Lucy Mentoring has consistently increased the confidence, awareness, motivation and professional networks of women in engineering and IT

Woman presenting

Student presenting reflections on her mentoring experience at the Lucy Mentoring graduation event 2019. Credit: Baro Lee.

Highlights

After the program:

  • 86% of students could identify female role models in their field, compared to 27% before the program
  • 83% of mentors thought that their student was more motivated to pursue a career in engineering or IT after completing the program
  • 88% of mentors thought that their student's self-awareness had increased

Through my mentor’s insight on structural design in electricity transmission, I have gained a new perspective of civil engineering and am motivated to go on a civil design work placement.

Student, 2019

Confidence

Graph showing increase in confidence pre-post program

The Lucy Mentoring Program has made me more confident in my abilities, and has allowed me to further develop myself within a professional environment. The mentors and other mentees have been wonderful. It’s encouraging to see and know that women in Engineering and IT are supporting each other.

Student, 2019

Awareness

graph showing increase in awareness pre-post program

This program has helped me find which aspect of software engineering I want to focus on, which is AI and Machine Learning.

Student, 2019

Success stories

27 students in the 2018 and 2019 Lucy Mentoring Program cohorts were employed or offered further work experience by their mentor’s organisation. This is despite no expectation on mentors to offer these opportunities.

2018 Lucy Mentoring participant

  • Completed work experience at mentor’s company
  • Received help with interview skills
  • Successfully received a summer internship
  • Will continue with a part-time role while studying
  • Interested in the graduate program

2017 Lucy Mentoring participant

  • Completed Lucy Mentoring Program in 2017 with a mentor from PwC
  • Currently a Data Analytics Graduate at Commonwealth Bank and attributes receiving role to her mentoring experience

My mentee’s awareness of the industry and her place in the industry grew greatly. I managed to offer her a paid role part time within my department and she works 2 to 3 days a week. She has benefited from the hands-on work and the computer systems exposure in this role.

Mentor, 2019

Longitudinal research

The program has provided mentoring for women in engineering and IT for 15 years. A research project is underway to evaluate the impact of the Lucy Mentoring Program at UTS. The project will involve interviewing past mentors and program alumni to understand how the program has shaped their careers. The expected completion is in early 2020.