The landscape of mentorship platforms is a blend of both digital and traditional approaches. Online mentorship platforms are gaining momentum due to their accessibility and global reach. One of the example program that we took into consideration is the Peer Mentorship Program in the MLSA Community. Generally, outside of this program, mentees who are the first ambassadors from their community and don't have any seniors, have trouble seeking guidance regarding the program and there is some hesitation involved in reaching out so someone randomly over teams, as one doesn't know if they'd be open to mentoring them or not.
Moreover, another task is to pair mentees with mentors which is currently done by the MLSA Program team. The preferences of mentees and mentors are recording via a form and then they are paired based on those preferences.
Through research, it's evident that both mentees and mentors face challenges in initiating and maintaining effective mentorship relationships. Common concerns include difficulties in identifying mentors based on one's preferences[, inadequate communication mediums, and time management issues, coordinating slots because of differences in timezones.