Mentoring programs_ how to overcome key challenges

Abstract

iT presents the AGH University of Krakow’s mentoring program and the challenges encountered during its first two editions. The university—Poland’s second‑largest technical institution—has strong ties with senior alumni but lacked initiatives for mid‑career graduates willing to mentor. The document outlines key obstacles: students misunderstanding the mentoring purpose, mentor applicants with unsuitable motivations, difficulties in matching pairs, and mentors feeling overly responsible for mentees. Solutions included educational materials to clarify expectations, screening for “red flag” mentor attitudes, implementing a mutual‑selection and automated pairing system, and providing training to define appropriate mentor–mentee boundaries.