Abstract:

Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) student demographics show that engineering is a male-dominated field with 60.81 % male and 39.19 % female population in Fall 2013 [1]. Over the years, there have been many developments as many female students have taken the initiative to enroll in an engineering university to follow their passion. The percentage of female students has increased to 46.31 % in the Fall 2017 semester. It can be daunting at times to enter a place where the majority is male students, which is why women have to work together and encourage each other. In the future, we hope to see engineering become a gender equal profession. To help in this initiative, a group of females has initiated a mentorship program for females at TAMUQ.

The Women Mentorship Program is a recently initiated program at TAMUQ introduced in January 2018. The program aims to support the ease of transition of recent high school female students into university and to ultimately help make their university experience more successful so they can reach a higher potential. This program will develop a partnership between female students through which a junior or senior female Aggie shares insights, knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of a recently admitted female student.

The program provides an opportunity for the mentors to reflect on and grow their leadership capabilities, as well as build professional and communication skills. It benefits the mentee by providing them with the chance to develop new skills, to have an improved understanding of how TAMUQ operates, to create greater access to new networks and contacts, and to enhance enthusiasm for work with increased confidence in one’s abilities.

The initial setup of the program is completed and the team leading the program has started to advertise. The mentor applications are opened, and the Women Mentorship Program will train the mentors by the end of the spring 2018 semester. The mentors will be ready to welcome the potential mentees (freshman) during orientation week in the Fall 2018 semester. To monitor the success of the program the mentors and mentees will be given a survey so their satisfaction levels can be recorded. With this program, we should see the population of female students increase at TAMUQ as the female students feel more welcomed.

References:
[1] “AccountabilityMeasuring the Pursuit of Excellence.” Accountability - Student Demographics, accountability.tamu.edu/All-Metrics/Mixed-Metrics/Student-Demographics.

Keywords:

Mentor, mentee, engineering, women, female, transition, buddy.