Volunteer as an alumni mentor
Share your knowledge and experience with the next generation and develop your personal skillset as a UCL Alumni Mentor. It's a rewarding experience - for both mentors and mentees.
Become an Alumni Mentor
Please note that applications to the 2025/26 mentoring programme have now closed. To hear from us when they re-open, please register your interest.
Register interestAbout the Alumni Mentoring Programme
As a UCL graduate, you have a range of exceptional skills and knowledge which you can share with current UCL students to help them thrive during and after their studies.
The UCL Alumni-to-Student Mentoring Programme matches UCL alumni with current students. Over a three-month period, mentors support their mentees to increase their confidence, build transferable skills and prepare for successful careers.
Alumni FAQs
- UCL alumni who graduated two or more years ago are eligible to apply (so for the 2026–27 programme, applicants should have graduated in or before 2024).
- We particularly encourage applications from alumni who live in the UK.
Core commitment:
- Meet with your mentee(s) at least three times, for one hour per meeting.
Programme timeline:
- The programme runs November 2026 to February 2027. Mentors should be confident they can commit to these meetings within this period
- Information session: Attending a 20‑minute briefing is strongly recommended, especially if you are new to the programme or haven’t attended in the last two years.
- Consider your availability: Students only take part in this mentoring programme once. A mentor who is difficult to schedule with or unable to meet regularly can unintentionally limit the value of the experience.
If three one‑hour meetings feel unrealistic, you may prefer our lighter‑touch option, Alumni–Student Chats - Becoming a mentor is not guaranteed: We receive more applications than available places each year.
- Your match reflects the best available pairing at the time: We will match on at least one of three criteria (skills, degree subject, industry). It is unlikely there will be an applicant who matches on all three criteria.
- Be patient and kind: Some students may feel nervous or unsure at first. Your encouragement can make a meaningful difference.
- Students prepare goals in advance: If your mentee is unsure, you can use our conversation and development topics page as a prompt during your first meeting.
- Programme events: There is a Launch Event in November and a Celebration Event in March. These are in‑person, and attendance is strongly encouraged where possible.
Please note that we can’t help if we are unaware there is a problem! Please contact alumnivolunteers@ucl.ac.uk as soon as possible, and by no later than 15 December and we will do our best to find a solution.
Please contact alumnivolunteers@ucl.ac.uk as soon as possible so we can follow the official process for these situations.
Please note
While we will try to match every applicant, we cannot guarantee there will always be a suitable match.
Key dates
- Applications open: Monday 12 – Wednesday 21 October 2026
- Information sessions: Monday 26 – Thursday 29 October 2026*
- Matches notified: Week commencing Monday 9 November 2026
- Launch event: Week commencing Monday 16 November 2026
- Programme duration: November 18, 2026-February 26, 2027
- Celebration event: Week commencing Monday 1 March 2027
*We regularly update the information shared and recommend all alumni applicants attend one of these sessions, unless you have attended one in the past two years.
Hear from past mentors
This is my second year participating in the programme and I wanted to thank UCL for creating a safe space for students to share their concerns and challenges, and for mentors to use their experience to help others. I am extremely grateful for the chance to contribute to the students’ professional journey
I got a lot out of this experience and I think my mentee did too. It was great to be matched with someone who I would not normally have a chance to meet, who is at a stage of her academic and professional life where she needs practical guidance and an external perspective. I felt I could really add value drawing on my experience, even though I work in a different field to the one she wants to pursue
I really enjoyed getting to interact with all kinds of professionals in various fields, it showed me that there's so much out there one can do and explore. And most of all I loved the friendship and connection I got to form with my own mentor and the guidance she gave me
I was able to meet a lot of new people both student peers and great UCL alumni. This really helped me to have more ideas about what the career options are and how I should approach opportunities. And we also have this great chance to improve our networking skills and experience, learning to talk to people from different backgrounds
Celebrating our 2025/26 mentors
During the 2025/2026 academic year, more alumni and students took part in our UCL Alumni Mentoring programme than ever before! 132 alumni supported almost 200 current students.
How to apply
Please note that applications have now closed for the 2025/26 programme. This page will be updated for the 2026/27 programme soon. In the meantime, you can register your interest by completing our Volunteer Expression of Interest form.
Alternative mentoring options
Alumni-Student Chats is our lighter-touch mentoring programme. This is a great option for alumni looking for a lower commitment way to support the UCL student community, or for alumni who would like to take part in both programmes.
To hear about other volunteering opportunities, please complete our Volunteer Expression of Interest form and we will be in touch as opportunities become available.
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