Author: darek.bieniek

This article discusses the experience of using module No.1 of the Bridging the Gap (BTG) project in work with a mentee. It includes knowledge of the importance of using individual tools to define the possibilities, key competencies and goals of a mentee. As a result, the project BtG shows the need of the right setting and direction of a mentee in his/her professional life.

As a mentor, I chose Module No.1 Demonstration of the experience in the Creative and Culture Industries. As I teach at the School of Design, I found this area very useful and beneficial for students studying in the creative industries.

With the selected mentee I went through Module no. 1 with its individual points. The student is studying the field of Graphic Design and was very satisfied with the introduction of the BtG project platform. This platform represents an opportunity to become fully acquainted with possibilities and possible procedures for orienting in the given issue.

1. Demonstrating experience

Mentee understood that for his future in the creative industry, it was necessary to define in advance his visions in artistic and business activity as well. It is clear from his reactions that after the presentation of this module of the section “Mind map and ideas generation” he realized the importance of choosing the most suitable tool that will help him in his further professional development. He understood the procedure of individual steps and reacted very well to the chosen scheme. In the next part “Top 10 skills children learn from the Arts” of the module, the student realized the importance of analyzing his abilities for his best development in the creative industry. He considers the individual activities in the module to be sufficient and clear in every way. Based on the section “Welcome to Imagineering in a Box”, he understood the importance of cooperation between individual fields of the creative industry.

The activities listed in the module were understandable, clear and helpful. In the section “Creative ideas don’t come easy”, he realized the importance of getting to know the work of artists who has already worked in the creative industry, as well as defining the environment that will help him in his professional development. The “Flow theory and activities” part was a bit challenging for the student due to its extensive theoretical study. He understands that information is important for the further development and proper setting of his work in the creative industry, but he said that reading the theory for too long discourages him from trying practical activities.

1.2 Methods and Tools

In this part of the module, we went through its basic idea with the mentee and that is to find out whether I, as a mentor, can use the individual tools and activities to achieve the choice of the appropriate method and tool to get as close as possible to the mentee and show him the most suitable business plan for him and point out short-term and long-term goals and ambitions. We managed this succesfully. Using the individual tools of the module, I was able to precisely define the mentee’s professional area and also enable him to define his goals, whether short term or long term. Mentee also appreciated and understood the self assessment tool in this part of the module. The activity was understandable and inspiring for him. He also greatly appreciated the link for creating creative project canvas. This tool was completely new to him, nevertheless he considers it understandable, helpful and very interesting. I also introduced the mentee a SWOT analysis, which he had a problem to understand from the beginning but step by step, using a given procedure, he mastered at least the basis of its creation and understood its meaning. In the digital tools section, the mentee was more at home, the instructions were clear and understandable for him. He understood the issue and also understood the importance and necessity of digital content. When getting acquainted with goal measure objectives and success indicators using the tool in the module, we had no problem for the mentee to understand what is required of him and what it means. He realized the need of cross motivation between teams and partners to produce high quality quantitative data.