All, During IETF 87 in Berlin, we will be running a trial of the IETF Mentoring Program. The goal of the IETF Mentoring Program is to match people new to the IETF (people who have participated in three or fewer face-to-face meetings or anyone registering as a student) with experienced IETF mentors. As a mentoring participant, your mentor will personally introduce you to the IETF community, help you find your way around the IETF & the meeting, explain things, and introduce you to other attendees you might like to meet. Basically, your mentor will be your personal buddy during the meeting week, and possibly afterwards. The IETF Mentoring Program was created to help new IETF participants to get up to speed rapidly and help them begin to contribute to the IETF quickly and easily. If you wish to participate in the IETF Mentoring Program, you can follow the sign-up procedures described in the program FAQ: https://www.ietf.org/resources/mentoring-program.html After you follow the sign-up procedure, we will then introduce you to each other by email, and invite you to meet up in person at the IETF Meet & Greet event on Sunday afternoon in Berlin. From there on, you and your mentor decide on when and where to meet during the rest of the week and afterwards. You are of course free to withdraw from the program at any time and for any reason, no questions asked, should a need arise. But I sincerely believe the IETF Mentoring Program will be a great way for new participants to get introduced to the IETF by an experienced participant with matching interest. Regards, Jari Arkko IETF Chair
