Mentorship Programs in Technology

Collaboration for the Intelligent Age: the theme of this year’s Davos summit reminds us that solving global challenges like climate change and unemployment requires everyone at the table, especially the youth.   With the world’s median age under 30, engaging the next generation in decision-making is essential. The World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Impact Report highlights over 440 youth-led projects that are focused on driving social change across key areas like education, employment, and climate.    At Capgemini, we take pride in empowering young changemakers through initiatives like the Tech4Positive Futures Challenge – Youth Voices. In its second edition, the program engaged 200+ students from underrepresented communities across the US, France, Belgium, and India. It empowers young talent to tackle biodiversity and climate adaptation by creating actionable solutions aligned with global sustainability goals, harnessing technology to address critical environmental and societal challenges.   The energy and creativity of young people show us that building a more inclusive and sustainable world is within reach.     You can read the full report here : https://lnkd.in/eKebPeh5 

👉 New Article 👉 Engaging Youth on Responsible Data Reuse: 5 Lessons Learnt from a Multi-Country Experiment (✍️ with Elena Murray and Moiz Raja Shaikh) 🤔 Young people are often required to share personal data to access vital services like mental health care, education, and social benefits — yet rarely have a say in how that data is used. Our NextGenData project — support from Fondation Botnar — set out to change that by engaging over 70 youth across 🇮🇳 India, 🇲🇩 Moldova, 🇹🇿 Tanzania, and 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan in over 1,000 hours of co-design, mentorship, and dialogue. 📚 From this global experiment, we learned 5 key lessons on how to engage youth meaningfully in shaping responsible data reuse: 1️⃣ Build data literacy alongside ecosystem readiness 2️⃣ Use real-world examples to make abstract ideas tangible 3️⃣ Ground the work in local realities and capacities 4️⃣ Design with timing, incentives, and support in mind 5️⃣ Create flexible, scalable methodologies that can be adapted and reused 🔗 Dive into the full write-up here 👉 https://lnkd.in/etfbEZ5T ➡️ These lessons are now also captured in our new Youth Engagement Toolkit for Responsible Data Reuse — a practical guide to empowering digital self-determination. Check out toolkit 👉 https://lnkd.in/eci8BM7p 🙏 Thanks 🙏 to: 🔹 dLab Tanzania Data Lab (Mahadia Tunga, PhD) 🔹 SOS Children's Villages International Kyrgyzstan (Lira Djuraeva) 🔹 The National Youth Council of Moldova - Consiliul Național al Tineretului din Moldova (Anna Kovalchuk) 🔹 Dasra India (Tanusha Barik) 🔹 Fondation Botnar (Siddhartha Jha, Ursula Jasper) #NextGenData #ResponsibleData #YouthEngagement #DataGovernance #DigitalSelfDetermination #CivicTech #DataForGood #SocialInnovation

How to get the most out of a mentorship: Most people join mentorships the wrong way. They sign up, take notes, and hope success follows. It doesn’t. Mentorship isn’t magic. It’s leverage. But leverage only works if you apply force. The mentees who win aren’t the ones who learn the most. They’re the ones who implement the fastest. This is how to actually make mentorship work for you: ✅ Consume less, execute more • Taking notes is easy. Taking action is what gets results. • Top mentees don’t just listen, they apply instantly. ✅ Ask better questions • Instead of “What should I do?” ask “Here’s what I did, how can I improve?” • This shifts your mentor from giving general advice to personalized, high-value guidance. ✅ Speed of implementation • The faster you execute, the faster you get feedback, iterate, and improve. • Speed is the difference between stagnant and exponential growth. ✅ Your goal? pass your mentor • Don’t just follow, aim to outperform them in results. • Every great mentor wants their students to exceed them. So, Mentorship only works if you do. Don’t join hoping for results. Join with the mindset to make results happen.

Don’t just ask someone to “be your mentor” — be intentional about how you work with them. Mentorship has shaped my career in big ways. One of my earliest mentors was an interim pro-vice-chancellor when I worked at a university. That relationship led to the opportunity to work in India — something I never could have planned, but which completely shifted my trajectory. I still work with mentors today, so when people approach me for mentorship, I try to help where I can. Enter Iqra Ali. She recently reached out with the perfect approach — clear, thoughtful, and showing she’s driven, passionate, approachable, and ready to put the work in. And that’s the difference. Mentorship works when the mentee drives the relationship. From both sides, here’s what I’ve seen matters most: ✅ Be clear on what you need support with ✅ Do your research before you reach out ✅ Come prepared and on time ✅ Keep your mentor updated on progress ✅ Follow up promptly — respect their time Beyond the basics, mentorship can also be strategic: ✅ Learn from people indirectly (blogs, podcasts, videos, talks) ✅ Build a network of mentors, not just one ✅ Set yourself weekly challenges to apply advice ✅ Invest in yourself — through mentors, courses, and training I truly believe mentorship can be a game-changing investment. But it does require time, and sometimes money. If you’re clear on what you want, open to feedback, and willing to put the work in, the return on this investment will continue to pay off again and again throughout your career. #mentorship

