While women abound among students of international relations, security, defence, development and human security, their numbers get increasingly lower in senior and decision-making positions across governments, international, and civil society organizations as well as the private sector.
“I have a mentee and a mentor. The long-term, development-driven, relation-oriented nature of these mentoring programmes are key to my career.“
Dr. Corinna Hörst, President of WIIS Brussels
WIIS Brussels’ mentoring programme is a professional development scheme aimed at women active in the field of international relations, security and defence. It offers female professionals the opportunity to develop their skills, seek advice and discuss the challenges
and opportunities they encounter and grow in their line of work with support from a seasoned professional.
OBJECTIVES
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Support women’s professional development in the field of international security and defence
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Build women’s skills and expertise to progress in their career
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Learn how to manage challenges in their work environment from senior professionals;
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Build and extend participants’ networks.
BENEFITS
Our mentees
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develop a sharper focus of what they need to grow in their field
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Receive critical feedback in key areas of interest, such as specific subject knowledge or skills such as communications, time management, or networking
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Learn from their mentor’s experience
Our mentors
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Acquire new skills
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Improve their management style
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Share their expertise and pass on knowledge to the next generation
“I feel more assertive in my professional worth, empowered as a young professional, I’m entertaining many new possibilities“ Sarah-Claude
“The programme has changed me, my mentality, my conceptions and expectations of the working world. It has made me tougher and more resilient.”
Nina
MENTORING PROGRAMME
OUR VISION
WIIS Brussels' mentoring programme is a professional development scheme targeting women active in the field of international relations, security and defence. It offers female professionals the opportunity to enhance their skills, seek advice and discuss the challenges and opportunities they encounter in their professional life and grow in their line of work with support from seasoned professionals. The group of WIIS Brussels mentors consists of officials from the EU institutions, and experts representing the private and the intergovernmental sector. The mentoring meetings serve as a vibrant platform for the knowledge and experience exchange.
“I have been a mentee and a mentor. The long-term, development-driven, relation-oriented nature of these mentoring programmes are key to my career.“
Dr. Corinna Hörst, President of WIIS Brussels
EDITIONS
1st Edition: 2016 – 2017
2nd Edition: 2017 – 2018
3rd Edition: 2018 – 2019
4th Edition: 2020 – 2021 (APPLICATIONS OPEN)
OBJECTIVES
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Support women's professional development in the field of international security and defence;
-
Enhance women's skills and expertise to progress in their career;
-
Learn how to manage challenges in the work environment from senior professionals;
-
Build and extend participants' networks.
BENEFITS
For our mentees
-
Develop a sharper focus of what they need to grow in their field;
-
Receive critical feedback in key areas of interest, such as specific subject knowledge or skills (e.g. communications, time management, or networking);
-
Learn from their mentor’s experience.
For our mentors
-
Acquire new skills;
-
Improve their management style;
-
Share their expertise and pass on knowledge to the next generation.
“The programme has changed me, my mentality, my conceptions and expectations of the working world. It has made me tougher and more resilient.”
Nina
4TH WIIS BRUSSELS MENTORING PROGRAMME EDITION
We have the pleasure to inform you that the Mentee recruitment period for WIIS Brussels next Mentoring Programme is now open!
If you wish to take part in the programme as a mentee, please fill in the application form and email it to the WIIS Brussels Mentoring Team mentoring@wiis-brussels.org before Friday, September 11.
If you are interested in joining our team of mentors, you can contact us for more information at the same email address. Information regarding the mentoring pairs and details of the first meetings will be communicated in due course. In the meantime we remain at your full disposal by email for any inquiries you might have.
TIMELINE
Deadline for mentee applications: 11 September 2020
Start of programme: October 2020
End of programme: March 2021
CONCEPT
WIIS Brussels' mentoring programme is a professional development project running since 2016, which is addressed to women active in the field of international relations, security and defence. It offers female professionals the opportunity to enhance their skills, seek advice and discuss the challenges and opportunities they encounter in their professional life and grow in their line of work with support from seasoned professionals. Our mentors hail primarily from the institutional and policy-focused environment of Brussels, featuring both long-serving civil servants, as well as experienced private-sector professionals, with a focus on security and defence topics, approached from a broad variety of angles.
The programme will run for 6 months, starting from October 2020 and until March 2021 and will be built around individual (digital) meetings between mentees and their mentors, supplemented by a set of online group meetings, digital workshops and networking sessions, which we hope will help enrich the overall experience.
This year’s programme will be atypical in that most of our activities will be organized in electronic form only, adapting to the limitations brought on by the Covid-19 epidemic. Even so, our team wants to be there for you and offer an avenue for career development and connection, at a time when many among us are experiencing new challenges and facing new sets of career-related questions.
REQUIREMENTS
All participants in the WIIS Brussels mentoring programme must be Belgian residents, as well as paying members of WIIS Brussels prior to the formal start of the programme. Membership will not only enable you to take part in the mentoring experience, but also offers access to all WIIS Brussels activities and meetings, including the enriching and diverse professional training workshops organized throughout the year. You can find out more about how to become a member HERE.
“The mentoring programme helped me confirm previous career choices and my future career path. I have learnt to appreciate what I have and where I am now.” Gosia