Make a lasting difference in the lives of current Imperial students by sharing your experience, insights and guidance. Through the Alumni Mentoring Scheme, you’ll help the next generation of scientists, engineers, business leaders and innovators take confident steps towards their future careers.
Why become a mentor?
As an Imperial alum, you’re uniquely placed to offer students:
- Real world perspectives on industries and career paths
- Encouragement and advice that builds confidence
- Practical insights that make the graduate job market less daunting
Many mentors tell us the experience is as rewarding for them as it is for students — from developing their own coaching skills to reconnecting with the Imperial community and gaining fresh perspectives from ambitious new talent.
How the scheme works
Students and mentors are paired by the Careers Service and are expected to have a minimum of four mentoring interactions between November and March. The scheme is designed to be flexible and mentoring interactions can be face-to-face or online (Teams/Zoom) or a mixture of both.
The scheme supports all STEM students and undergraduate Business School students, with priority given to those from underrepresented groups to help widen access and opportunity.
The impact you’ll have
With your support, Imperial students can:
- Gain clarity and confidence in their career choices
- Understand the realities of the graduate labour market
- Explore sectors of interest and industry insights
- Feel prepared for their next big step
By becoming a mentor, you’ll not only empower students to achieve their goals but also play an important role in advancing diversity, inclusion and opportunity across the Imperial community.
Registrations for the 2025/26 Alumni Mentoring scheme have now closed. Please contact mentoring@imperial.ac.uk to express your interest in future cycles or consider volunteering your time on a more light-touch ad-hoc basis via Ask an Alum.
Mentoring Scheme
Mentoring is a chance to give back to the Imperial community while gaining valuable skills and insights yourself.
As a mentor, you can:
- Share your career journey and professional expertise with motivated students
- Develop mentoring and coaching skills that strengthen your leadership and people-management toolkit
- Gain fresh perspectives from the next generation of innovators
- Experience the satisfaction of helping students grow in confidence and achieve their ambitions.
- Stay connected with Imperial and promote your sector or organisation directly to talented students.
For your organisation, mentoring can:
- Raise your organisation's profile among high-calibre Imperial students
- Showcase your industry and workplace culture
- Support diversity and inclusion by helping students from underrepresented groups access professional networks
- Strengthen your brand as an employer of choice for Imperial graduates
As a mentor, your role is to support and encourage current Imperial students as they navigate career decisions and prepare for life after university.
We are particularly seeking alumni who completed their studies at Imperial within the past 20 years, so students can benefit from up-to-date insights into entering the graduate labour market and progressing through early-to-mid career stages.
Ways you might support a mentee include:
- Building confidence and networking skills
- Providing insights into graduate career opportunities and sector trends
- Offering advice on standing out and making the most of their time at university
- Giving feedback on CVs and supporting with interview skills and preparation
- Helping them plan their next steps in their career journey
What level of commitment is expected as a mentor?
The standard commitment from a Mentor will be four points of engagement. These engagements can be a combination of in-person or online meetings lasting approximately 1 hour each. The Mentee is expected to be responsible for organising these meetings and reporting their completion of each meeting to the Careers Team via Pathways.
What support is available as a mentor?
All Mentors are provided with a 'Guide to Mentoring' covering responsibilities, expectations and practical mentoring tips. You will also be invited to an induction event with the Careers Service, providing additional training on coaching skills, goal setting, and building positive mentor/mentee relationships.
Our matching process is designed to connect students with mentors whose background and expertise align with their career interests.
Register – complete a short online form about your education, current role, and areas where you can offer support.
Profile shared – your anonymised profile is added to a secure mentor directory, available only to Imperial students. Please view the Alumni Mentor Directory Example.
Student applications – students select their top three preferred mentor profiles and explain their motivation to want to be matched to each profile.
Matching – the Careers Service reviews applications and pairs students with mentors based on the student's preferences and available mentor places. Priority is given to students from underrepresented groups if demand is high.
Getting started – if successfully matched, you’ll be invited to a short induction before connecting with your mentee(s) to begin your mentorship.
Mentor registrations open in August of each year via an online application form. If you are interested in volunteering as a mentor in the 2026/27 scheme, please email mentoring@imperial.ac.uk.
Prefer something more flexible? You can also volunteer your time and expertise through our Ask an Alum programme, which connects students to alumni for one-off career insights. Full details on how to register can be found on our Ask an Alum webpage.
If you have any questions about acting as a mentor or participating in either of the above schemes, please contact mentoring@imperial.ac.uk.
Get in touch
Mentoring Team
Careers Service
Level 5 Sherfield Building
South Kensington Campus
Imperial College London
London, SW7 2AZ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 8024
mentoring@imperial.ac.uk