They have achievements, passions, energy and large amounts of empathy. They know how difficult university life can be at the beginning. They themselves benefited from the support of tutors and now want to help their younger colleagues in their academic and personal development. Take a look at what they offer.

– I came from a small town alone. None of my high school friends went to Wrocław University of Science and Technology, or even to Wrocław. It was not an easy experience – recalls Oskar Gusta, a third-year student of Technical Computer Science at our Faculty. – Especially since I've always been rather quiet. I joined the SNS Automatyk student research club and took part in various student events, which forced me to meet new people and learn conversation skills. It really changed me. As a result, I have become a better person in my opinion. Now I would like more people to be able to follow in my footsteps, – adds one of the peer tutors at Wrocław University of Science and Technology with a smile..

How do Oskar Gusta and his colleagues from the organization TuTech want to help people become better? Simply: by supporting them in their personal development. Oliwia Frankiewicz, a fifth-year student of Industrial Automation at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, describes how the peer tutoring project was born.

– At TuTech, we worked with traditional academic tutors. Our academic teachers were fantastic and we were all very satisfied. We want tutoring to be carried out on a larger scale – says Oliwia Frankiewicz, head of the WUST Tutoring project and president of TuTech. But there was one difficulty. There are not enough academic teachers at the University who could conduct tutoring on a larger scale. Additionally, for some people the student-teacher barrier is too great to overcome it and they find it difficult to turn to the lecturer for help.

– So we decided that we had to step in and start this project. We decided to become tutors for younger colleagues. A peer is a person who has the same language, very often similar experiences, is of a similar age, so it is easier to reach for support from such a person – says Oliwia Frankiewicz.

An idea and a will is not everything – you had to be well prepared for the new role. Young tutors underwent a series of training sessions. As the president of TuTech explains, to be a tutor, you need to have high self-awareness and some experience in tutoring.

– So as not to interfere too much with the other person. It's supposed to be support, traveling with someone, not doing anything for that person,” explains Oliwia Frankiewicz. – For now, our group is small so that everyone can feel safe, including the tutors. The idea is to provide support to all of us, especially since this is the first such project at Wrocław University of Science and Technology and one of three in Poland.

Helping is a form of self-development

Jeremi Jarosz, a fifth-year student of Information Technology in Automation Systems at our Faculty, explains thatpeer tutoring refers to a relationship with a person who needs support during changes.

– The idea is to focus together on their development, on their goals and help them by having a real insight into their new reality – says the student.  – This help is supposed to not turn into a subjective interference. The tutor suggests, as best as they can, how to achieve the goals. They serve as a source of knowledge and experience, but above all, as a companion. In peer tutoring, older colleagues help lower-grade students enter the new reality.

As Jeremi Jarosz adds, such help is especially important at the beginning of the adventure at the university. In the first semester, the drop-out rate (i.e. leaving or dropping out of studies) is high.

–  Sometimes someone realises that the field they have chosen is not the right one, but there are also people who chose the right thing, only someone made them feel unable to pursue their goals,” notes the tutor. “And above all, we want to help not only people when they are in a crisis, but also when they start studies, so that they can find their way around, so that they do not encounter walls everywhere..

Jeremi Jarosz draws attention to one more aspect: in peer tutoring, both parties develop – both the tutee, i.e. the tutored, supported person, and the tutor, i.e. the supporter, who also gains an insight into themselves during joint activities. “They have the opportunity to check how they react to different situations. Helping others is simply a form of self-development,” adds the student tutor.

Tutoring is not private classes

Two types of tutoring are identified: scientific and developmental. In scientific tutoring, the tutee sets themselves a goal, e.g. research-related, and wants to self-develop in a given field of science. A tutor with some experience in this field helps them. However, experience in a specific field of science is not the most important thing. “What is more important is that there is another mind next to us, asking questions and telling us how to move in order to self-develop in a given field – says Jeremi Jarosz.

– However, we must also bear in mind that tutoring is not private classes. It's more about investing time in self-development – says Damian Pac, tutor, a second-year student of ICT at our Faculty, and a first-year student of Transport at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Why did he decide to be a tutor despite his many responsibilities?  – When I came to the University, I saw that there were people for whom studies were only classes, sessions and tests. And that you need to do something extra so as not to wake up after three years and not know which direction to go. That's why I joined the TuTech club. I want to give people a hint, a signpost in which direction to go – explains the W4 and W10 tutor.

However, Damian Pac also adds that a tutor is not the same as, for example, a psychologist: – We will not solve many issues because we are not psychological specialists. As tutors, we help to the best of our strength and energy, interests, skills and experience.  

It's not just about learning

The developmental tutoring is about support in searching, acquiring and developing soft skills, such as work and time organization, leadership or simply good contacts with other people. Do you need to have a specific goal to seek tutoring?

– No. Sometimes someone starts with scientific development, and then, while working with a tutor, discovers that they care about something completely different and that they prefer to go in a different direction, e.g. leadership, – says Jeremi Jarosz. Most of it depends on an individual relationship between the tutee and the tutor, the kind of cooperation they establish and the relationship they build together.

Sometimes all you need is someone to help you choose from the sea of possibilities. This is the goal of Paweł Dzikiewicz, a third-year student tutor from Applied Computer Science at our Faculty.

– I want to focus on perspectives, show what possibilities there are, how to self-develop, and what directions to choose. I want to support people in their choices. This is my goal,” says Paweł Dzikiewicz. – And there is a lot to choose from at Wrocław University of Science and Technology: student research clubs, associations, interesting activities, trips, and on top of that you can develop your private interests. At the beginning, people are not aware of what options there are at the university, so I want to show them and suggest how to develop academically and in general..

Working together on goals is also a good basis for creating important interpersonal relationships, often friendships for many years. Oliwia Frankiewicz says that tutoring is based on relationships, so contact with the tutor is often maintained after graduation. – By working together for half a year or a year, you build mutual trust, a sense of security, and a relationship that is difficult to simply cut off – notes the tutor from W5.  

Anyone who wants to take advantage of peer tutoring should visit the organization's website TuTech and choose a tutor using the tutor database. You should just write to a specific person and you can set off on a joint journey towards your goal of development. Try it yourself!