
As students in the Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) program considered ways to learn more about the industry, Smith Masters of Information Systems Association (SMISA) President Vladimir Martirosyan ’25, as well as Vice President Shashank Kudkuli ’25 initiated the creation of an MSIS Student Mentorship program to further leverage alumni and Advisory Council relationships. The program is powered by a collaboration with LighthouseAI, a GenAI product from a company that was also founded by alumnus, Keyur Shah, MS in Information Systems ’15, who also serves on the MSIS advisory council.
The successful program boasts around 100 participants, 80 of whom are students and 20 are MSIS Advisory Council members who serve as mentors. As part of the program, students and mentors participated in an onboarding process to the LighthouseAI platform in early June.
“The mentorship program combined with LighthouseAI has been instrumental in enhancing the mentorship experience,” said Tehwansh (Tej) Singh Anand, clinical professor and academic director of the MSIS program. Though the immediate goal for students is to acquire a job after graduation that aligns with their passions, Anand said the long term objective is to build “relationships with individuals who can mentor them beyond Smith throughout their career” to continue to play a role in their growth and development.
Anand said the impact of the collaboration with LighthouseAI helps students track and automate mentorship activities. There have been over 1,000 progress activities, such as AI vibe coding and online coursework, relevant to student goals. These activities are automatically logged, helping students understand their progress and easily share it with mentors and collaborators. There have also been over 300 insights provided to students through mentor calls and playbooks, helping students progress toward their goal.
Sharing student progress with mentors gives them a chance to offer valuable feedback regarding student work. The results allow mentors to provide more effective coaching to help students adjust their approach to securing their desired career roles.
The mentorship program will expand to the fall MSIS cohort, beginning in September, as well as to the MS in Business Analytics program in the upcoming academic year. Anand said there are also plans to expand the program to the MS in Supply Chain Management program in the future.
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The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.