Lucy Mentoring Launch 2013

On 15 May the Lucy Mentoring Program Launch for 2013 was hosted by Westpac at their offices in Sydney CBD.  The night was an opportunity for student mentees and mentors to meet for the first time and network.  The Program this year has seen a record 48 female Engineering and IT students paired with professional women from over 18 different organisations within the public and private sector. The participating organisations this year include AECOM, Alcatel-Lucent, Avanade, Cisco, Commonwealth Bank, IBM, Mi9, NAB, Nexus Point Solutions, OzForex, PM-Partners, Railcorp, Reserve Bank of Australia, SMEC Australia, Stonebridge Systems, Suncorp, Thiess, UTS and Westpac. 

The night kicked off with Program Director - Women in Engineering and IT,  Bronwyn Holland providing an official welcome to all guests and providing a brief overview of the Lucy Mentoring Program since its inception at UTS in 2010. 

Guests then heard from two inspiring speakers including Tina Conlon, Chief Information Officer, Product & Enterprise Services at Westpac who has over 25 years experience across IT and financial services. Her current responsibilities include enterprise wide technology solutions such as Cards & Domestic payments, Core systems and Corporate systems. Tina outlined her career path which lead to her current role at Westpac. She also provided key career advice and encouraged students to always challenge themselves and to never be complacent.

The second guest speaker for the evening was Emilie Ho, a recent IT graduate from UTS in 2011 and current Westpac Technology Analyst. Emilie self-reflected on her own career path including the transition from high school, selecting IT as her chosen profession and finally to her experience of working at Westpac in her current role.

The night was very enjoyable with students and professionals swapping details before embarking on their five-month mentoring journey between May and October 2013. UTS is very thankful for all involved in the Program and we look forward to further collaborations. 

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Lucy Mentoring Program Launch

The 2012 Lucy Mentoring Program was launched on the evening of Wednesday 23 May, and was kindly hosted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia at their Darling Park offices. 

Empowerment, support and development were the themes of the Lucy Mentoring Program Launch, an industry event launching a four-month-long partnership of creativity and professional development between current female Engineering and IT students, and females in senior management and technical roles from some of Australia’s largest organisations.

The Program Launch saw a record forty four students matched with mentors from twenty four private and public organisations, including Accenture, Alcatel-Lucent, Attache-Software, Boomworks, C Smart Technologies, Deloitte, IBM, Qantas, Unilever, Woolworths, Construction Assignments, Hurstville Council, Coca Cola Amatil, Arup, John Holland, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Roads and Maritime Services, Railcorp, Siemens, Ausgrid, Hi Fraser and event host Commonwealth Bank. With an excitement akin to starting a new role or walking into their first ever university lecture, students were matched with senior professional women who will mentor them throughout the program and share their insights, life experience and expertise. 

Students were treated to an official welcome by Executive General Manager Steve McGregor, a self-confessed “Male Champion of Change” from Wealth Management IT at CBA. His welcome extended to the students chosen for the program as well as the mentors who volunteered to take part, thanking all responsible for the Lucy Program at UTS. His final words to the students, “Accept this invitation presented to you tonight – you are the generation of female talent we are proud to encourage, support and develop.”

There was a line-up of inspiring female speakers from a range of academic and corporate backgrounds. Nur Oyman, General Manager of CBA, spoke about the importance of mentoring in her career. Her golden advice to the mentees was to “be present, and have presence”, drawing on her experience of how confidence is a woman’s secret weapon in the corporate world. PhD Graduate, Minoo Masihpour, echoed the same tune. With a background in research in wireless communication networks, her academic studies gave her the confidence “never to surrender”.

The Lucy Mentoring Program is an innovative leadership program with the aim to inspire, motivate and educate young females about the opportunities available in senior corporate and public sector roles. Both mentors and mentees benefit from the mutually beneficial relationship, with Sabina Bhuiyan, Test Manager at IBM, calling it a “win-win” situation. 

Her mentee, Michelle Whye, a 4^th year Bachelor of Science in IT student, could not agree more. “I feel very privileged to be participating in the Lucy Mentoring Program. It is very encouraging to have contact with women in senior engineering and IT positions because they inspire us students to join these non-traditional female fields with confidence.”

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