“Thank you, you've given me back my faith in maths.” That sentence, said by a prep-school student at the end of a session, was enough to convince Paul Cartier that a student able to explain things to another student could unlock situations where nothing else worked. It's the starting point of Constel, and it's also the whole point of student mentoring: turning an isolated struggle into a path to success.

Student mentoring isn't just one more private lesson. It's a trust-based relationship, built over time, between someone who has already been through a journey and someone just starting it. As a guest on the show “La France Bouge” on Europe 1, Paul Cartier looked back on what makes this kind of support so powerful — and what it takes for it to work.

Why peer mentoring unlocks situations

The great strength of student mentoring lies in shared experience. A mentor who went through the same track knows the real stakes: the pressure of competitive exams, the pace, the methodological traps, the moments of doubt. They don't just explain an exercise — they give meaning to the effort.

This closeness builds a trust few programs can replicate. As Paul Cartier puts it, there's “a question of chemistry” in mentoring: the relationship only truly works when the pair clicks. It's that trust that lets the mentee look ahead, keep going over time, and carry on when motivation dips.

The real turning point isn't the right answer to an exercise — it's a student who regains confidence because someone who succeeded before them believes they can do it.

Mentoring and tutoring: two different things

Mentoring and tutoring are often confused. Yet the distinction is essential to build an effective program.

  • Tutoring is academic assistance: helping someone understand a specific point, revise, or fill a gap.
  • Mentoring goes further: it's holistic support, explanation and perspective. It gives meaning to studies as a whole.

StĂ©phane Braconnier, president of UniversitĂ© Paris-PanthĂ©on-Assas, made this observation on Europe 1: students today are more autonomous and more comfortable with digital tools, but the “nomadization” of studies — one class in person, the next remote, from a hallway or from home — also leaves them more isolated. And paradoxically, more autonomy comes with a stronger demand for support. Mentoring answers precisely that need.

What sets a good mentoring program apart

Not all mentoring approaches are equal. Three criteria make the difference between a serious program and a simple introduction.

  • Match quality. Since the relationship rests on chemistry, the right pairing is decisive. At Constel, mentor/mentee matching relies on AI to increase the chances the relationship takes hold from the very first sessions.
  • The ability to sustain engagement. Many programs run out of steam after a few sessions: the mentor gets distracted, the mentee no longer dares to reach out, and the relationship fades. That's where the real outcome is decided. Constel is designed to keep pairs active over time — reminders, check-ins, nudges at the right moment — so the mentor/mentee relationship lasts to the end of the program rather than fizzling out.
  • Following the relationship. Once the pair is formed, it still needs help to last. Constel supports the mentor/mentee relationship over time rather than stopping at the introduction: it's that follow-up that turns a successful first contact into genuine support.

From student mentoring to lifelong mentoring

Mentoring doesn't end when studies do. The same logic — a trusted pair, support over time — now runs through higher education and the workplace alike. Paris-PanthĂ©on-Assas, for instance, signed an agreement with the Paris Bar so that lawyers mentor law students, extending support into the professional world.

It's this continuity that Constel aims to equip: structured, supported mentoring, from the first day of prep school to entering the workforce. Student mentoring isn't a parenthesis — it's the first link in a chain of support.

What matters most is captured by Paul Cartier's own journey: a successful mentoring program is, first and foremost, a student who regains faith in their chances. The rest — the tools, the matching, the follow-up — serves that turning point.