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My Mentoring Experience - Karandeep Singh

01 August 2023

Law
Student

Supporting our diverse student community at The Dickson Poon School of Law is a priority. The School prides itself in offering students a range of support and, as part of their commitment to widening participation, they offer initiatives that specifically assist students from underrepresented backgrounds. We spoke to Karandeep Singh, a master's student at The Dickson Poon School of Law, about his experience of participating in this programme under the mentorship of Felipe Tirado AKC (LLM, Transnational Law, 2019), a PhD candidate and Academic Skills Tutor here at King's.

Why did you decide to sign-up for the Group Mentoring Programme at The Dickson Poon School of Law?

I signed up for the programme because it seemed like an excellent initiative, especially for an international postgraduate student like myself. I was hoping to gain a better understanding of the LLM course and the UK legal market, and that is exactly what I was able to achieve.

How does the Group Mentoring Programme differ from other mentoring programs?

While the Group Mentoring Programme was conducted in small groups of three, I was encouraged to reach out and speak to my Mentor, Felipe, on a one-on-one basis if I had any questions. This made me feel comfortable, and I was able to resolve several of my queries. I believe this level of personalisation/individual feedback is missing in most other mentoring programs.

What has been the highlight of your mentoring experience so far?

I really enjoyed the interactive sessions we had in the first semester (2022-2023). In addition to Felipe’s excellent mentorship, I also became friends with the other students in my mentorship cohort.

Being part of the first mentoring programme at The Dickson Poon School of Law was an incredible experience for me. It was a pleasure to meet the mentees assigned to me by the School, and learn about their different backgrounds and future perspectives; I hope they took as much as I did from our meetings. – Felipe Tirado AKC

Why do you think having a mentor is important, particularly as a law student?

The legal field in the UK is incredibly difficult to crack, particularly as an international student. A lot of the time we are struggling to find the correct direction or approach to take, and a mentor that is helpful and offers guidance is invaluable in such a scenario.

How have you benefited from having Felipe as your mentor?

Felipe has been an excellent mentor on both professional and academic fronts. He was always willing to share his invaluable experience and insight which really helped me in my time at King’s. Felipe has been friendly and approachable even after our mentorship programme ended in the first semester, and we met in person at the Vault a while ago!

An image of Karandeep and Felipe. They are embracing, and smiling at the camera.

What’s the best piece of advice or feedback you received from Felipe?

Felipe offered excellent advice on tackling vast amounts of reading material and on best practices for structuring answers in examinations.

After the programme, I was very glad to meet Karan and to see that things were moving well for him during the completion of his master's at The Dickson Poon School of Law. I wish my mentees all the best in their future and highly recommend the mentoring programme to other King's students– Felipe Tirado AKC

Felipe Tirado received a digital credential from the Alumni Office for participating in this mentoring programme. To find out how to enhance your LinkedIn profile with your own credential, visit our digital credential page.

If you’re interested in knowing more about the Group Mentoring Programme at The Dickson Poon School of Law, please contact the alumni team via forever@kcl.ac.uk.