Get Involved: Support the Next Generation of Innovators!
Mentors are an essential part of the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship programming. By sharing your perspective, experience, and encouragement, you help student innovators strengthen their ideas, build confidence, navigate challenges, and develop the skills to move their projects forward.
Our mentors come from a wide range of industries, professions, and lived experiences. You do not need to have founded a company or know all the answers to be an effective mentor. The strongest mentors listen carefully, ask thoughtful questions, offer constructive perspective, and help students discover the right next steps for themselves.
Join Our Mentor Network
Ways to Mentor
We offer two distinct types of mentoring opportunities: primary mentors and subject-matter experts (SMEs).
Primary Mentors: Ongoing, Paid Mentorship
A primary mentor is matched with one student team for the duration of a specific program cycle. Their role is to serve as a consistent coach and sounding board, using a Socratic approach: listening, asking thoughtful guiding questions, and sharing relevant perspectives, resources, and connections that help students think critically to arrive at their own answers. Students remain the decision-makers and retain ownership of their ideas, choices, and direction.
Mentors are expected to meet with their team at least twice during the program, and may meet more frequently based on the team’s needs and the mentor’s interest and availability. Primary mentors receive a $500 honorarium per program cycle.
Each participating team may have only one designated primary mentor.
Primary mentors:
- Selected through a mutual matching process.
- Commit to the full mentorship period for the applicable program.
- Meet with their team approximately 2-3 times.
- Complete mentor onboarding form and submit all required paperwork (W9, DD, Invoice).
- Receive a $500 honorarium after completing their mentorship commitment.
NOTE: The $500 honorarium is issued only to the team’s officially confirmed primary mentor. It cannot be divided among multiple mentors or extended to additional advisors.
Subject-Matter Experts: Ad Hoc, Volunteer Support
Subject-matter experts provide targeted guidance when a team needs specialized knowledge, such as:
- Engineering or product development
- Manufacturing and supply chains
- Intellectual property
- Finance or accounting
- Marketing and branding
- Customer discovery
- Industry-specific knowledge
- Regulatory considerations
- Pitching, storytelling, or presentation design
SME support is ad hoc and voluntary. SMEs are not assigned as a team’s primary mentor and do not receive the $500 primary mentor stipend. (However, a mentor may serve as the paid primary mentor for one team while also volunteering as an SME for other teams.)
An SME may participate in a single conversation, workshop, office hour, introduction, or short series of conversations based on the team’s needs and the expert’s interest and availability. Serving as an SME does not create an ongoing mentorship obligation unless a separate arrangement is confirmed in advance by the Center for Entrepreneurship.
Annual Mentorship Opportunities
Program dates and materials are updated annually. Before committing, please review the program-specific links below for current details, resources, schedules, and expectations.
| Program | Program Period | Mentor Role and Commitment | Compensation |
|---|
| Kickstart Weekend (KSW) | Third Saturday in November | Volunteer mentors coach student teams during a one-day design sprint. Participate for 2–8 hours based on availability. | Volunteer; no honorarium. |
| PSU Innovation Challenge (PIC) | PSU Winter Quarter (January - March) 10 weeks | One primary mentor is matched with each team and meets with them at least twice. Mentors may meet more frequently as interest and availability allow. SMEs provide specialized, ad hoc support as needed. | $500 honorarium for the team’s one confirmed primary mentor. SME support is voluntary. |
| InventOR | Spring Quarter (May - June) 8 weeks | One primary mentor is matched with each team and meets with them at least twice. Mentors may meet more frequently as interest and availability allow. SMEs provide specialized, ad hoc support as needed. | $500 honorarium for the team’s one confirmed primary mentor. SME support is voluntary. |
Kickstart Weekend
PSU Innovation Challenge
InventOR
NEXT STEPS
Ready to mentor? Learn what to expect – from expressing interest and finding the right match to completing onboarding and beginning work with your team.
How the Mentor Matching Process Works
Other Ways to Get Involved
Mentoring is one way to support student innovators. We also welcome the community to serve as judges, keynote speakers, and emcees throughout the year.
All opportunities listed below are volunteer roles.
The Center for Entrepreneurship provides each volunteer with clear expectations, role-specific orientation, event logistics, and ongoing support to ensure they feel prepared and confident in their participation.
Serve as a Judge
Judges evaluate student ideas, ask thoughtful questions, and provide constructive feedback that helps teams strengthen their work.
For PIC and InventOR, we aim to convene large, diverse panels of 20+ judges representing a broad range of industries, professions, communities, lived experiences, and regions across Oregon. Prior judging experience is not required.
Annual judging opportunities include:
- Kickstart Weekend: Saturday before Thanksgiving (2 hour afternoon commitment)
- PIC Finals: Last Friday in March (all-day commitment)
- InventOR Bootcamp: First Sunday in May (half-day morning commitment)
- InventOR Finals: Last Friday in June (all-day commitment)
Serve as a Keynote Speaker
Each year, we invite a keynote speaker for both the PIC Finals and InventOR Finals. Keynote speakers share an engaging, mission-aligned story that inspires students, offers practical insight, and connects their innovation journey to broader opportunities and impact.
Serve as an Emcee
We seek an emcee for both the PIC Finals and InventOR Finals each year. The emcee guides the audience through the program, introduces speakers and student teams, maintains the pace and energy of the event, and helps create a warm, engaging experience for everyone in attendance. Script and confidence monitor provided.
Ready to Get Involved?
Whether you are interested in supporting a team throughout a full program or offering specialized expertise when needed, we would love to learn more about you.
Get Involved: Support the Next Generation of Innovators!
Questions and Support
We want the mentorship experience to be clear, supportive, and rewarding for everyone involved.
Program and Logistics Support
Contact the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship with questions about:
- Program expectations
- Matching and team fit
- Mentor or team communication
- Event logistics
- Program schedules and events
- Mentor Match Mixers
- Student support or concerns
- Changes in your availability
Contact the Director: Stacey Hoshimiya (s.hoshimiya@pdx.edu)
Financial and Payment Support
A dedicated Center for Entrepreneurship Financial Specialist is available to help primary mentors complete:
- PaymentWorks registration
- Admin and onboarding
- Required agreements and documentation
- Invoice preparation and submission
- Payment troubleshooting
Contact the Financial Specialist: Ella Nuttbrock (efn@pdx.edu)
NOTE: Please contact the Financial Specialist well before the payment deadline if you encounter difficulties. Asking for help does not extend the submission deadline.