Introduction to Mentoring

“I am very glad to welcome this excellent initiative. The opportunity for doctoral students and postdocs to interact in this way will be enriching for both sides, and help to release the huge potential that is embedded in our postgraduate community in Cambridge.”

Professor Steve Connor, Grace 2 Professor of English, Cambridge

This mentoring programme is intended to support doctoral students as they negotiate the challenges of a rigorous and sometimes isolating academic programme; and to help post-docs become knowledgeable, experienced mentors.

The programme is open to post-docs across Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, and doctoral students in English and HPS (we hope to extend this to other faculties soon).

Whether you've had some experience with mentoring, or even none, this programme offers you the chance to refine your understanding of it and gain valuable experience with the support of experienced mentors at CRASSH and the Careers Service.

– As a post-doc you'll have the opportunity to support doctoral students and build mentoring skills (both great things to have on your CV) including getting a sense of what a mentoring relationship is and can be, and its benefits to you and the person you are supporting.

– As a doctoral student you'll have the chance to talk directly with someone who is navigating the demands of early career life, from research to job applications, from network-building to goal-setting (to give just a few examples), and to think about life within and beyond the doctorate.

The relationship will be yours to develop. CRASSH will offer an initial matching of post-doc and doctoral student, and an introductory session  for everyone involved outlining what mentoring is, how to go about it, what you might expect, and some useful questions to ask yourself before you begin. You'll also have the chance to reflect on what you gained from the process, and what you might improve on, at an end-of-programme session  in November 2016.

Convenors

Dr Alison Wood and Dr Rachel Holmes

To register please complete the form  here (for doctoral student) or here (for post-doc)  and send to the organisers by  15 February 2017.

Timeline:

• Friday 24 February, CRASSH. A compulsory session ‘Introduction to Mentoring’ with lunch provided
• February -July: Initial mentoring period
• Friday 14 July, CRASSH. Review session
• July – February, Continued mentoring