PRE-SEASON CHECKLIST
This checklist will take you through the steps to prepare for a successful season as a Technovation Mentor.
Register and Complete Mentor Onboarding
- Log in or register on our platform and complete your Mentor Profile, background check, and training.
- Complete your Mentor preferences and explore teams available to match with.
- review the Volunteer Code of Conduct to understand what is appropriate and inappropriate behaviour as a Technovation volunteer
Understand the program and timeline
- learn more about the competition submission requirements & rules
- review the suggested timeline
- Explore the Mentor resources available to you
- Join an optional Mentor Live Session to connect with the Technovation team and global volunteer community
Explore the curriculum
- review the student curriculum to gain an understanding of the content your teams have access to
- there are Mentor tips that will help you gain better context about the content and guiding questions you can use to guide your team through discussions while staying on track
- explore our curriculum planner to consider different ways your time can be planned with your team
- use the Mentor curriculum (coming in January) to help you put together the agenda for your first meeting
Find a co-Mentor
- While optional, we encourage Mentors to work with a co-Mentor during the season. Ask a colleague or friend to co-Mentor a team with you to help make the season more manageable. Try to find someone with complementary skills to you
- join our Volunteer Slack to interact with the global Mentor community and get advice on leading the program from other Mentors.
Resources Just for You
Mentors have access to a range of resources to support their experience in the program. View the available resources below:
Here you will find resources organized by each part of the season, live sessions with Technovation staff, coding resources, and more!
The ‘Getting Started’ section is a great first stop for preparing for the season.
Mentors will receive regular newsletters with:
- new and recommended resources
- upcoming event information, local stories
- deadline and milestone reminders
Be sure to add [email protected] to your safe sender list, so you never miss an email.
Instructions to add to safe sender for: Outlook | Gmail | Other
Slack is a great place to connect with our global community of Mentors and Technovation staff! You can ask questions, celebrate successes, and share best practices. You can view our full Slack guide here.
Here are the channels you’ll have access to in our Slack workspace:
- #announcements: updates from the Technovation Team for all volunteers
- #mentors: the main channel for Mentors to share questions and successes.
- #mentors-needed: the channel for Mentor – team matching! Mentors looking for a team and Ambassadors looking for Mentors can share availability and connect
Ambassadors are local volunteer program leaders who recruit and support local students & Mentors. Referred to as either a Chapter or Club Leader, depending on if the program is lead by an organization (Chapter) or an individual (Club).
This person is your go-to contact for questions about team matching and events in your area. If there is a leader in your area, you’ll see them on your platform dashboard.
If you do not have a leader local to you, you can always reach out to the Technovation Volunteer Engagement Team. (We’re here for you even if you have a local leader)
Mentors are invited to Join Technovation staff for live sessions about a variety of topics throughout the season. These sessions are a great opportunity to ask questions, learn helpful strategies for working with your team, and meet other Technovation volunteers. View the live session schedule and register below.
The Mentor curriculum is a companion tool for the student curriculum. It includes sample meeting agendas, objectives for each unit, and other helpful tools to support Mentors as they guide students through the program curriculum.
The Mentor curriculum is being updated for the 2027 season! Unit 1 will be available in December, with remaining units launching in January 2027.
Coaches are topic specialists that teams can book time a 1-hour meeting with to get answers to questions about a specific topic.
This is a great way to get support for your teams in topics outside of your expertise as a Mentor. Coaches can meet with the team(students +Mentor) or just the Mentor.
Coaches will be available for bookings starting in late January 2027.
COACHES FOR ADDED EXPERTISE
Coaches provide feedback and guidance to teams on their projects in a 1-hour session. Teams will come prepared with the question(s) they have and provide the context of their project in advance. Coaches can meet with the team(Mentor + students) or just the Mentor.
Conversations will be focused in one area of the program:
- Ideation/Brainstorming
- Coding – multiple languages available
- Artificial Intelligence
- Design
- Business
- Pitch writing
Coaching appointments are available starting in January 2027!
I still have a question
You can always reach out to Technovation’s Volunteer Engagement Team on Slack or at [email protected].
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