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TechDev Academy

A Silicon Valley-based Startup Company founded by young entrepreneurs and professionals from different backgrounds including education, IT, science, business administration, and marketing in 2019.

Soft Skills Mentorship for Success

Soft Skills Mentorship for Success

Soft skills are a type of non-technical skill that refers to a person’s ability to interact effectively with others and navigate interpersonal relationships, as well as their ability to adapt to change and solve problems in a creative and flexible manner. Unlike technical skills, which are related to specific jobs or tasks, soft skills are transferable and applicable to a wide range of careers and workplace situations.

Skills like communication, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, problem-solving and critical thinking, also known as 21st century skills, are becoming increasingly important in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing work environment, as they play a critical role in determining an individual’s success both in their personal and professional lives.

 

Why Soft Skills are Critical for Success and How Mentorship Can Help Develop Them

 

As the job market continues to evolve, the demand for soft skills in the workplace is increasing. Soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving, are becoming more and more important for success in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing work environment.

 

While technical skills are certainly important, it’s often the soft skills that can make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful employee. In this blog post, we will delve into why soft skills are critical for success and how mentorship can help develop them.

 

Why are soft skills so important for success?

In today’s competitive job market, soft skills can give job candidates an edge over others with similar technical skills. Employers are looking for individuals who possess not only the technical knowledge required to perform the job, but also the ability to work effectively with others and handle situations with flexibility and adaptability.

 

Soft skills are also increasingly important in a world where jobs are rapidly changing, and workers are often expected to change careers multiple times throughout their lives. In this context, transferable skills such as effective communication and collaboration can be critical to success.

 

Soft skills also play a critical role in building and maintaining positive relationships with coworkers, supervisors, and clients. The ability to effectively communicate and resolve conflicts, as well as work collaboratively, can make all the difference in a team’s ability to achieve its goals and deliver high-quality work.

 

Moreover, effective communication skills can help to build trust and credibility with clients and customers, which is essential for maintaining long-term business relationships.

 

How can one develop their soft skills?

One of the most effective ways to develop soft skills is through mentorship. Mentorship programs can provide young professionals with the opportunity to work closely with experienced professionals and learn from their experiences and expertise.

 

Mentors can provide guidance, feedback, and support, helping mentees to identify and address their weaknesses, as well as build on their strengths. They can also provide valuable insights into the industry and offer advice on navigating the job market.

 

Soft skill mentorship can also provide mentees with a network of professional contacts and opportunities for skill-building. For example, mentors can offer exposure to new projects, assignments, and experiences, helping mentees to build their portfolios and gain new experiences.

 

Furthermore, mentorship can provide mentees with a safe and supportive environment in which to practice and develop their soft skills. With the guidance and support of a mentor, mentees can build their confidence, refine their skills, and grow as professionals.

 

The benefits of soft skill mentorship for personal development

Why Soft Skills are Critical for Success and How Mentorship Can Help Develop Them

Soft skill mentorship can be a powerful tool for developing soft skills and preparing young professionals for success in the workforce.

Here are some of the key benefits of mentorship for soft skill development:

 

1 . Personalized guidance and feedback

Mentors can provide personalized guidance and feedback that is tailored to the individual needs and goals of their mentee. This can help mentees to identify their weaknesses and work on areas where they need improvement, as well as build on their strengths.

 

2 . Exposure to new experiences

Mentors can provide mentees with exposure to new projects, assignments, and experiences, helping them to build their portfolios and gain valuable experience.

 

3 . Access to a network of professional contacts

Soft skill mentorship can provide mentees with access to a network of professional contacts who can provide support and guidance throughout their careers.

 

4 . Opportunities for skill-building

Mentorship can provide mentees with opportunities to build their soft skills through hands-on experiences and projects.

 

5 . A supportive environment for growth

Mentorship can provide a safe and supportive environment for mentees to grow and develop as professionals, free from fear of failure and criticism.

 

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JOHN H. FALK

Director of the Institute for Learning Innovation and Sea Grant Professor Emeritus of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University

 

Dr. John H. Falk is Director of the Institute for Learning Innovation and Sea Grant Professor Emeritus of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University. He is a leading expert on free-choice learning; the learning that occurs when people have significant choice and control over what, where, and when they learn.

