9 MENTORING – GOOD EXPERIENCES ARE GOOD BUSINESSS Mentoring has been identified as a labwide tool needed for growth and retention of INL’s most important resource – our employees. 2017 marked the second year of University Partnerships offering mentoring workshops to INL’s employee population.The format allows participants to share their experience and leverage real-life cases as learning and discussion tools.These workshops have helped the workforce understand the importance of good mentoring, the needs of a mentee, and the roles and responsibilities of a mentor. In 2017, University Partnerships offered eight mentor workshops to 161 INL participants throughout the year. In addition to offering mentor workshops to INL employees, University Partnerships also took the workshop on the road.The program received a DOE Office of Science grant to attend the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference, where INL led a mentor workshop breakout session. During the session, participants were given tools to establish mentoring partnerships and explore peer-to-peer mentoring, reverse mentoring, leadership mentoring and mentoring to minority populations. Mentor workshops and a focus on the importance of mentoring will continue in 2018.