Optimal Partners’ founder, Nuno Couto, was recently interviewed for the Navigating Change podcast to discuss his commitment to social entrepreneurship in Higher Ed and his mobile lifestyle. The show’s hosts, Pete Wright and Gail Gregory of Teibel Inc, talked with Mr. Couto about his collaboration with the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth to promote the development of mentorship programs, as well as how those programs could be developed at other universities across the United States. The discussion evolved into how the lack of student engagement and resources in Higher Ed IT could be solved by promoting student mentorship. As Couto puts it, “[mentorship] all comes down to just listening to what they want to do and helping them to achieve it, and then everything else falls into place.”
Couto focuses his passion for Higher Ed on giving back to students. On the podcast, he mentions that there are many students at lesser known universities that are in need of opportunities in their fields. He aims to give back to the Higher Ed community and give talented students a chance to work towards their goals. An example he cited on Navigating Change is when, earlier this year, he collaborated with UMass Dartmouth and a team of students to bring a Startup Weekend event to the university. This event challenged students to refine their ideas for startup companies, create a prototype of their products, and present their ideas to a panel of judges. The Startup Weekend was wildly successful, allowing him to help organize another at UMass Dartmouth in the near future. He is also organizing an event in the Azores, where he was born. Mr. Couto partially credits his past life experiences for his dedication to mentoring, as he had to overcome many obstacles to attend college.
Once the students’ needs become the focus of Higher Ed, ‘it all falls into place.’
Although Couto’s mission is to give back to Higher Ed, the question becomes, how could other institutions adopt a similar mindset to promote student engagement? His answer is simple; keep the focus on the student’s skills, aspirations, and preferences. For a mentorship program to be most successful, Mr. Couto suggests, the mentor must get to know the mentee and work to assign tasks that interest him or her, while also drawing on and cultivating his or her talents. During his time on the podcast, Couto mentioned that an important facet of student engagement is how beneficial it can be to the development of Higher Ed. An example he gave involved a smaller college from New York that was running low on resources for an IT implementation. Couto suggested that the project team work with students from the college; the team could benefit from the students’ assistance, while the students will gain the work experience they need to get a job after graduation. As he states in the interview, “[mentorship] takes care of itself, almost, because the rewards system is embedded in the process.” As the hosts noted, the only real drawback to mentorship is the time investment required to properly train students. Gregory did concede, however, that “we think we don’t have the time for it, but if you believe it, you’ll find the time for it.” Couto continued to mention that, despite the initial time investment, students can be effective team members from the start, because of how enthusiastic they are to learn. The difficulty becomes finding out how to tap into that passion and helping the student grow.
A project manager should first determine what their organization needs most, and then compare that to where their mentees’ skills lie.
Apart from his commitment to social entrepreneurship, the hosts of Navigating Change were also intrigued with (LINK-our story-bottom) Mr. Couto’s lifestyle, especially with what he calls his “mobile command center.” Couto describes how he decided to simplify his life a few years ago, which included renting out his house and purchasing an RV. He now lives and works out of his vehicle, which allows him to travel across the United States and Canada without taking time off from his job as a project manager and consultant. Couto acknowledged that his lifestyle provides him a unique perspective on his work. “Simplifying life has allowed me to think in a different way.” While not everyone is able to uproot themselves and adopt Mr. Couto’s mobile lifestyle, it goes to show how a change of perspective can help give insight on issues in Higher Ed.
Mr. Couto and Optimal Partners aim to promote the growth of Higher Education, while also giving back to university communities. Luckily, many of the problems in Higher Ed IT can be solved by actively engaging with stakeholders. Talented students can be a boon to any under-resourced project, but the project manager must focus on each student’s aptitude and interests for the process to work best for everyone. It’s only through cooperation that Higher Ed institutions can grow and prepare their students for the future.
You can find this episode of the Navigating Change podcast on Teibel Inc’s website, as well as over one hundred other episodes in the series. If you’d like to learn more about mentoring in Higher Ed IT, we discuss it further in “How To Mentor Students For It Projects.”
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