Become an Enterprise Co-op Mentor
The Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) program welcomes talented and experienced entrepreneurs and professionals to mentor our students .
Each term we accept 20 students with unique businesses across all industries, at all stages, who will need support and guidance in various areas.
The E Co-op program is a learning process for students as they launch their business. As a part of the learning process, mentors allow the student the scope to make all final decisions and to retain full responsibility for any, and all, business plans and actions related to their venture. As a mentor, you will act primarily as a “sounding board” for their business decisions. Mentors do not engage in managing the venture for the student, and refrain from giving specific directions pertaining to the activities of their company.
If you would like to become involved as a mentor we have two opportunities:
Full Co-op Term Mentor
As a full co-op term mentor you will provide on-going mentoring during the students’ co-op term as they develop their business. You will be asked to meet with the student a minimum of once a month for 2 hours to go through any questions, discuss the student’s monthly progress and provide guidance which is relevant. Each mentor is asked to complete an evaluation report at the end of the term, which will be part of their permanent academic record.
Specific Need Mentor
As a specific need mentor you will be introduced to students who are in need of specific advice and guidance relevant to their business. The time and need will vary with each Co-op term and the individual businesses and their stage within the program.
All mentors will be asked to sign a Mentor Agreement which is counter signed by the student. The mentor agreement protects you as mentor, your mentee, and the University from liability and outlines the scope of the mentoring process.
CO-OP TERMS AND IMPORTANT DATES
- Winter Term – January 2 to April 30 (Evaluations – May 1)
- Spring Term – May 1 to August 31 (Evaluations – Aug 3)
- Fall Term – September 1 to December 31 (Evaluations – Jan 5 )
Interested in mentoring?
Please send an email to ecoop@uwaterloo.ca and include the following information:
- Full Term Mentoring or Specific Needs Mentoring
- What industries/services do you have experience in which can be offered to students?
- Where are you located? Our students are not expected to stay in the Waterloo region, however they are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the ecosystem we have in place here.
- Please include a link to your LinkedIn profile
The E Co-op coordinator will set up a time to meet with you, answer any questions, and get the ball rolling for you to help our future business leaders.
