Multipod Mentoring Website

MultiPOD Mentoring is a free of charge long-distance mentoring program in the fields of global health, human development, and environmental protection. They needed a new website to:

• Become a recruitment tool for students and young professionals looking for mentorship and for senior professionals interested in becoming mentors;

• Build a community interested in the education, mentoring, and human resources development in these fields.

MultiPOD also requested that the website should be:

• forward-looking, dynamic, attractive, friendly and helpful website, captivating their visitors to join and enter the field of Global Health and Human Development;

• able to easily update texts, images, and blog posts.

Problem

There was a previous website, but its message was not clear. The design was inconsistent, namely the screen size and fonts typefaces, and the menus provided too much options. It was not clear how each user should navigate through the website and some content was outdated. Many links were not working, namely the registration of prospective students and new mentors, as well as the post categories from the Blog. Some pages opened in new windows.

The client wished to be able to make changes in the text, and update images easier. The design, navigation, functionalities, didn’t satisfy him, and he wished also an attractive and dynamic design with a modern look, different from any university website or educational program.

Challenge

MultiPOD Mentoring identified two main audience types:

Primary Audience

• Students and young professionals (ages 23 to 35) already working in or about to enter the field of global health and human development, looking for a mentor. Senior professionals who may be interested in becoming mentors in the program.

Secondary Audience

• Anybody interested in global health and human development, education, mentoring, human resources development, etc. This also includes other sectors, technical and financial aid organizations, the media, academic and research institutions, etc.

The challenge was to find out how to attract well-qualified prospective mentees and mentors from all over the world, and how to make the brand name (MultiPOD Mentoring) better known globally.

Process and Solution

After a detailed analysis of MultiPOD old website and an interview with the Program Coordinator, we captured all the necessary information to build the website, consisting of:

• An understanding about MultiPOD mission, vision, value proposition, and organization;

• A clear identification of the problems to be solved

• A vision of the solution;

• The characterization of the main users of the website;

• A list with the content and functionalities;

• The definition of the style of the website;

• The definition of User Stories, an effective way to capture the website requirements, from the perspective of its users;

The envisioned solution was a website that:

• Had an attractive, friendly, and modern look;

• Had the capacity to attract both students/young professionals, and senior professionals;

• Was easy to maintain;

• Was able to enroll students and register professionals; announce registration openings; inform the public; create a community; share Multipodians’ talents, passions, creativity, curiosity, and vision.

Results

MultiPOD Mentoring website hero image

The new website was launched in December 2020.

From the client’s perspective, the most positive aspects were:

• Concerning the development experience, they emphasized the simple and clear rules, the frequent communication, the content review, and the tools (including Squarespace) that turned the whole process easy to follow;

• Regarding the website, it fulfilled expectations in terms of aesthetics (beauty, simplicity, attractiveness) and functionalities.

The website users emphasized:

• Attractiveness, professional look, easy navigation.

Regarding the global results:

• The number of visitors increased more than 120%;

• The number of students and young professionals enrolled increased 40%.

MultiPOD Mentoring website mobile version

”Alexandra combines her considerable technical skills with a keen esthetic sensibility to produce eye-catching designs with a clear and concise message. I would strongly recommend Alexandra not only for her professional abilities and standards but also for her reliability and effectiveness in completing rapidly an assigned project according to her client needs and sense of urgency. In summary, she's good and should be considered whenever a job requires quality and timeliness.“

Fernando Zacarías, Principal Mentor and Program Coordinator at MultiPOD Mentoring, Global Mentoring for Students and Young Professionals