Women in Technology

Throughout the course of our careers it is important to share and receive the support we need to continuously grow in pursuit of our personal and professional goals.

The WiT Mentoring Program is a 12 week program designed to create an inclusive and supportive environment for career development within an evolving network of women in technology.

The WiT Mentoring Program provides a platform for both mentees and mentors to engage with one another and the broader mentoring cohort to gain real-life insights and experiential learnings.

The program cultivates what we call a ‘community of practice’ by facilitating offline and online connection for mentees to explore their focus and direction with their mentors. This is a dynamic journey anchored to a selection of curated topics relevant to the growth-seeking professional. These topics are supported by human-centred tools and content drawn from global best practice and emerging thought leadership, inspiring and mobilising mentees to focus on areas of improvement with their mentor. Whether you are great at talking but struggle with strategic conversations, or are a quiet, reserved individual who is trying to navigate a career change, the program is designed to help you identify the challenges, opportunities, and motivations that are unique to you. Paired with a mentor that is best suited to journey alongside you, this program offers an opportunity to find clarity and pay attention to the things that matter to you, all the while building life-long connections.

Participation in this program is open to both mentees and mentors. If you’re in need of guidance or support navigating your career, we encourage you to apply as a mentee. And, if you’re ready to pay your knowledge and experience forward, we highly encourage you to join us as a mentor.

Facilitators

Our WiT Mentoring Program is delivered in partnership with Business Models Inc. is an international strategy and business design agency that helps organisations around the world design their future. The Program is facilitated by:

WiT Mentoring Program

Unlock, create and capture value and apply it to your life and career

This program is proudly sponsored by:

If you would like to receive information on becoming a Mentor please email us at secretariat@wit.org.au.

Michael Eales, Partner & Strategy Designer - Michael is an experienced strategy designer with 15+ years experience applying strategic foresight and business model design at the front end of complex innovation projects. Michael draws on a background in economics, information technology, banking, investment and insurance services. As a strategy designer and Stanford Certified Project Manager, his interests in design & systems thinking have been applied to complex client projects in public policy, financial services, legal services, consumer goods, media, tourism, telecom, manufacturing, healthcare & education. He regularly works with venture-backed startups through leading accelerators and incubators. Michael is a regular keynote speaker on potential futures & has facilitated workshops & judged competitions at a number of institutions & organisations.

Grace Ryall, Strategy Designer - Grace shapes strategic pathways and uses a distinct multidisciplinary approach to create meaningful solutions to complex problems. Her interest in emerging markets leads her to be deeply curious about the shifts and drivers that are changing human behaviours and expectations in the world today. Focusing on the human at the centre, Grace enjoys exploring where technology is pushing boundaries, sparking new abilities, opportunities, issues and challenges that are shaping the next decade of innovation. With a background in Media and Communications, Grace explores her love for strategic storytelling by facilitating shared learning experiences including facilitation, workshops and events. Grace co-authored the program design of the Myriad Festival in Brisbane, which hosted over 2,000 attendees in 2018. As a Strategy Designer Grace works with clients to help them better understand their customers and strategy for delivering value.

Program Outline

Week 1 kicks-off the 12 week program with two separate half-day workshops, mentees and mentors to establish expectations and the role they play in the program. While mentees uncover what they wish to get out of the program, their visions and aspirations, mentors will work through their roles and responsibilities and be guided through listening and questioning techniques that are crucial to being a stellar mentor. Both groups will be guided through BMI's Cover Story Canvas to understanding what they are hoping to get out of the program and find clarity in their thinking. During this time, our facilitators will be observing and pairing mentors and mentees to be announced a few days post workshops based on the online questionnaire completed at the registration of the program.

Weeks 2–12 is where the fun begins. At the start of each week, you will be supplied with the topic of the week via the WiT Mentoring Program community Slack Channel, where you will find information, resources, and tasks to take to your one-on-one sessions with your mentor. Here you can chat with others about the events you have attended, people you have met, content for the week, or really anything that you think others would find interesting. In your mentoring sessions you may choose to focus on the theme for that week, or perhaps something hyper-relevant that has come up at work that you want to address. Either way, this program is incredibly flexible and is designed so that you gain the most out of it, no matter what stage of career you’re in. Half way through this program, we will all gather for a mid-way coffee check in with the cohort to share our experiences so far, as well as provide guidance, feedback and support to everyone involved. And then, before you know it, it’s Week 12 and we close with a collective breakfast to celebrate our successes and debrief on the entire experience.

Sound like a plan? Keen to Join us on this journey?

Our 2020 Program dates will be released very soon. Subscribe to Women in Technology to ensure you don't miss out on updates.