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CHRISTINE CUNNINGHAM

Professor of Practice of Education and Engineering at Penn State University

 

Dr. Christine Cunningham is a Professor of Practice of Education and Engineering at Penn State University. Her work focuses on making engineering more relevant, accessible, and inclusive, especially for underserved and underrepresented populations. She does this by creating researched-based engineering curricula for PreK-8 children and their educators. Her book, Engineering in Elementary STEM Education, describes her groundbreaking work. Previously, Cunningham was the Founding Director of Engineering is Elementary. Cunningham has received a number of awards; in 2017 her work was recognized with the prestigious Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education.

 

CHRIS ROGERS

Chris Rogers Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University

 

His research interests are:

Engineering Education, Robotics, and Musical Instrument Design

 

Education

Ph., D Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

 

Biography

Chris Rogers earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stanford University, where he worked with Professor John Eaton on his thesis on particle motion in a boundary layer flow. Rogers joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts School of Engineering in 1989. He is involved in a number of research areas, including particle-laden flows (a continuation of his thesis), telerobotics and controls, the slurry flows in chemical-mechanical planarization, the engineering of musical instruments, measuring flame shapes of couch fires, measuring fruit-fly locomotion, and engineering education (kindergarten to college). At Tufts, Rogers has exercised his strong commitment to teaching by exploring a number of new directions, including teaching robotics with LEGO bricks and teaching manufacturing by building musical instruments. His teaching work extends to the elementary school level, where he talks with over 1,000 teachers around the world every year on methods of introducing young children to engineering.

 

RumeysaDogan

RUMEYSA DOGAN

Co-founder and COO at TechDev Academy

  • Graduated from top-ranked business school with high honor
  • Worked in top global companies as Vodafone, Benetton Group, etc
  • Experienced in Product Management and Digital Marketing Analytics
  • Managed Entrepreneurship Club and mentored several entrepreneurs

 

 

ismail-marulcu

ISMAIL MARULCU

Co-founder & Chief Education Officer at TechDev Academy

  • Educator and Researcher since 2001
  • M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College
  • Ph.D. in STEM Education from Boston College
  • Mentored more than 100 pre-service teachers, college students, and high school students

 

 

PaolaGomez

PAOLA G. GONZALES

Mentor & Educator

  • over 2,000 hours mentoring students and 4 years of teaching experience
  • spearheaded a nonprofit organization that provides mentorship to underrepresented students at the UC, Davis
  • an active member of the Surfrider Foundation

 

 

AyushKanodia

AYUSH KANODIA

Ph.D. Student in Computer Science at Stanford

  • Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science at Stanford Uni.
  • Worked as a software engineer for Google
  • Expert in the intersection of Computer Science and Economics.

 

 

KairatSabyrov

KAIRAT SABYROV

Ph.D., Data Scientist

  • B.S. in chemistry and physics
  • Ph.D. In physical chemistry
  • Data science instructor at Lambda School
  • Worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab at the UC, Berkeley

 

 

BAHRUDIN TRBALIC

Ph.D., Candidate at Stanford University

  • Studied Physics & Electrical Engineering at MIT.
  • Worked at MIT as a Medical Data Analyst and Product Developer.
  • The founder and lead developer of Expert Experiments.
  • Received the 2023 Robert H. Siemann Graduate Fellowship and 2022 NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis Award.
  • Spearheaded STEM camps across Europe and Asia.
  • He has been mentoring students for years.

 

 

SHASHA ANRONIKOV

Researcher at Stanford University

  • Recent honors graduate from Cornell University with a major in biological sciences and a minor in business at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
  • Currently working at Stanford University in the Nolan Lab to conduct immunopathology research.

 

 

LISA WANG

BSc Harvard University Graduate

  • Studied Environmental Science and Engineering.
  • Cross-registered to Harvard Univ. and MIT.
  • An advisor to the Harvard Undergraduate Clean Energy Group.
  • Co-founder of Coolant, a company that builds software to unlock nature-based carbon markets.

 

 

SEMI HASAJ

MBA Data Scientist at C3 AI

  • Studied Data Science while obtaining his Master's of Business Analytics at MIT.
  • Studied Space Engineering in Toronto, Canada where he grew up.
  • He has spent years tutoring others because he loves to help people learn and grow.

 

 

SAMY AWWAD

Junior at Stanford University

  • Studying Symbolic Systems with a focus on Neurosciences and plans to be a medical doctor.
  • Founded ImmuniGlobal, a national nonprofit in vaccine education, and he was featured in Healthline magazine.
  • A published researcher in PubMed.
  • Honored by the CDC as a Flu Fighter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Enthusiastic about empowering young changemakers.

