Welcome to the Technovation Volunteer Management Module!
In this module you will become familiar with the diverse roles within the Technovation program and gain insights into how you can effectively support your staff and volunteers.
Use the menu below to jump quickly to a specific role:
Mentors
Coaches
Student Ambassadors
Judges
In 2025, our global network of volunteers helped bring Technovation to life. Here’s how they supported student teams at every step:
volunteers with wide-ranging skills served as mentors
volunteer hours were dedicated by judges in evaluating projects
Student Ambassadors inspired participation in their regions
Volunteer Roles
Technovation volunteers support girls as they grow into tech creators and problem solvers, offering guidance from ideation to final pitches. Whether mentoring a team, sharing expert advice, or reviewing submissions, there’s a role for every skill set.
Below is a brief overview of each volunteer role:
👨🏫
Mentors
Coaches
Topic specialists from Technovation’s corporate partners who support teams through 1-hour coaching sessions throughout the season.
Student Ambassadors
Judges
All Chapter Ambassadors will recruit and support Mentors. Their involvement with other volunteer roles (Coaches, Student Ambassadors, Judges) may vary depending on their region and program structure.
The table below outlines the main aspects of each Technovation volunteer role.
|
Role
|
Time Commitment
|
Training Required?
|
Main Responsibilities
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mentor
|
1–3 hrs/week *
|
|
Long-term team support
|
|
Coach
|
1hr/session
|
|
One-time topical help
|
|
Student Ambassador
|
Flexible
|
|
Peer support & outreach
|
|
Judge
|
3–5+ hrs
|
|
Submission scoring & feedback
|
MENTORS
The Role Of Mentors
Mentors can be industry professionals, educators, staff, postsecondary faculty and students, Technovation Alumnae, or parents. Here are some of the key roles of mentors:
- Mentors work directly with students to support teams as they learn about coding, AI, and real-world problem-solving
- Mentors guide students through the curriculum, champion their ideas and connect them with resources
- Our research shows that one of the top skills mentors bring with them to help students successfully finish their projects is project management support.
- There are no technical skills required just a willingness to learn with their team
❝ One of the things I appreciate the most is that being a Mentor in this program constantly pushes me to learn. In order to guide and assist the girls, I’ve had to acquire new knowledge and skills, ranging from technical tools to problem-solving methods.
Technovation Mentor
2024 Season
Mentor Training
We offer training to introduce mentors to their role, provide guidance on how to support students effectively, and walk through the program’s structure and expectations.
Online Training
All mentors are required to complete Technovation’s web-based mentor training, available through our official website and accessible through the Mentor dashboard. This ensures that every volunteer is aligned with our mission and has the tools to support students effectively.
Local Training
We encourage Chapter Ambassadors to host local mentor training sessions to build community and provide regional context.
You can:
Use Technovation’s online mentor modules as part of your local training
Adapt session content to highlight your local schedule, logistics, or student needs
Please Note: We are unable to share the mentor training in other format such as downloadable slides. All training content is hosted online.
How to Support Mentors
Emphasize available resources
Technovation HQ sends regular updates via email & Slack + opportunities to attend live sessions on different topics throughout the season. These resources are open to all mentors.
Encourage co-mentoring
Build community
Communication methods
Share information proactively
Mentor Resources
The Mentor Resource Page offers a wide range of materials designed to help mentors feel confident and supported throughout the season. These tools provide guidance on using the curriculum, working with students, and staying connected.
Encourage your mentors to explore the following key resources:
- Pre-Season Checklist – A helpful tool that Mentors can use to prepare for the season
- Student Curriculum – The content that students will use to brainstorm a problem and build a tech solution
- Curriculum Slides – Slides mentors can use to walk their teams through lessons and activities
- Mentor Curriculum Guide – A companion to the Student Curriculum that helps Mentors successfully facilitate and plan team meetings
- Pre-Built Meeting Agendas – Ready-to-use agendas for Mentors
- Mentor Newsletter – Sent every three weeks with new resources, live session invites, and important updates. (Ambassadors can sign up to receive the Mentor Newsletter [here].)
COACHES
The Role Of Coaches
Coaches are topic specialists who volunteer through Technovation’s corporate partners. Teams can book 1-hour sessions with Coaches to get support on specific topics. All teams may book multiple sessions throughout the season on the following:
- Ideation
-
Coding - for the following supported platforms/languages:
- MIT App Inventor
- Thunkable
- Scratch
- Python
- Artificial Intelligence
- Business
- Pitching
📧 Keep an eye on your email to know when coaching will open this season!
How Coaches Support Teams
Coaching provides technical and industry-specific help for teams
Teams might ask coaches about:
- Choosing an idea
- Finding databases & training AI models
- Finding errors in their code (aka "debugging")
- Calculating business revenue
- Feedback on completed parts of their project
STUDENT AMBASSADORS
NOTE: The Student Ambassador Program is undergoing some adaptations this season. Please look out for an email in the coming weeks describing the new structure and expectations
The Role Of Student Ambassadors
Student Ambassadors are selected Technovation Alumnae who have completed at least one full season of the program and are between the ages of 13 and 18.
Student Ambassadors help run Technovation by supporting their peers to participate in the program. The goal of this experience is to build their leadership abilities and cultivate technical, business, and creative problem solving skills.
- Recruit participants
- Help girls to get started
- Engage and support students
- Support their Chapter Ambassador, IF there is one in their region
❝ Being from an underserved community, I wanted to bring more opportunities for girls to my hometown. I am able to do that as a student ambassador.
Past Student Ambassador
Uzbekistan
Supporting Student Ambassadors
Technovation HQ will introduce Student and Chapter Ambassadors via email. After the introduction, Chapter Ambassadors should reach out to Student Ambassadors to schedule a meeting to discuss:
How They’d Like to Stay in Touch
What They Hope to Learn and Do
How You’ll Work Together Locally
JUDGES
The Role Of Judges
NOTE: To maintain fairness, Club, Chapter, and Student Ambassadors, and Mentors are NOT allowed to be Judges.
Judges are volunteer professionals from the tech and business world who offer thoughtful feedback to help girls continue learning in tech and entrepreneurship. Technovation supports them with online training, resources, and clear evaluation rubrics. Here are the roles of Judges:
- Review student submissions
- Judge scores and feedback help determine global finalists. Learn more in the judging rubric
- Provide feedback to encourage teams to improve their project
❝ It’s not just about scoring projects; it’s about encouraging and guiding the next generation of innovators. Judging is a fantastic way to make a big impact with a manageable time commitment.
Rahul Goel
Technovation Judge, 2025
Judging Formats
Technovation offers two main ways to judge student submissions: through in-person pitch events or online judging.
In-Person Judging
- Takes place at local Regional Pitch Events (RPE) hosted by a Chapter, where teams pitch live.
- Results of official RPEs count toward Round 1 of judging if they meet a set of requirements.
⏰ Judge Time Commitment:
Determined by the Chapter hosting the event — usually 5+ hours.
Online Judging
Any teams who submit but do not attend an RPE will have their projects judged online. This takes place in Round 1 and 2 of judging.
⏰ Judge Time Commitment:
3+ hours to score at least 5 submissions.
Tip! If you’re holding an end of season pitch or celebration event, judging can be a great way to involve local businesses and corporations!
Safety
Technovation is committed to helping our participants use technology safely and responsibly. We aim to provide a safe space where students can experiment and build their resilience and perseverance.
We have developed a set of guidelines for all adults interacting with students in the program:
