Investing in People: Why Open Pipes is Exploring the Idea of an Open Pipes Mentor Network

Open Pipes has been exploring an idea that we believe could help strengthen the Internet infrastructure community for years to come: an Open Pipes Mentor Network. Before deciding whether to invest further, we wanted to share the thinking behind it and hear from the community.

The Internet has always been built on more than technology.

Behind every network, Internet Exchange (IXP), routing policy, peering agreement, and operational best practice are people who have shared their knowledge, supported one another, and helped the next generation learn.

The Internet infrastructure community has thrived for decades because experienced operators have been willing to answer questions, review configurations, introduce newcomers to colleagues, speak at Network Operator Groups (NOGs), and give back to the community that helped them build their own careers.

Many of us can point to someone who took the time to explain BGP, DNS, routing security, or network operations when we were just starting out. Those conversations often became the foundation of a career.

As our industry continues to grow, we believe preserving that culture of mentorship has never been more important.

The challenge

Today's Internet community is larger, more global, and more diverse than ever before.

New people are joining network operators, IXPs, cloud providers, research networks, and enterprises around the world. At the same time, experienced professionals are busier than ever, making it increasingly difficult for people to find the right mentor or know where to start.

Many experienced professionals genuinely want to help. They speak at conferences, answer mailing list questions, contribute to open source projects, and volunteer their time. But mentoring today often happens by chance, through existing contacts, introductions, or simply being in the right place at the right time.

Likewise, someone new to the industry may not know who to approach, how to ask for help, or even where to begin building their professional network.

We think we can do better.

Why Open Pipes?

Open Pipes was created to strengthen the Internet community through collaboration, openness, and shared knowledge.

While much of our work focuses on building tools and supporting operational excellence, we believe investing in people is just as important as investing in infrastructure.

Strong communities build resilient networks. Investing in people today creates better engineers, stronger organisations, and ultimately a healthier Internet ecosystem.

Introducing the Open Pipes Mentor Network

The Open Pipes Mentor Network (OPMN) is our vision for making mentorship easier to find, easier to manage, and more accessible for everyone.

OPMN aims to make mentoring easier to discover, more accessible, and better connected across the global Internet community.

Mentorship doesn't have to be limited to technical topics either. The community has expertise across a wide range of areas, including:

• Routing, BGP, DNS, and network operations
• Peering and interconnection
• Internet Exchange operations
• Network security and routing security
• Community building and NOG development
• Public speaking and presenting
• Leadership and career development
• Project and programme management
• Governance, policy, and standards

Whether someone is a student, a graduate engineer, transitioning into Internet infrastructure, or preparing for a leadership role, we want to make it easier to find people who are willing to help.

Building a trusted community

Our goal is to create a trusted network where mentors and mentees can engage with confidence. Initial mentor matching will be based on interests, experience, goals and areas of expertise, with the matching process continuing to evolve as we learn from the community. Over time, we'll explore ways to make recommendations even smarter, while ensuring people remain at the heart of every mentoring relationship.

Bringing mentoring to life

Some of the most valuable conversations in our community happen over coffee during a conference, after a presentation, or while walking between sessions.

That's why we're also exploring a global Conference Buddy programme.

Imagine attending your first RIPE Meeting, NANOG, APRICOT, LACNOG, AFNOG or regional NOG and already having someone who can introduce you to people, answer questions, suggest sessions, or simply make the event feel less overwhelming.

For experienced community members, it's a simple way to give back.

For newcomers, it could be the difference between attending a conference and truly becoming part of the community.

Built with the community, for the community

The Open Pipes Mentor Network isn't intended to replace the incredible mentoring that already happens across the Internet community.

Instead, we hope it can make those opportunities easier to discover, easier to participate in, and accessible to more people around the world.

Like many Open Pipes initiatives, this is something we want to build collaboratively with the community.

We're currently exploring how best to bring this vision to life and would love to hear your thoughts.

• Would you be interested in becoming a mentor?
• Are you looking for a mentor?
• Would your organisation like to support the initiative?
• Or do you simply have ideas that could make it better?

If so, we'd love to hear from you: [email protected]

Because the future of the Internet isn't just built with fibre, routers, and software.

It's built by people investing in other people.