With this year quickly coming to a close, there’s no better time to give back to the institutions and individuals that you work with day to day. That might mean donating to your alma mater or reaching out to help those in the Higher Ed community, but either way you decide to make a difference, your efforts will be rewarded. In fact, you’d be surprised at just how beneficial giving back can be towards expanding your professional network.
Student Mentoring
One of the easiest and most rewarding ways to make a difference within your university is to mentor students or recent graduates.
The ultimate goal of Higher Education is to prepare students for the future and help them achieve their goals. With this in mind, one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to make a difference within your university is to mentor students or recent graduates. Professional advice on resume building or on the job search can be especially useful for students preparing for graduation or looking for their dream job out of college. Not only will your mentee learn valuable lessons from someone with first-hand experience, but you may end up meeting your next intern or junior employee. Introducing yourself to students with untapped potential can be a great boon to your professional network, especially if you take the time to help them succeed.
Startup Mentoring
While not every startup is created by university students, Higher Ed institutions offer a fertile environment for students to develop entrepreneurial pursuits. Most student-run startups have a vision for their company and the talent to bring it to fruition, but what they often need most is experience and advice. There are plenty of ways to meet entrepreneurs that could use your help: you could meet them through a student mentee, through volunteering at a startup event, or through a startup incubator to name a few. If there aren’t any entrepreneurial events in your area, consider working with your university to host your own Startup Weekend. We have been lucky enough to sponsor and help organize three Startup Weekends at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and plan to continue to work with them in the future. Your knowledge and expertise could be valuable assets to student-run startups, but you will also benefit greatly. The entrepreneurial community is full of talented and driven individuals with innovative ideas and a passion for what they do. Who’s to say you won’t meet the next Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk?
Knowledge Sharing
There are a variety of ways to share your advice and experience, each with varying levels of commitment.
Giving back to the Higher Ed community isn’t only about students; other IT professionals in the field could also use your help. Thankfully, there are a variety of ways to share your advice and experience, each with varying levels of commitment. If you want to start small, LinkedIn, Twitter, and, to a lesser extent, Facebook all offer convenient opportunities to share your ideas and advice with other IT professionals. Online publications, like Educause and Inside Higher Ed, are often looking for experts to speak on current trends or emerging technologies. Many websites (our blog included) are looking for guest writers to write about their successes in Higher Ed IT. If you’re feeling inspired, you could also start your own blog to share your project experiences and guidance for others. No matter which way you decide to share your expertise, you’re bound to meet other IT professionals and expand your network.
If you’re interested in pursuing any of the aforementioned ways to give back to the Higher Ed community, we offer many channels to help get you started. We’re always looking for Higher Ed IT professionals to guest write on our blog or join our Consultants & Peers network. You can also join our Higher Ed IT Professionals Meetup group or our Students & Recent Grads Mentoring Network group on LinkedIn.
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