The idea of mentoring...

Mentoring is a proven and effective tool for supporting early-career researchers and leadership development. Mentoring is based on the informal transfer of experience and knowledge and the individual support of an early-career researcher (mentee) by an individual with specialist academic or professional experience (mentor). Mentoring promotes professional and personal development. Mentors support their (usually) younger colleagues in the early stages of their academic careers by giving insights into potential career pathways, career planning advice and constructive feedback on their achievements and skills. They impart important knowledge of leadership requirements, structures and processes in academia and research, explain unwritten and informal practices and facilitate access to career-relevant networks.

One-to-one mentoring is complemented by a supporting programme that prepares the mentees for their role and offers opportunities for networking and reflecting on the mentoring process. In addition, four training workshops are usually offered that are specifically tailored to the needs of the mentees. The programme starts with a Kick-Off-Workshop with focus on methods and strategies for individual career management and for finding the right mentor. Followed by individual coaching hour’s mentees get tools in second workshop to start an effective mentoring relationship with the mentors. A half-year meeting focuses on status quo of the mentoring process and supports mentees for the further time. A closing symposium (partly with Mentors) focus on career and networking strategies for the future career and give the chance to meet all mentors and mentees, exchange experiences during the one year mentoring period.

Next to regular meetings with the mentor, the group of mentees also meets twice to share the experiences in the development of the mentor-mentee relationship. Workshops and talks are organised.
The OLTECH mentoring programme is specifically aimed at Female and male early career researchers, PhD students, enrolled in the Graduate School Science, Medicine and Technology – OLTECH.

For PhD students the mentoring programme will be credited with 6 CP.

Mentoring partnerships have the following characteristics:

• Mentoring is a non-hierarchical partnership and does not involve authority to issue instructions.
• The duration of a mentoring partnership is limited. Regular contact is maintained throughout the mentoring period.
• Age is an irrelevant factor even though the mentors are usually older than their mentees.
• Mentoring is a mutual process of give and take. Mentors can also benefit through personal and professional development.
• The programme structure and funding of mentoring programmes must be visible and transparent
• Voluntary contribution, mutual goodwill, respect and trust are pivotal to mentoring partnerships.
• Mentoring is designed to support rather than replace professional coaching.

The concept of mentoring goes back to Greek mythology: Odysseus asked his friend Mentor to teach and advise his son Telemachus during his absence. However, it was often a woman, the goddess Pallas Athene, who carried out these duties in the form of Mentor.