On the evening of Friday 18 October, ETH Zürich was the location for SEET’s ‘Reflections’ workshop, as a significant milestone in this year’s program was celebrated.
Each year, SEET supports a group of women – and for the first time this year, men too – to access educational courses, alongside professional mentoring, networking events, career workshops and finances.
In 2024, 32 participants in the mentoring program – a 78% increase on 2023 – have been matched with a mentor to help them navigate the complex Swiss education system pathways.
Incredibly, the current cohort of participants have already reached the halfway stage of the program, and there was a palpable sense of positive energy in the room as they came together to share their experiences and to reflect on the first six months of their relationships together.
After a healthy 45 minutes of discussions between mentee-mentor couples, the auditorium saw everyone regroup and invited to share their highlights, as well as constructive feedback on how the SEET team can continue to evolve the program.
SEET’s Julia Ahlberg who moderated the event, outlined the conditions for mentees extending their participation for an additional twelve months, dependent on their current education status. Mentees and mentors were also offered the opportunity to prolong their relationship together, should they both agree. News that was greeted very positively by the mentees in particular.
Before the participants gathered to exchange experiences further over an Apero in the ETH’s labyrinth-like basement, the mentees were invited to participate in an interactive feedback round.
One of the questions posed was: What has surprised you, and what has made you think? One answer that came back perfectly endorsed the SEET team’s objective to ensure all mentees are supported in their successful integration into Swiss society. The mentee simply wrote in response: “How well one can connect to someone who was matched (to me) blindly.”
We’d like to thank everyone who joined us, providing invaluable inputs and feedback, some of whom travelled more than two hours by train. A big thank you also to the ETH, and the people behind the scenes, who contributed to a warm-spirited, highly productive evening.
The 2024-25 program cycle is due to conclude towards the end of February 2025. If you are interested in becoming a mentor in the future, are interested in supporting SEET as a partner,or would like to learn more about SEET’s activities, please sign up for our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.