The role of the team mentor in the Imagine Cup is crucial.

A mentor can serve many roles including coach, guide, role model, advocate, and friend. In general, a mentor should help the students to work together efficiently as a team and act as a facilitator. A mentor can answer students' questions, discuss issues they raise, remind students of upcoming deadlines, and suggest resources for problem solving. A mentor should be a good listener and should have a breadth of experience in the area of the invitational so that he or she can effectively discuss technical issues with students and refer students to resources. However, the mentor cannot do the competitors’ work nor can the mentor solve the problems that confront the competitors.

Here are some common questions and answers about being a mentor of an Imagine Cup team.

Does every Imagine Cup invitational require a faculty mentor?

No, teams are not required to have mentors. We do strongly recommend however that teams competing in the Software Design, Game Development, Embedded Development, Mashup, Short Film, and Photo Story invitationals have mentors. A mentor can serve as a valuable resource of advice, information, and support.

In the IT Challenge and Robotics & Algorithms invitationals it is not necessary to have a mentor.

What is the mentor's role?

A mentor's most valuable roles is in bringing the team members together. A mentor may influence the general direction of a project when the mentor and students meet to discuss progress - but the mentor should not control the group. The mentor should moderate a team's discussion and clarify matters but not lead the discussion.

The mentor may put team members in touch with people that might be able to help and advise them on the project. Mentors can also help students evaluate the choices open to them, and assist in developing a timeline for achieving project goals.

The mentor can also help the team organize tasks and determine roles and responsibilities.

Sometimes problems arise within a group; progress may not be made, personal animosities develop, or a team member may fail to contribute to the team's effort. When this happens, the mentor can perform the valuable task of getting the group running efficiently again.

To summarize, the team mentor should be a kind of coach for the team, but not the team leader.

Who can be a mentor? Does a mentor have to be a school faculty member or administrator?

It is not mandatory to be a teacher/school administrator to be the mentor of a team. Anyone can be a mentor: a professor, a faculty member, a business professional, a Microsoft student intern, or a former champion or competitor. However a former Imagine Cup judge cannot serve as a mentor.

What should I look for in a mentor?

Here are a few things to consider when choosing a mentor.

• Expertise. Is the mentor experienced in the technical area you are competing in?
• Personality and style. Do you like how your mentor approaches projects? Do you get along with them and respect how they resolve interpersonal issues? Do you feel he or she will serve as an effective advocate?
• Availability. Does the mentor have enough time to meet with you regularly and respond to your questions in a timely manner?
• Location. Does your mentor live near enough to your team to provide ongoing support?

Are there any special qualifications or certifications required to be a mentor? University degree, job experience, magical powers…?

As noted above, experience is strongly recommended. A mentor with a good business vision or with great consulting or developing skills will bring the team pragmatic advices based on his feedbacks and his experience. For fairness reasons though, magical powers are not allowed!

What rules apply to mentors?

Team mentors must limit their support to general guidance and cannot contribute in any other form that might be considered original authorship or in way that would enable them to claim rights or ownership to the submitted entries. In no instance will work-on-behalf of teams or individuals be allowed. For detailed guidance on the rules for mentors, please read the Rules and Regulations, specifically the section entitled GENERAL STANDARDS FOR ENTRIES.

Is it necessary for the mentor to be in the same geographic area? Or can mentoring be done remotely by phone and the web?

The mentor is not required to be in the same geographic area as the team. However we recommend that a team mentor should reside near the team members to act as an "everyday coach".

How much time will mentoring require?

It really depends on the skills of the mentor. For a "business" mentor, a majority of the time will be spent defining the project. For a technical mentor, the design and development step will require more time. In general, a good mentor should offer between half a day and day per week to his or her team. Again, it depends on the team’s needs and the project progression.

As a student, how can you make the most of your mentor’s time?

• Ask questions. You can never ask too many questions. Take advantage of your mentor’s expertise to brainstorm your ideas and research solutions to issues.
• Be open-minded. Take advantage of the opportunity to be exposed to new ideas. Remember to share your interests with your mentors. They want to learn about you too.
• Communicate regularly with your mentors. Talk to them! E-mail them! Respond regularly to their e-mails.
• Develop a timeline and achievable goals with your mentor. Enlist your mentor’s help in meeting the deadlines of the competition.
• Thank your mentor! Don’t forget to thank your and let them know how much you appreciate their time, help, and advocacy of your Imagine Cup team.

Can a mentor offer guidance to more than one team in the same invitational?

No. It would be difficult for a mentor to offer the same support and remain impartial if both are competing in the same competition. But in some cases, mentoring two or more teams can be possible:

• If teams are competing in different categories
• For organization purposes: When several teams from the same school or university are competing (but this case should be avoided).