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Students and staff of the ChallengeEU Alliance have a unique opportunity to take part in an inclusive and international mentoring initiative implemented across all nine universities forming the ChallengeEU Alliance. The ChallengeEU Mentoring Programme is designed to support students through guidance from European professionals, boost their self-confidence and skills, and help them define their career paths — all within a mentoring framework rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Its coordination is led by the WP5 team at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Personal Growth in an International Setting Recruitment takes place online via a registration form available on the ChallengeEU Alliance website and will remain open until 15 December. All students enrolled at Alliance partner universities are eligible >>> to apply as mentees. Mentors may include university staff as well as professionals from outside academia (business, NGOs or public institutions). Their applications are also collected via a >>> dedicated form. “The programme is particularly aimed at individuals from underrepresented groups,” explains Prof. UWM, dr hab. Katarzyna Ćwirynkało, who serves as the ODEI (Openness, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Officer within the ChallengeEU Alliance. “This includes, for example, persons with disabilities or those identifying as members of ethnic minorities — they will be given priority when it comes to mentor selection. That said, the programme is open to everyone, and we warmly encourage all interested participants to apply. An additional benefit is the opportunity to improve language skills,” adds Prof. Ćwirynkało. Through participation in the programme, mentees will be able to build self-confidence, clarify their career directions and make informed decisions about next steps, enhance their personal and intercultural competencies, receive tailored support, and become part of the international ChallengeEU community. Mentors, too, stand to gain from participation. Benefits include strengthening mentoring and communication skills in intercultural contexts, supporting the development of students and future talents, building professional networks with colleagues from other Alliance institutions, and increasing personal visibility through engagement in ChallengeEU activities. “The idea behind mentoring programmes is to learn from more experienced individuals across various fields and areas of life, as mentors may come from academia, civil society organisations, or the business sector,” emphasises Dr Monika Ryndzionek from UWM, an ODEI expert within the ChallengeEU Alliance. “At the same time, it is worth remembering that mentors also grow through this process, particularly by sharing their experience and expertise,” she adds. ChallengeEU Mentoring Programme Structure The first edition of the ChallengeEU mentoring programme will last approximately six months. It will include at least five mentor–mentee meetings, primarily held online (with optional meetings on university campuses). Upon completion of the programme, both mentors and mentees will receive certificates of participation. In addition to mentoring meetings, participants will take part in training sessions, workshops, and guest lectures delivered by external speakers. A kick-off meeting inaugurating the programme is also planned. Two further editions of the ChallengeEU mentoring programme are scheduled for the future. One European Campus The ChallengeEU Alliance brings together nine higher education institutions: Hochschule Offenburg (Germany, project coordinator), South East European University (North Macedonia), ECAM LaSalle (France), Mid Sweden University (Sweden), Universidade Europeia (Portugal), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (Latvia), Universidad Europea de Valencia (Spain), University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland), and Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW (Switzerland, associated partner). The initiative was established under the European Universities programme and is funded by the European Commission. Cooperation within the Alliance focuses, among other areas, on increasing mobility within academic communities and implementing a new model of knowledge transfer that strengthens partnerships between academia and stakeholders from diverse sectors. ChallengeEU also prioritises the promotion of inclusive education and the advancement of innovation. The overarching idea behind ChallengeEU is reflected in the project’s full name:ChallengeEU — Cultivating Holistic SustAinable CoLLaborations: ENGaging Excellence in European Universities. Photo: Freepik.com