Harvard Business School, LSE grads to mentor 350 students

Singapore

ABOUT 350 students in Singapore - from all five polytechnics, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) - will be mentored by over 100 graduates of Harvard Business School and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The programme is an intiative by the Harvard Business School (HBS) Club of Singapore, and has benefited over a thousand students so far.

This year's cohort has swelled - from 200 last year - as internships and study-abroad programmes have been cancelled due to the pandemic, said Omar Lodhi, a HBS alumnus who founded the programme in 2015.

In a pre-recorded message screened last Saturday at the virtual launch of the programme, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said the education fraternity's single biggest achievement this year was keeping schools open despite Covid-19.

"I cannot emphasise how important this achievement is. When we say we may have a 'lost generation' due to Covid-19, we were not really referring to graduating students, but much younger students," said Mr Ong, a former education minister.

"Due to study disruptions, these students may fall out of school at a young age, or cannot catch up and therefore become disengaged. That's where the impact can be very long-term, well into adulthood, and you can lose an entire generation."

Given the pandemic, much of this year's mentorship programme will be conducted online.

Participants will meet monthly in group sessions and discuss topics such as business ethics, industry trends, career planning, and living in a cross-cultural world.

Mentees will also participate in company visits and talks, and organise a conference.

Reverse mentorship is a key premise of the programme, Mr Lodhi said. He continues to keep in touch with 28-year-old Wilson Soh, a mentee from a past cohort who now works as an associate consultant.

Mr Soh continues to seek Mr Lodhi's advice on career and industry matters, and Mr Lodhi seeks Mr Soh's perspective on business trends.

Some mentors have found the experience rewarding enough to return.

Sophie Lim, a C-suite executive in the private healthcare industry, has done so five times.

"It's rewarding to see the difference made to the students' lives. I see their thought processes develop, and I see them discover something more about themselves," she said.

"These sessions give them a chance to talk about things that they would not otherwise discuss with their family and friends."