Breakout Session with Mentors: IIUM Summit of Future Leaders, 2nd October 2024

 

After the leadership talk, students were split into 6 different groups, with each group being assigned with a mentor to open up a conversation with them to clarify any curiosity, tips and how we can better prepare them to enter and thrive as professionals in the real world out there, to share practical advice, as well as opening up their perspective based on our collective experience. 

In my group, I had the pleasure of engaging with Bashir, Rabiatul, Farhan, and Aqif - 3 of them engineering students, and 1 studying architecture. 

Here are some of the questions and discussion points that were brought up:

 1. Are there any projects that actually end up as failures? What happens when projects "fail"? 

 2. (After hearing one of our Technical Professionals, fellow mentor speak out about how she's currently handling ten projects) how on Earth do you handle so many projects at once? That sounds impossible! How?! 

 3. I have a problem: I'm a bit of a people pleaser - I just don't know how to say "no" because I'm always concerned about other people. How do I overcome that so I can become more assertive? 

 4. Do you really implement what you study in university? 

 5. A lot of good advice revolves on finding good company and productive friends, but some of us struggle with making friends. What should we do? 

 6. What should you do when you want to do the right thing but everybody is against you? 

 7. Tips for getting a job, finding opportunities and being noticed by employers 

 8. How do you handle work-life balance  when you have such high workloads and demanding jobs?  

 9. What do you do with staff who aren't performing or aren't fitting in with the work culture? 

10. How do you handle problematic staff and conflicts at the workplace? Especially those of us who prefer avoiding conflict

11. How important is co-curricular activities in our employability, and why do employers seek this out? Is 

12. How do we stay steadfast when we feel like giving up?  

I found this hour-long session to be very beneficial and immensely satisfying, for both the mentors and mentees. 

 1. Because many of them are still young (majority are in 1st or 2nd year of their degree), the professional world seems like such an unfamiliar, alien world. It was a real privilege to help shed some light to demistify this foreign world, and help inspire them to believe in themselves to tackle these challenges when their time comes. 

 2. Having to listen - and make us think through these thought provoking questions - keeps us sharp. Especially thinking about how many of us are still struggling with these challenges, seeking solutions, and haven't quite figured it out. 

I left the session giving a lot of thought to these questions. 

Success isn't a destination.. It's a process. A journey. 

 

Awesome session! Looking forward for similar engagements in the future!