Many young people begin a technical or scientific degree full of motivation. However, particularly in demanding degree programmes, questions may arise after the first few semesters: Is this degree really right for me? How will I use what I am learning later on? What career opportunities will I have after graduating? And how can I find out which path best suits my interests and strengths?
For the start of the winter semester, Network Energy Talents is therefore launching its new Get Started: Energy Mentoring by NET programme. Running from October 2026 to March 2027, the programme is aimed particularly at students of electrical engineering and industrial engineering who would like to explore career prospects in the energy sector. It is based on a simple but important idea: mentoring can provide guidance before uncertainty becomes overwhelming. It brings young talents together with experienced professionals from the energy industry, highlights career opportunities and demonstrates the wide range of roles available within the energy transition.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is an established tool for personal and professional development. An experienced person, known as a mentor, shares their knowledge, experience and insights with someone who has less experience. This person, known as the mentee, receives support with questions relating to their studies, career entry, career planning and personal development.
Unlike a conventional information event, mentoring is built around personal dialogue. It is not simply about communicating facts about degree programmes, companies or professions. What matters is the opportunity to ask individual questions, put uncertainties into perspective and learn from the experiences of others.
This can be particularly valuable in technical degree programmes. Many areas of study can initially appear abstract. It is often only through exposure to professional practice that the associated tasks, roles and development opportunities become clear.
How does mentoring provide guidance during university studies?
Mentoring helps students gain a better understanding of their interests, strengths and goals. Those wondering whether a technical degree is the right path often need more than general information. Conversations with people who have faced similar questions themselves and now work in the industry can be particularly helpful.
Mentors can demonstrate that university studies do not always follow a straightforward path. They can explain how they dealt with difficult periods, which decisions shaped their professional journey and which skills are genuinely required in their day-to-day work.
This can provide answers to questions that concern many students:
- How can I persevere during challenging periods of my degree?
- What career opportunities does my subject open up?
- What types of roles are available in the energy industry?
- Which technical and personal skills should I continue to develop?
- How can I successfully make the transition from university to my first job?
- What role could I play in the energy transition?
Mentoring therefore provides guidance by connecting personal development, motivation during university studies and future career prospects.
Why mentoring is particularly important in technical degree programmes
Technical degree programmes and STEM subjects, covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics, offer excellent prospects for the future but can also be challenging. High academic demands, abstract subject matter and initially unclear career paths can lead some students to question their choice. At such times, it is particularly important to receive guidance and support at an early stage.
Mentoring can help students put these periods into perspective. It shows them that difficulties during their studies do not automatically mean they have chosen the wrong path. Often, the problem is not a lack of interest but a lack of connection to professional practice. Understanding how their knowledge will later be applied can provide renewed motivation.
Many socially relevant issues of the future become tangible within STEM fields, including energy technology, grid operations, renewable energy, digitalisation and hydrogen. Mentors can explain the specific tasks behind these terms, the skills required in everyday working life and the diversity of technical professions within the energy industry.
This is particularly helpful for young people who are interested in future-focused topics but do not yet have a clear career path in mind. Mentoring can reduce barriers, provide visible role models and encourage students to ask questions. Those who recognise that their degree can lead to specific roles within the energy transition are more likely to develop a clear perspective for their own future.
What makes Energy Mentoring by NET special?
Get Started: Energy Mentoring by NET combines personal support with the association’s strong network. Mentees benefit not only from exchanging ideas with an individual mentor. They also gain access to a broader network of companies, universities and energy industry professionals.
“Particularly in demanding technical degree programmes, young people need more than specialist information. They also need personal guidance and genuine insights into professional practice. Through Energy Mentoring by NET, we want to support students at an early stage, show them the opportunities available in the energy industry and help them find their own path within the energy transition.”
Wibke Rauh, Deputy Chair of NET and HR representative at 50Hertz
This provides insights into a wide range of areas within the energy sector. Rather than becoming familiar with only one company or career path, students gain a better understanding of the industry’s diversity. Areas include grid operations, project management, engineering, digitalisation, strategy, consultancy, regulation and corporate development.
The programme includes an online kick-off, a preparatory peer talk, individual mentoring meetings, empowerment workshops and a workplace visit to a NET member organisation. It therefore combines professional exchange, personal development, networking and authentic insights into working life.
What are the benefits for mentees?
Energy Mentoring by NET provides mentees with guidance, encouragement and access to professional practice. They have the opportunity to discuss their questions with experienced professionals from the energy industry and gain a clearer understanding of which paths may be of interest to them.
The opportunity to look behind the scenes is particularly valuable. A workplace visit, conversations with professionals and exchanges with other participants make the energy industry more tangible. Students learn how companies operate, which tasks form part of everyday working life and which skills are important when starting a career.
At the same time, the programme supports personal development. Mentees can gain a better understanding of their own strengths, reflect on uncertainties and plan specific next steps. This can help reduce doubts about their studies, build motivation and develop a clearer perspective for their future.
What are the benefits for member companies?
The mentoring programme also offers clear benefits for NET’s member companies. They establish early contact with committed students who are interested in technical subjects and the energy industry. This creates a connection with young talent long before specific recruitment processes begin.
Companies can demonstrate the tasks, fields of work and development opportunities they offer. They can show why technical expertise is needed for the energy transition and the role young professionals can play within the industry. At the same time, they gain a better understanding of the questions and expectations students have today.
The programme therefore strengthens not only the development of young talent but also the relationship between universities, students and companies. For NET members, mentoring is an opportunity to take responsibility for securing the future skilled workforce and to play an active role in attracting young people to careers within the energy sector.
NET: Guidance through a strong network
Network Energy Talents e. V. is a non-profit association that aims to attract, inspire and empower young STEM talents to contribute to the energy transition. Through formats such as panel discussions, workshops, company visits and mentoring, NET connects students with professionals from the industry.
The value of this exchange was recently demonstrated at the VWI university group meeting at TU Dresden. Students had the opportunity to speak with professionals from NET partner companies and gain personal insights into university studies, career entry and roles within the energy industry. Encounters like these show that guidance often develops when young people can address their questions directly to professionals working in the field. Energy Mentoring by NET builds on this idea by adding continuous support over a period of several months.
Mentoring as a bridge between university studies and the energy transition
The energy transition is one of the defining challenges of our time. It requires young people who understand technical challenges, are prepared to take responsibility and want to help develop new solutions. At the same time, these young people need guidance, support and practical insights in order to find their own path.
Mentoring makes the energy transition personal. Rather than discussing only overarching goals, it presents specific routes into the industry. Young people discover which roles are available, which skills are in demand and how they can become part of this development themselves.
Enthusiasm therefore develops not only through an interest in the subject itself but also through its relevance to a person’s own life. Those who understand how their future work can contribute to climate action, security of supply and technological innovation are more likely to find motivation and direction.
