The mentorship of today has its roots in the Greek mythology, and is frequently used in trade and industry/the public sector as well as in higher education as a tool for both personal and professional development. A good mentor relationship (when an experienced, judicious person and a novice meet regularly for discussions) is built upon openness and confidentiality (Shea, 1994). The mentor is supposed to be a role model and a discussion partner who can show the possible ways, which will help the novice to progress professionally (Clutterbuck, 1985). Mentorship within the academic world can, according to Cullen and Luna (1993) and Stalker (1994) be seen as an important part of the student's social process development and it can, to a higher degree, also contribute to their personal development. The mentor should not be seen as a person who solves problems but rather as a listener who makes it easier for the novice to come to his/hers own decisions. It is also important for a mentor to encourage and challenge the novice's thoughts and reflections (Murray & Owen, 1992, Shea, 1994). It requires, therefore, that the novice has both understanding and objectivity, as well as the ability to expect and receive constructive criticism as part of personal development (Whitely & Coetier, 1993; Shea, 1994). With the aim to support female engineering students in educations where men are in majority at Umea Institute of Technology in Sweden, mentorship projects have been carried out during the last four years. Every project has been going on for one year. Twelve or thirteen mentor/novice couples have participated in the project every year. The novices were studying their second or third year of a four and a half year programme. All mentors were from trade and industry/the public sector. The major purpose of the mentorship project was the possibility for female engineering students to get support in their personal and professional development. Another purpose was to establish a co-operation across the dividing-line between university and industry/the public sector and that mentors and novices would get knowledge about each other's field of activities. From the evaluations from all of the four projects it was found that the novices had found the interaction with experienced women in a permissible and positive spirit very supporting. The evaluations also show that the novices thought they had got more confidence in themselves and that they also had developed professionally through their mentors, the group discussions in the project and the visits to the workplaces. Even their knowledge about trade and industry/the public sector had been increased. The mentors as well felt that they had developed and learned more about the university culture and how young female students can think about life and work. They also appreciated the possibility to get to know other engaged women in different working areas. Still, organized mentorship projects for female engineer students as well as for other female students in higher education in Sweden are not so frequent. Before mentorship can be seen as a complement to traditional education, the knowledge of mentorship has to increase. Further studies are needed to illuminate the relation between mentorship, academic success and career. An important question is also if mentorship can give prominence to women and their competence and in the long run contribute to a reduction in the present imbalance between men and women in university as well as in working life. References Clutterbuck, D. (1985). Utveckla talangerna i företaget. Göteborg: Odulate. Cullen, D. L. & Luna, G. (1993). Women Mentoring in Academe: addressing the gender gap in higher education. Gender and Education, 5 (2), 125-136. Stalker, J. (1994). Athene in academe: women mentoring women in the academy. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 13 (5), 361-372. Murray, M. & Owen, M. A. (1992). Modernt mentorskap. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Shea, G. F. (1994). Mentoring. Helping employees reach their full potential. American Management Association. New York. Whitehead, J. (1995). Mentoring. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 16 (1),129-133.