Mentors and Mentees meet to grow together
Duration: 2024-2025
Scientific Coordinator: Arianna Montorsi
Project Type: External funded project
PoliTO Role: Project Coordinator
The project, developed within the association TOxD – Turin City for Women, aims to promote the presence of women in professional and entrepreneurial fields through meetings and exchanges between young women and experts in strategic areas of the Turin economy. Among the partners, the Politecnico di Torino was engaged, particularly with several DiSAT faculty members who promptly offered their availability.
The initiative – conducted in collaboration with the departments of Welfare, Rights and Equal Opportunities, Labor and Productive Activities, and Educational Policies, Youth and Suburbs of the City of Turin – aims to establish and develop a female network based on relationships between women with significant professional and entrepreneurial experience in different fields (Mentors) and young women seeking support in their professional growth and self-affirmation journey (Mentees).
The DiSAT team includes Debora Fino, Director of the Department, Silvia Bodoardo, Valentina Cauda, Serena Esposito, Simelys Hernandez, Arianna Montorsi, Silvia Spriano. From May 2024 to the end of March 2025, at least three one-to-one meetings have been scheduled, either in person or remotely, between Mentors and Mentees, planned according to their needs. Thanks to the Lifeede MultiMe® Finder self-assessment platform and with personalized reports, mentors and mentees continuously monitor progress. Meetings have focused, each time, on mutual knowledge, goal setting, action plan definition, and monitoring.
Selected Italian and foreign mentees, aged between 18 and 30, residing in the City of Turin, within its metropolitan area, or domiciled here for study or work reasons, could expose their concrete issues regarding career orientation and job opportunities, difficulties in continuing studies, need of support in identifying motivating thesis or internship proposals with growth prospects, to their Mentors.
Feedback has been positive for both parties: enriching and stimulating interactions with the hope of facilitating professional growth and valuing female skills and knowledge, also paying attention to a target group in socio-economic disadvantage.
Mentoring as a methodology is a consolidated practice in corporate and associative contexts, mainly used to support personnel integration and growth. The innovation of this experience lies in addressing a public and civic domain, allowing young mentees to make informed choices before entering a specific work environment. This perspective has proven very interesting, giving the project good vibrancy and flexibility to meet the needs of the stakeholders.
Involved Structure
- DISAT, Department of Applied Science and Technology
Partners
- TOxD Association
- Supported by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo
- Contributed by Chamber of Commerce of Turin – Industry, Crafts, and Agriculture
- Patronage:
- City of Turin,
- University of Turin,
- Turin Industrial Union,
- Confartigianato Turin - Association of Artisans and Small Businesses,
- APID Turin - Women Entrepreneurship,
- CNA Turin,
- DAP - Piedmont Aerospace District,
- Order of Psychologists of Piedmont,
- CUG - University of Turin, AIDIA Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects Turin,
- OMCeO Provincial Order of Medical and Dental Surgeons Turin,
- For Just Forum
Location
- Turin (TO)
Project Team
- Arianna Montorsi (DISAT), Associate Professor and Scientific Supervisor
- Debora Fino (DISAT), Full Professor and Department Director
- Silvia Bodoardo (DISAT), Full Professor
- Valentina Cauda (DISAT), Full Professor
- Serena Esposito (DISAT), Associate Professor
- Simelys Hernandez (DISAT), Associate Professor
- Silvia Spriano (DISAT), Associate Professor
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
5. Gender equality
10. Reduced inequalities