ISEE Mentor Workshop

Preparing mentors to design and facilitate productive projects in the STEM workplace

The annual Mentor Workshop integrates nearly two decades of internship program experience into a unique workshop for engineers, technologists, and scientists who will soon provide a summer project to college students.

The workshop is 1.5 days, and typically includes 25-30 mentors from Hawai’i telescopes and tech industry. Before the workshop participants read articles that give them insight into research that relates to diversity and inclusion, ownership, and how in-the-moment interactions with the student have an impact on their overall experience. At the workshop, they discuss what they’ve read with instructors and other participants, and apply it to the project they have in mind for their student intern. By the end of the workshop participants develop a mentor plan that:

• Outlines a student project that is valuable to the mentor and educational for the student
• Teaches students critical thinking skills and processes that are valued in the workplace
• Fosters student ownership over the project and promoting self-initiative
• Supports student in developing an identity as a scientist/engineer
• Includes explicit strategies on giving effective feedback to the student

Many participants return and participate in the workshop, creating an enduring community of mentors on Hawai’i Island and Maui where many of the world’s premier telescopes are located.

Participating mentors and organizations

Currently, this workshop is offered in Hawai’i each May, with funding from the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory and the National Science Foundation (AST#163290 and AST#1743117).