As a Principal Engineer, one of my main goals is to enable and empower other engineers. Being a Principal Engineer involves not only technical expertise but also leadership and mentorship. Here are some of the things I do to enable and empower other engineers effectively: Clear Communication and Context Sharing: - Provide thorough context when assigning tasks or explaining projects. This helps engineers understand the bigger picture and make informed decisions. - Explain the "why" behind technical decisions and architectural choices to help engineers connect the dots. Encourage Autonomy: - Give engineers the freedom to experiment and explore different solutions. This fosters creativity and innovation. - Set guidelines and expectations while allowing room for individual problem-solving approaches. Safe Environment for Failure: - Emphasize that failures are learning opportunities, not setbacks. Encourage risk-taking and experimentation. - Foster an open culture where engineers feel comfortable sharing their failures and lessons learned without fear of judgment. Mentorship and Coaching: - Offer guidance and mentorship to help engineers navigate challenges and make informed decisions. - Provide constructive feedback on their work and help them identify areas for growth. Provide Growth Opportunities: - Identify projects or tasks that align with their career goals and give them a chance to learn and stretch their skills. - Support their professional development by suggesting relevant workshops, courses, or conferences. Advocate and Support: - Stand up for "your" engineers in meetings and discussions, especially during challenging situations. - Acknowledge and highlight their accomplishments to leadership and stakeholders. Open Door Policy: - Be approachable and available for discussions, questions, and concerns. - Create an atmosphere where team members feel comfortable seeking help when needed. Lead by Example: - Demonstrate a strong work ethic, technical proficiency, and collaboration skills. - Display a positive attitude and a willingness to learn from others. Promote Knowledge Sharing: - Organize regular knowledge-sharing sessions, where engineers can present their work, share insights, and learn from each other. Celebrate Successes: - Recognize and celebrate achievements, both big and small, to boost morale and motivation. Inclusive and Diverse Environment: - Foster inclusivity and diversity within the team. Respect different perspectives and encourage open discussions. Continuous Improvement: - Regularly seek feedback from engineers on your leadership style and ways to improve the work environment. Enabling and empowering engineers is an ongoing process that requires adaptability and empathy. These strategies help me create an environment where engineers feel valued, motivated, and empowered to excel in their roles.

Being a Mentor is Not Easy As a mentor, you have a lot of responsibility, and you can create a great impact. With more power comes more responsibility. Mentees are often in a state where they fully believe in and trust you. They might follow whatever advice you give. If you're mentoring: 1) Try to clearly understand your mentee's current situation and the problems they're facing. 2) Suggest solutions based on what they have and what they lack. 3) Explain the "What," "Why," and "How" of the solution—this is very important. Empathizing with the mentee's situation is very important because not all mentees have the same skill level, resources, or experience Let me give you an example: Suppose a mentee wants to transition to Product Management. First, make sure you understand why the mentee wants to transition. Are they clear about their reasons, or are they confused? Then, assess their current experience and identify what aspects they can highlight that will help them get into Product Management. Finally, suggest how they can build the necessary skills they don't yet have and explain why those skills are important. Share a story of a mentee you've helped who was on a similar journey and successfully achieved their career goals. This can motivate and give confidence to the mentee. #mentorship #learning

They gave me a junior engineer to mentor. He was sharp. Eager. And completely terrified of being wrong. In his first month, he flagged a potential issue in a protection coordination study — but kept it to himself because he wasn't sure enough to speak up in front of senior engineers. Three weeks later, the same issue triggered a fault. When I found out he'd seen it early, I didn't reprimand him. I asked him: "What would it have taken for you to say something?" He said: "I needed to know it was okay to be wrong." That conversation changed how I mentor. Now on every project I tell the junior engineers on my team the same thing: In this field, your silence is more dangerous than your mistake. A wrong calculation can be corrected. A fault that wasn't reported cannot be undone. Saudi Electricity Company operates infrastructure that serves millions of people. At that scale, the culture we build in our teams matters as much as the technical knowledge we pass down. If you manage or mentor engineers — what's one thing you wish someone had told you about speaking up early in your career? #EngineeringLeadership #PowerSystems #SEC #SaudiElectricityCompany #Mentorship #ElectricalEngineering #GridReliability #PowerQuality

