About Thrive
Thrive is our award-winning career mentoring scheme which has been running for over 10 years, exclusively for undergraduates and taught postgraduates.
Thrive sign ups for 2025-26 programme are now open! Thrive Preparation Sessions will run from 10 September 2025 to 10 December 2025.
To take part in Thrive, you must register and attend a preparation session on or before December 10.
To secure a mentor for the 2025-26 academic year, you must send a mentor request before 19th December.
What is Thrive?
Thrive is a career and future focused mentoring program that matches you with a successful professional mentor in an industry of your choosing. You will have a minimum 1 hour meeting with your mentor per month for 3-9 months, where they can provide support and guidance for your career plans and aspirations.What will you gain from Thrive?
By fully engaging with Thrive, students often report
- Increased confidence in planning their career
- Expanded professional network and interpersonal skills
- Improved written and verbal communication
- Motivation and proactiveness
- Real-world experiences like workplace visits, mock interviews, or internships
- Valuable CV additions showing industry engagement and career development
Your mentor will support you throughout your mentoring journey – make the most of this opportunity!
All mentors are volunteers who are passionate about supporting students like you. Past mentees have secured internship or work experience with their mentor’s organisation, gained insight into suitable roles, and improved their networking skills. Mentees have also expressed that it was beneficial to have a role model from the industry to inspire and motivate them to achieve their career goals.
To find out more about the programme, please see our list of frequently asked questions below, or contact the team on mentoring@reading.ac.uk
Please note: Henley Business School students are not eligible for the scheme but have access to a separate mentoring programme - find out more about Henley mentorship scheme.
The THRIVE Timeline
1. Sign up - University of Reading Undergraduate or Taught Postgraduate students can sign up between September and December by attending a Mentee Preparation Session, bookable on MyJobsOnline. These run regularly while the scheme is open. Please note that Thrive is currently not open to students in Henley Business School. |
2. Pathway – After attending a Mentee Preparation Session, you will be invited to join the Thrive Mentoring Pathway on MyJobsOnline. Here, you will complete a short self-reflection, set mentoring goal(s), and express your mentor preferences. |
3. Matching with a mentor - Once you’ve submitted your mentoring preferences, the Thrive team will review them and grant you access to the Thrive Platform, where you can choose your mentor. After joining the platform, you will have 4 weeks to find a match. If you are struggling to find a match, reach out to the Thrive team. Please contact your mentor within 2 weeks of matching to start your partnership. |
4. Ending your partnership - Thrive runs until June, but your partnership may end earlier depending on its nature. |
What is mentoring?
What is my commitment to Thrive if I sign up?
What are my responsibilities as a Thrive mentee?
What can you achieve through the scheme?
How long do mentoring partnerships last for?
How can I make the most of my mentoring partnership?
How does Thrive work for Postgraduate students?
What are the mentors like?
Do I have to know what I want to do to take part in the Thrive scheme?
What if I don’t get on with my mentor?
What if I am not eligible for the scheme?