Teesside double award success

The University of Teesside has scored a double success by winning two awards from the National Mentoring Consortium Ethnic Minority Undergraduate Mentoring Scheme, a programme designed to improve the education and employment prospects for ethnic minority students.

BSc (Hons) Computer Studies student Nirmala Devi Krishnaraj has spent time working with the local Inland Revenue office, under the supervision of Team Leader Deborah Rose. Both were presented with awards, Nirmala for Mentee of the Year and Deborah for Mentor of the Year, at an awards ceremony in London.

Nirmala, 38, is originally from India but has lived in Middlesbrough for 10 years with her doctor husband and two sons. She said: “I’ve always liked computers but I wanted to get real work experience here in England. I learned lots working with Deborah, and my communications skills have really improved.

“I was really happy to win the award. My husband and sons were very proud of me. I’m not sure exactly which kind of job I want to do in the future, but whatever I decide to do, I’ll be lot more confident now.”

Deborah Rose, who has worked at the Inland Revenue since 1983, said: “Working as Mentor is a brilliant development opportunity for anyone. You learn a lot about yourself and it’s very rewarding to help undergraduates develop. We focused on Nirmala’s communication skills because this was an area she felt she needed to improve on, so seeing her make an acceptance speech when she won her award was fantastic. I was delighted to see Nirmala win an award but I was shocked to win one myself. It’s a nice boost, but the real reward is seeing that Nirmala has broken down a huge communication barrier.” The National Mentoring Consortium Ethnic Minority Undergraduate Mentoring Scheme, develops high calibre ethnic minority undergraduates for successful job recruitment by providing the opportunity to learn from a Mentor in a work place environment. The Mentor meets regularly with the student Mentee to discuss issues such as interview techniques, time management, communication and career progression to increase the student’s skills, knowledge and confidence and improve their future career progression.

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