Women’s Mentoring Schemes

The Maldives National University (MNU) provides structured mentoring in the programmes where most of its women students study. In 2025, 1,562 women, 35.0% of MNU’s 4,464 female students, had a named mentor. Mentoring helps women students build professional confidence, move from classroom to practice, and progress in their careers.

Mentoring schemes for students

• School of Nursing: a named clinical mentor for every student. Every nursing student on clinical placement is assigned a named mentor. Nursing focal points in each partner hospital make the assignments at the School of Nursing’s request. In 2025, this covered all 1,523 nursing students, 1,427 of them women (93.7%).
• School of Medicine: faculty and peer mentors. Every medical student is assigned a lecturer as mentor and meets them at least twice each semester. A student-led scheme also pairs every student with a peer mentor. In 2025, this covered all 174 medical students, 135 of them women (77.6%).
• Faculty of Education: master teachers on teaching practice. Student teachers on school placement are mentored by an experienced master teacher. In 2025, 349 students took part in teaching practice, 311 of them women.

Women mentored as a share of all female students: 1873 of 4,464 (41.95%). Enrolment from the MNU Annual Report 2025, p. 72.

Training mentors

MNU trains the hospital nurses who mentor its students:

• Dr Abdul Samad Memorial Hospital (Thinadhoo Campus, 23 February 2025). A four-hour workshop on mentoring models, evaluation, constructive feedback and reflective practice, for 22 nurses, 20 of them women.
• Addu Equatorial Hospital (Hithadhoo Campus, 18 February 2025). A workshop on mentoring nursing students through the move from classroom to clinical practice, for 30 nurses, all women.

The Faculty of Health Sciences also met the Maldives Physiotherapy Association on 23 November 2025 to plan mentorship for physiotherapy students.

Women leaders as role models

• Strengthening Your Inner Compass (10 November 2025). Ms Ayesha Nurain Janah, Chair of the Maldives Airports Company Limited Board, spoke on personal development, professional confidence and leadership in the Fahi Musthagbal Speaker Series. 91 people attended: 22 staff, 37 students and 32 community members.
• Heads Workshop (28 October 2025). Vice Chancellor Dr Aishath Shehenaz Adam opened this professional development workshop for 14 university heads. Ms Aishath Shaheen, Dean of MNU Business School, led a session on governance in higher education.

Leadership and entrepreneurship development

• Raasthaa Leadership Programme (13–16 February 2025, with the Maldives Police Service, Vaanee, Dhaalu Atoll). Student leaders took part in leadership workshops, team-building and values-based learning. 52 of the 76 participants (68.4%) were women.
• MNU InnovateHub. MNU’s business incubator gives aspiring entrepreneurs mentoring, training and networking. Applications for its first cohort opened on 21 April 2025. Partnerships in 2025 with Dhiraagu (main partner of the PowerUp Cohort, MVR 150,000) and SparkHub (14 December) expanded mentoring for student entrepreneurs.

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