Participation requirements
The program is offered as a benefit to membership. That means there is no fee to participate. However, you must be a member, at any level, by the date of the kick-off event. The program is focused on career and skill development for practicing professionals, design educators, and graduate students. Current undergraduate students are not eligible to participate.

The program experience
If you participate in the program, here's the experience you should expect:
1. You learn about the Mentor Mashup program and you think it could help you achieve some personal goals.

2. The application period opens and you go to the AIGA Pittsburgh website to apply. You take about 15 minutes to answer a few questions about what you want to get out of participating in the program and how you might benefit others who participate.

3. You prioritize threes types of mentorship based on what you want to focus on for the session:
Career guidance
A discussion-based partnership in which a seasoned professional advises an emerging designer and helps him or her navigate the profession and make career decisions.

Skill development
A teaching/learning partnership in which a professional provides instruction to another professional looking to gain knowledge and proficiency in a specific area of expertise—hard skill or soft skill.

Experience driven
A project-based partnership in which designers work together towards a common goal and learn from each other in the process

4. (A) You receive an invitation to attend the Mentor Mashup kick-off event.
(B) You are notified that there isn’t another application that aligns with your responses. Your application is held for a future Mentor Mashup session.

5. You attend the kick-off event and meet your Mashup partner(s). You have one to five partners in your Mashup. Together, you create a pact that outlines what you’ll do and how you’ll communicate with each other during the session.

6. You and your partner(s) carry out the pact you made over 10 weeks.

7. During the session, your Mashup Advisor, an AIGA board member who you met at the kick-off event, reaches out to you to see how it’s going and find out if there’s anything he or she can do to help make your partnership successful.

8. You invite colleagues and friends to the Mentor Mashup wrap-up party to learn about the program and what you’ve achieved by participating in it.

9. You and your partner(s) take the stage at the wrap-up party for 5 minutes to talk about your experience together, share a project you completed, or facilitate a quick activity. You hear from other program participants about their experience during the session.

10. You complete a Mentor Mashup session and you recognize some personal growth! You and your partner(s) decide whether to continue your relationship beyond the program.

Questions
Please direct any questions about the Mentor Mashup program to mentoring@pittsburgh.aiga.org.

Join AIGA before you register!
AIGA members save on registration rates and enjoy the benefits of membership all year.