It took me 3 promotions to learn these 4 secrets of becoming a 10x SWE mentor. And another 2 years of testing them on mentees to know they get results – consistently. 1️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀. Ravenously consume knowledge from engineers ahead of you, and understand that everyone is an expert in 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. The only thing between you and their idle wisdom is the right question (this applies to LLMs too). 2️⃣ 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼. Clear writing = clear thinking. Cement key learnings by building a historical record of the challenges you face each week. 3️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Reflect on your wins and losses – what patterns emerge? Which processes could you pass down to other engineers? Distill complex topics into approachable stepping stones for your former self. Apply them to your own career and ensure they get results, then continuously improve them along the way. 4️⃣ 𝗦𝗮𝘆 “𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽” 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻. Give away all your battle-tested frameworks, and know that you don’t need to be an “expert” to share your wisdom. You just need to be a couple steps ahead of the person behind you. –––––––––––––––––––– P.S. Mentorship is the path to your own career growth too. You’re going to learn just as much through teaching as they will being your student. 😉 #softwareengineering #mentorship #leadership

Controversial opinion: Getting a mentor isn't the magic pill most people think it is. It's only the first step. Once you get a mentor, you can't expect them to transfer all their knowledge to you. There's way too much they know, and they're also usually busy. You've probably experienced exactly that--a busy mentor who barely has time to answer questions. The most common time you'll have the chance to get that knowledge transfer is your weekly or bi-weekly 1:1. But here's the mistake I made and see in others: They come unprepared to that meeting. They're expecting the mentor to drive. As amazing as that would be for you, the mentee, it just doesn't work like that. The mentor can't look into your mind. You need to come prepared to tell the mentor what you're struggling with and how they can help you. Personally, when I didn't come prepared, it'd just turn into personal life chitchat or poorly thought-out questions that'd make me look silly. So I switched to this approach: 1. Take 10 minutes in the morning to think through topics and write down an agenda 2. Share the agenda with my mentor ahead of time After switching, I asked better questions, leading to faster growth, and both of us felt like the meeting was a better use of our time. -- I share the full story, results, and a template for always having something to talk about with your mentor in the newest High Growth Engineer article. Join 75k 🎉 engineers and check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eYsQPyvY

The Three Ls of Leadership A senior leader recently asked me why our junior engineers seemed to gravitate toward me and what advice I give them that earns their loyalty. I remembered a story from my own journey. After graduating in civil engineering and finishing postgraduate studies, I assumed I was ready for the workplace. Then I met my mentor, who gave me a simple but powerful prescription: complete the three Ls to become the kind of leader who earns respect. Since then, I’ve used that framework with every graduate and young engineer I mentor. The three Ls—Learn, Listen, Lead—are implemented weekly and practiced consistently for at least two years. Together they form a practical roadmap for anyone pursuing success, especially in technical fields where growth, trust, and influence are earned, not granted. Learn: Build technical competence and curiosity. Early-career engineers should focus on mastering fundamentals, staying current with tools and methods, and cultivating a habit of continuous learning. Technical credibility opens doors and creates the foundation for confident decision-making. Why it matters: Competence earns respect. When people see you can solve problems reliably, they’ll seek you out and trust your judgment. Listen: Cultivate empathy and attention. Listening means seeking diverse perspectives, asking thoughtful questions, and understanding teammates’ concerns. When leaders listen, they build trust and uncover insights that technical knowledge alone cannot provide. Why it matters: Listening builds relationships and contextual wisdom. It signals humility and allows you to integrate practical knowledge with technical ability. Lead: Translate knowledge and empathy into action. Leading at any level means taking responsibility, communicating clearly, and empowering others. Small acts of leadership—mentoring a colleague, owning a problem, or proposing a safer solution—compound into real influence. Why it matters: Real leadership multiplies impact. A competent leader creates better engineers, stronger teams, and more reliable results. A Cautionary Note: The Illusion of Instant Leadership Unfortunately, currently many leaders pursue influence by other means— through favoritism, rapid promotion, or political maneuvering. While luck or circumstance can place someone in a role briefly, lacking the three LLLs usually leads to poor outcomes. Those approaches may yield short-term gains, but they invite disrespect from staff and ultimately lead to failure. Learn, Listen, Lead—these three LLLs form a simple but powerful progression. Competence gained through continuous learning opens doors. Humility and curiosity through listening win trust and accelerate growth. Leadership—earned, not assumed—amplifies your impact and secures lasting loyalty. Follow these steps consistently, and you’ll build both capability and respect; skip them, and any short-term gains are likely to crumble under pressure.