continues to foster the leadership qualities needed for students to truly excel in their future career paths.
In 2020, the Program moved into its eighteenth year of operation at the Haskayne School of Business, operated by the Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership in Business. In a collaborative effort, the CCAL Operations Team, Research Team and CCAL's new fellow Dr Cari Din developed 7 micro-leadership sessions, giving mentors and mentees access to great evidence-based leadership development content to discuss and share their leadership perspectives with each other.
The program hosts events through the year offered jointly to mentors and mentees as well as events that include the greater community. A research project runs alongside the program, providing recommendations on best practices in many areas of the program.
Become a Mentee
Mentoring can be a crucial tool to help you grow as a business professional and transition from university life to the business world. A mentorship relationship provides you with an invaluable opportunity to accelerate your personal development, build new connections, and gain insight into industry and professional opportunities. Your mentor can act as sounding board, provide impartial advice, share professional and leadership experiences and help build your professional network.
Requirements
A successful mentorship relationship is dependent on the amount of time and effort that a mentor and mentee put into creating a great experience. Mentees are expected to meet with their mentors at least six times throughout an 8 month period. Mentees are the driver of the relationship; they are expected to plan and organize meeting dates with their mentors. Six meetings is only a minimum requirement; we encourage additional touch-in with your mentors.
The BMO Mentorship Program at Haskayne School of Business is open to all Haskayne undergraduate students going into at least their 2nd year of studies, all Haskayne Master of Management Students and MBA & EMBA, and all UofC Undergraduates who have been registered in the Embedded Certificate in Leadership Studies.
Mentee applications for the MBA January Cohort are open from December 2 - 23, 2022. Click on the link below to fill out the mentee application form.
Any questions? Please contact the Mentorship Program Lead at mentorship@haskayne.ucalgary.ca or call the CCAL programs office at 403.220.3508.
Become a Mentor
Students today face a changing world of work ahead of them. As they focus on their studies and completing their business degrees, it is important for them to start building connections with people from the business community who share their experiences and guide them as they launch their careers and create a name for themselves.
Becoming a mentor you are able to help students build on the strengths they have and identify opportunities for growth. The experience of mentoring a student is greatly rewarding as you get to know your mentees, help them work through difficult situations, and navigate their education and careers. By using your own experiences and industry insights to give back to students, you are helping them to gain confidence, build new connections, and learn to give back in their own way. With the new challenges and uncertainties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, mentoring relationships will be particularly important in the years ahead.
The program’s focus is leadership development and offers meaningful learning experiences to BComm (2nd year and up), MBA and Master of Management students.
As a mentor, you will help the next generation of business professionals develop their leadership skills. At the same time, you will develop your own skills to help you become a better manager and leader.
Requirements
A small time commitment from a mentor can make a big impact on students.
A successful mentorship relationship is dependent on the amount of time and effort that a mentor and mentee put into creating a great experience. Mentors are expected to meet with their mentees at least six times throughout an 8 month period. Of course this is only a minimum requirement; we encourage additional touch-in with your mentees.
We hope to partner students with professionals who can offer advice and guidance as our students prepare to transition from university to the business world. As such, mentors should hold an undergraduate degree and have been working professionally for at least five years.