Summary of the role:

Having the support of a mentor who has “been there and done that” can be transformational in helping students achieve their potential and feel a greater sense of purpose and belonging at university.

Could you be one of those mentors?

Mentoring is an extremely rewarding process and allows you to develop your own skills whilst supporting others:

· Improved communication and inter-personal skills.

· Increased confidence.

· Chance to support another student.

· Opportunity to attend mentor training.

· Evidence of skills that employers want.

For Postgraduate Research students (PGRs), peer mentoring is being introduced to help address a sense of isolation that can be experienced by some PGRs and to facilitate peer support within the doctoral research community.

Skills/Experience Required

No prior experience required but mentors must have a genuine interest in the support and development of others. Mentors should be approachable, reliable and have an understanding and commitment to confidentiality.

Other desirable skills: emotional intelligence, organization and listening skills.

Benefits to mentor

Students will receive mentor training and the experience students will gain from supporting others will help them improve their interpersonal skills and confidence.

Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) areas developed as part of the role: Mentoring (D1.5), Integrity (B1.3), Self-reflection (B1.5), Reputation and esteem (B3.5).

Benefits to others

Mentors provide pastoral and practical support to other students. They offer a safe space for worries and concerns to be discussed and for solutions/plans to be formulated. They also offer students the chance to speak to someone who is more experienced than themselves to gain helpful insight into what they need to do to achieve and succeed on their research degree.

Training

Mentors will receive training based on resources developed by the Skills Team. Specific topics may include: the fundamentals of mentoring, expectations/boundaries, listening and questioning skills, goal/task planning and confidentiality.

Adapted from the Skills Centre resource developed by Nick Russell