SAFA mentoring program

For whom?

SAFA’s mentoring program is intended for members who wish to challenge themselves, are looking for new ideas and want to know more about working as an architect in Finland.

Serving as mentors will be active architects with 5 to 40 years’ work history. A minimum requirement for the people receiving mentorship (mentees) is master-level studies in architecture.

Mentees bear the the main responsibility for setting the objectives for the mentorship and selecting the themes to be addressed. A mentoring relationship is very much based on the mentee’s wish to develop professionally and the areas that are of special interest to him or her.

The mentor’s task is to support, guide and challenge the mentee and commit to mutually agreed-upon mentoring sessions.

What is mentoring?

Fundamentally, mentoring consists of discussions between the mentor and mentee by which knowledge and expertise – especially tacit knowledge – is conveyed by the more experienced party to the less experienced one. The subjects to be addressed vary according to the mentee’s wishes and objectives.

Mentorship is based on transparency, mutual trust and equality. Typical themes include the identification of personal skills and strengths, clarification of career plans, work-life balance and entrepreneurship.

Mentoring encourages mentees to carefully consider what they actually want from their studies, work and life in general. This increases knowledge of the self the reinforces the professional identity. Informal discussions make it easier to verbalise one’s strengths and recognise areas in which improvement is called for.

Mentoring encourages mentees to aspire to their goals. Once you know what you want, it is easier to take the next step.

Mentoring helps improve thinking, empathy and inter-personal skills.

Mentoring allows mentees to meet new, interesting people and expand networks.

Mentoring serves as a source of ideas and advice that help mentees go forward.

Mentoring program 2024-2025 kicks off in October 2024

The mentoring program 2024-2025 consists of SAFA-organised online events and one-on-one meetings. The mentor-mentee pairs schedule their meetings as they see fit.

They agree on the themes that are of mutual interest and discuss them to the preferred extent. Mentoring is based on mutual trust, which is reinforced by a mentoring agreement to be made by the people selected for the programme.

Read more about the mentoring agreement:
SAFA’s mentoring agreement

Mentoring is governed by the principles applied in SAFA’s mentoring program. Read more about the principles:
SAFA mentoring principles

As part of the mentoring program, the mentors and mentees undertake to give feedback and submit ideas for developing SAFA’s mentoring activities.

The 2021-2022 mentoring program was very popular involving 25 mentor-mentee pairs.

More information about mentoring (in Finnish)

• Akava special brances:
  Mentorointiopas korkeakoulutetuille yrittäjille
• University of Helsinki / Kanniainen, Nylund ja Kupias:
  Mentoroinnin työkirja
• Metropolia University of Applied Sciences:
  Mentoriopas – opas mentorointikoordinaattoreille
• Sibelius Academy: Mentorointiopas
• Viesti Association of Communication Professionals: Mentorointiopas
• Mentee’s point of view: Ura, polut ja sivupolut -blogiteksti
• Mentor’s point of view: Uranäkymiä ja vertaistukea -blogiteksti
• Joint interview with mentor and mentee, Arkkitehtiuutiset 1/2021