Georgetown University Qatar launches first Tawjeeh mentorship program training session

Georgetown University Qatar announces the launch of the first mentor training session for local alumni taking part in Tawjeeh, a new mentorship program that kicked off at a networking dinner at the W hotel in Doha for more than seventy students and thirty five alumni from Georgetown. The Tawjeeh program, which is Arabic for “mentorship”, is the latest initiative of the university’s Office of Outreach and Business Development.

Career services are not a new concept for the university, which was established in Washington D.C. in 1789, and offers career guidance on both the main and Qatar campuses. But GU-Q’s unique Tawjeeh mentorship program was developed to refine the service, providing students with lifelong career advice and support through one-on-one mentoring with alumni who have received tailored mentorship training.

“The initial launch of this program back in March received a tremendous amount of interest, both from students, and volunteers wanting to take part,” said Charles Nailen, Alumni Relations Manager at Georgetown and co-organizer of the program. “Now, we’re delivering on the training modules that we promised them over the summer, which we will conduct over several sessions.”

Around 15 Georgetown graduates, from both the Washington D.C., and Education City campuses, are signed up to take the mentor training, which will take place at GU-Q and run from October 31 to November 7. During the sessions, the volunteers will be trained in fine-tuning their mentoring and coaching skills.

“At Georgetown, we take mentorship very seriously,” said Jonathan Cartmell, Executive Director of Outreach and Business Development, commenting on the level of investment the university has made in the Tawjeeh program. “ Georgetown graduates continue to find success across a broad range of career disciplines. We are proud of producing world leaders and global citizens and recognize that one of the characteristic s of successful people is a willingness to guide and support the success of others. One of our defining values is ‘women and men for others’ and Tawjeeh demonstrates in a very practical way the way in which members of the Georgetown Community continue to live the University values throughout their professional careers. This is a very special aspect of membership of the Georgetown community and I am delighted our alumni have embraced this initiative with such enthusiasm”

Outside of the Tawjeeh program, GU-Q also helps current students with a wide range of career services, such as through providing assistance with writing resumes and cover letters, job with search strategies and networking through corporate engagement opportunities.

“We have several events and workshops coming up this semester that will give our students and alumni the opportunity to brush up on some important career skills,” said Charles Nailen. “Our graduates go on to develop very successful careers in a wide variety of fields. By bringing those success stories back to campus and developing a community for life-long career support, we insure that a competitive Georgetown education and access to our staff, scholars, and facilities, continues well beyond graduation.”