Mechanical engineering student Omar Azmy, left, and kinesiology student Stevan Japundzic created the MENT app, which helps international students develop skills, build a professional network and gain work experience.
Omar Azmy and Stevan Japundzic know how difficult it can be for newcomers to navigate the Canadian job market.
The children of immigrants, both saw first-hand how much their parents had to overcome to get jobs when they got to Canada.
Azmy, a mechanical engineering student, and Japundzic, in kinesiology, are the creators of MENT, a free app matches international students with a mentor working in industry.
"It's an incredibly difficult transition to make, going from a country you've known your whole life to a completely new environment where you no longer have your community, or a professional network to support your career," Azmy says.
With the professional support MENT offers, the students are able to build connections and benefit from expert advice.
"Our goal is to help international students develop the skills that they need to be more competitive for internships and co-ops," Japundzic says. In turn, that that will improve their employment prospects when they graduate.
How it works
After students create a MENT user profile, the app matches them with a mentor from one of their preferred industries.
To ease the administrative burden for mentors who are crucial for MENT, the app schedules a conversation for the two parties and automatically takes notes.
MENT also generates icebreaker questions to guide students through the introductory conversations with their mentor.
Meaningful mentorship
Adam Tawfik, a third-year McMaster mechanical engineering student from Egypt, is one of the 400 students across Ontario who use MENT.
MENT matched Tawfik with Alex Austin, a senior software development engineer at AMD.
"MENT fills a crucial gap in the mentorship process and allows mentors like me to share my experience and knowledge with the user to help them navigate and overcome challenging times," says Austin, who graduated from computer engineering at McMaster in 2021.
"Being an engineering student can be daunting, especially with the pressure to secure a meaningful co-op."
Tawfik, who says networking is crucial to find a job in Canada, is grateful for the insights Austin offered, including his advice on refining specific skills for his field of choice.
"The information given to me by my mentor was vital for my future as it managed my expectations on how I should be learning and behaving within the industry," Tawfik says.
"Any international student would benefit immensely from using MENT to set themselves up for success."
A launchpad to entrepreneurship
Azmy and Japundzic say the entrepreneurial spark lit up for them as soon as they set foot on campus.
"Problem solving is at the core of our education as McMaster students," says Japundzic.
"When Omar and I met, we realized we shared that same drive to use our education and the resources around us to create solutions to problems we witness daily."
The duo qualified for the Startup Survivor four-month innovation program at The Forge, McMaster's business incubator.
For four months in 2023, their team of five worked on creating MENT, officially launching the app at the end of August.
"We couldn't have gotten to where we are today without the work of our entire team at MENT," says Azmy. "Our teammates Amy Yip, Nicole Jansezian, Ajay Kumeta, Andreja Japundzic and Muhammed Lamin Fatty each brought invaluable skillsets that led us to success in launching the app."
Less than a year after launching, MENT has more than 200 mentors from more than 20 companies, including Microsoft, Google and Nvidia.
Many of the mentors are McMaster alumni, former international students and immigrants to Canada, who understand how they can help set up their mentees to succeed.
As Azmy and Japundzic continue to grow MENT, they hope its impact on international students will continue to grow, extending across the country.
"You are given every opportunity to develop yourself as an entrepreneur at McMaster," says Japundzic.
"There are so many resources, case competitions, events and programs to help you build your dream, whatever that may be, of making a real difference in the world."