 

 

HASAN TUNCER

Ph.D., Product Manager at Cruise

  • BSc. in Computer Science at Koc University, Istanbul.
  • Ph.D. in Computing and Information Scienves at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
  • Worked as a software engineering at Wall Street.
  • Product Manager for Cloud Services (at IBM Silicon Valley Lab), autonomous vehicles (at NIO, aka Chinese Tesla, Uber ATG, Aurora and Cruise)

 

 

RayYucel

RAY YUCEL

Ph.D., Data Scientist in Magnimind Inc.

  • B.S in Materials Engineering
  • M.Sc in Management
  • Ph.D. Candidate in Economics
  • Data scientist at Magnimind Inc.
  • Employs deep learning in finance and health care data

 

 

SofoklisGoulas

SOFOKLIS GOULAS

Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

  • Senior research associate, Stanford Uni.
  • The use of data science and machine learning in economics
  • M.Sc. in finance and economics, Warwick business school
  • MS and a Ph.D. in economics, the Uni. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Worked at the Uni. of North Carolina and at the Bank of Greece

 

 

EnricoSantus

ENRICO SANTUS

Senior Data Scientist at Bayer

  • Senior data scientist at Bayer
  • Postdoc at MIT, in the group of Regina Barzilay
  • Experience in NLP in Oncology, Cardiology and Palliative Care
  • Experience in Fake News Detection, Sentiment Analysis, and Lexical Semantics.
  • Invited to talk at the White House

 

 

EMILY HALFORD

Data Analyst

  • Data analyst working in psychiatric epidemiology
  • Data Science&Mental Health Expert with the BBN Times
  • Master of Public Health, Columbia Uni.

 

 

RyanSpitler

RYAN SPITLER

Ph.D., Co-Founder and Deputy Director of the Precision Health and Integrated Diagnostics Center (PHIND) at Stanford University

  • Faculty Member, Standford Uni.
  • Founding Partner at Boutique Venture Partners
  • B.S. in Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, UC, Santa Cruz
  • Ph.D. In Cellular and Developmental Biology, UC, Irvine

 

 

muratbaday

MURAT BADAY

Scientist at Stanford Uni, Founder & CEO at TechDev Academy

  • Co-founder of Smartlens, Magnimind, Wowso, Nanosight
  • M.S. in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh
  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology and Biophysics from the Uni. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Mentored and tutored over 100 high school students
  • Developed novel ideas and has over 8 patents

 

 

GyunelRashidova

GYUNEL RASHIDOVA

B.S. in Biological Sciences,
Research assistant at the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioinstrumentation

  • iGEM alumni, received Gold Medal among 250 teams
  • Fellowship holder from Women in Tech international organization
  • Founder of social projects:
    “OncoSense” - fabrication of device for the detection of cancer biomarkers;
    “RemiSee” - promotion of a colorblind-friendly educational platform
  • AIESEC alumni, organized case competitions with over 300 participants
  • Organized iGEM Biohackathon and Summer Camp for high-school and university students to apply coding for solving real case studies

 

 

SoudehYaghouti

SOUDEH YAGHOUTI

Ph.D., Data Scientist at Megalab, Silicon Valley

  • Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
  • More than 4 years of experience in data-driven research on electrical network systems.
  • Collaborating with TechDev Academy for several years and taught students data analysis projects.
  • Collaborated with Stanford scientists on projects that aimed to automate medical diagnosis of diseases with the help of image processing techniques and AI.

 

 

AIZHAN IBRAYEVA

MSc Researcher at Stanford University

  • MS. Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University.
  • Did research at Stanford University, Aerospace Science Lab (Purdue), Rarefied Gas Dynamics Lab (Purdue)
  • Worked on projects supported by NASA.
  • Worked as Engineer at Silicon Valley Startup companies.
  • Mentored Students from top US school

 

The class has 5 available spots.
You can add the class during course registration!

 

June 1-5

Mon-Fri 2 hours of daily instruction and 2 hours of self-paced project development.

June 8-12

Mon-Fri 2 hours of daily instruction and 2 hours of self-paced project development.

June 15-19

Mon-Fri 2 hours of daily instruction and 2 hours of self-paced project development.

The class capacity is full.
Please try other classes!