January is recognized as National Mentoring Month, a time that CMD-IT honors the vital role that mentorship plays in personal and professional growth, particularly within the computing field. National Mentoring Month is a time to recognize, celebrate, and expand mentoring opportunities.
At CMD-IT, our vision is one where computing broadly impacts society through proven inclusivity. Our mission is to drive societal change by providing skill development, opportunities, and resources for our target communities through innovative programs, events and strategies for the computing community.
CMD-IT’s programs are designed to support participants across different stages of their academic and professional journeys, from undergraduate education to leadership in the professoriate, industry and government. We use this month to highlight some of CMD-IT’s key programs that provide mentoring to the CMD-IT community.
LEAP Alliance
The LEAP Alliance is focused on diversifying future leadership in the computing professoriate at research universities as a way to increase diversity across the field of computing. The Alliance includes a formal mentoring program for LEAP Fellows, the PhD students at LEAP institutions from CMD-IT’s target communities. In addition, some of the LEAP institutions have LEAP Fellows mentor LEAP Scholars, the undergraduate students at LEAP institutions also from CMD-IT’s target communities; this creates a layered mentorship model that strengthens the academic pipeline.
Academic Careers Workshop (ACW)
The ACW provides informal mentoring and career guidance for senior doctoral students, postdocs, and early-career faculty. Through small group sessions and panels with experienced faculty, participants receive mentorship on publishing, securing funding, launching research programs, teaching, and preparing for tenure and promotion. The workshop is especially impactful for those at institutions where access to mentoring may be limited.
Early Career – Academic Careers Workshop (EC-ACW)
The EC-ACW builds on the ACW model with a focus on early-career doctoral students in their first three years of their doctoral programs. Again, participants hear experienced faculty focused on topics such as navigating the academic career ladder, the power of networking, expectations of faculty candidates, and the art of technical storytelling. The panels are presented as webinars for the broad community.
Tapia Conference
The annual Tapia Conference provides informal mentoring opportunities through networking, workshops, panels, and community building sessions. Students, faculty, and professionals gather to share experiences, explore career options, and build relationships that often evolve into mentorships. Tapia’s environment encourages connection, reflection, and mutual support across all career levels.
Student Professional Development Workshops (SPDW)
The SPDW provides undergraduate and master’s level computer science students with the unique opportunity to receive coaching and professional development from Industry professionals. SPDW provides students with access to guidance, support, and professional coaching, especially for those from the CMD-IT communities.
These five programs highlight CMD-IT mentoring programs. Whether you’re a student, faculty member, researcher, or professional you can be part of the mentoring movement. Explore CMD-IT’s programs and discover how you can engage as a mentor, mentee, or advocate for inclusivity. Learn more about our programs.