Despite the vast array of information available to a student, there is no substitute for the wisdom gained through experience. Often the conception of a design relies on your ability to pull together intangible ideas and theories and attempt to create something substantial from them. I believe that this is where the true strength of the Academic Peer Mentoring system is demonstrated, often I find that even 20 minutes talking to my mentor yields more beneficial points of reference than a whole day searching through the internet in an attempt to find relevant information.
As a second year student I find myself more informed and aware on what to look for and how to talk about architecture, allowing sessions with my mentor to be enlightening and productive as I gain the value of an additional perspective. Likewise, I find myself able to inform and help guide my own mentees by providing my own experience and sharing knowledge with them. The process of being involved in another architects’ design process allows a flow of ideas and the chance to inform and cultivate the way we think of architectural values and principles.
Of course the importance of cooperation and a need for commitment is imperative to ensure that the sessions are productive and useful. My role as a mentor means that I need to be able to organise meetings, evaluate what will be beneficial to my mentees and keep a handle on time management, skills that I have no doubt will be beneficial to me in the future. Moreover, the ability to create an environment and conversation where my mentees feel capable to entrust me with even their most farfetched ideas and opinions is an invaluable skill that enhances my own ability to communicate with others. The creation of a space that allows such conversation is also invaluable to me as a mentee, it is much less intimidating to present ideas that you yourself aren’t sure of to a mentor before your tutor and gaining their advice on how to present it, often their encouragement helps bolster confidence in my own ideas and my own instinct as an architect.