Mentor of the Year Joe Irvin OBE on the rewards of helping students find their way

For Joe, mentoring has become one of the most rewarding ways to stay connected to Birkbeck. Three years ago, he responded to a call for alumni volunteers and since then has supported three mentees as they prepared for life beyond university, offering guidance on career planning, professional development and building confidence.

Unlike academic support, Joe explains, mentoring is about helping students navigate what comes next. "The key to mentoring is not to tell the mentee what to do, but to ask the right questions and to listen," he said. "In doing so, I tried to draw on varied experience to help guide the student in finding the right way forward."

Joe was delighted to receive the award and said it was especially meaningful to know he had been nominated by his mentee Hamadou Doumbouya, who has recently completed his MSc in Organizational Governance and Sustainability at Birkbeck.

"It was especially pleasing to know that my own mentee had nominated me," Joe said. "We had been on a journey together to help him plan his next steps after graduation. That showed how much he felt the mentoring programme had helped him."

Joe described Hamadou as "not just interesting but inspiring". He said: “Hamadou embodied the Birkbeck spirit of overcoming obstacles and adversity to make the most of his talents, driven by the desire to provide the best future for himself, his family and his community, to pursue excellence and follow his aspirations.” Joe admired Hamadou’s strong ethical values, his commitment to sustainability and his determination to pursue postgraduate study while living apart from his young family in Guinea, whom he video-called every evening.

Throughout the programme, Joe helped Hamadou clarify his career ambitions, refine his CV and interview skills, and introduced him to senior professionals working in sustainability and international development. When Hamadou wanted to become more confident speaking English, Joe even invited him to join a weekly pub quiz with friends, helping him become more familiar with conversational English in an informal setting.

In his nomination, Hamadou said: “As someone from a non-English speaking country, my first three months in the UK were a bit of struggle when it came to speaking English and Joe had a solution to that. Joe introduced me to social clubs with native speakers where I participated in social quizzes and had chats with people in everyday English. This made a huge difference in boosting my confidence to speak up during university seminars and casual chats in social setting. I admire Joe's willingness to help people without expecting anything in return. Joe is just altruistic. I thought I was meeting a coach, I finally realised that I met a friend.”

Joe’s own career journey has enabled him to support Hamadou as he explored the next stage of his professional life. Since graduating from Birkbeck in 2003, Joe has held senior roles across the trade union movement, government and the voluntary sector. His career has included serving as Chief Executive of Living Streets, working in 10 Downing Street, supporting the late Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott during the 1997 UN Kyoto climate negotiations, and leading research and education for one of the UK's largest trade unions. He was awarded an OBE in 2020 for services to charities and active travel and is currently Chair of Trustees at the Royal College of Pharmacy.

However, Joe says mentoring is not simply about sharing experience. It has also helped him develop personally. He said: "I've sharpened my own listening and coaching skills through mentoring. Above all, it is hugely satisfying to help a younger person flourish in the next stage of their life – to think with a clear head about what they want, improve their chances of achieving their ambitions and have their talents recognised."

Looking ahead, Joe hopes more Birkbeck alumni will consider taking part in the Mentoring Pathways programme. He said: “I loved studying here and mentoring keeps me involved with Birkbeck life. I enjoy drawing on my experience to help students plan their next steps after graduation.”