Abstract:

Mentoring is "the art of supporting people who want to transform dreams into goals and make the effort to achieve them". The history of the master-apprentice relationship is as old as human civilizations. The word "mentor" means "thinker" and is related to the figure of the Mentor found in Greek mythology. In modern construction companies, both classical and perceived reverse mentoring is an effective tool supporting the process of transferring knowledge and experience. Currently, because of the continuous development of modern information technologies, more and more often the older, experienced engineers need support from young staff (much more experienced in the modern ITC world).

The reversed mentor is an innovator who, unlike the typical mentor, has little work experience but is a novelty enthusiast. It could be a younger person, less experienced in a relevant industry, even than the mentee or team itself, who may bring a new perspective on the matter under consideration or the mentoring process.

The ERASMUS+ (He-Men) project titled “HEROES OF SMES: DEVELOPING UNIQUE MENTORING SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES” aims to develop digital mentoring skills of SME mentors by spreading a reverse mentoring approach. On the one hand, the He-Men project bridges generational gaps between older and younger employees in SMEs, on the other hand, it spurs innovation and new product and service ideas by more actively soliciting input and advice from younger workers in the digital transformation era.

Keywords:

Innovation, education, reverse mentoring, coaching, teaching techniques.