Mentors and Mentees  

• SGSSS Mentees: This opportunity is open to 2nd or 3rd year (or part time equivalent) ESRC-funded social science researchers at SGSSS partner universities. Students need to demonstrate in an application how this programme will support their personal and professional development, in particular enhancing the interdisciplinary potential of their research.   
   
• RSE Mentors: The RSE will invite Fellows to submit interest in this programme. The Fellows can come from any disciplinary background. The RSE will also invite mentors from the RSE Young Academy of Scotland, which fosters interdisciplinary activities among emerging leaders from science and humanities, the professions, the arts, business and civil society.  

Pairing process  

SGSSS will invite applications from ESRC-funded PhD students who would like to participate in the programme. SGSSS and the RSE will then match mentors to mentees based on their mutual interests and disciplinary connections, and facilitate introductions.  

If the mentee/mentor choose to continue the mentoring relationship after the first meeting, we will ask you to let us know when the next meeting is planned and will ask for information about the progress of your mentoring sessions to support our evaluation of the programme. 

Structure  

The programme will launch with an event at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The event will introduce mentors and mentees to the programme, and give you space for an introductory discussion.  

After the launch event, we propose a minimum of 4 meetings of one hour each over a period of 9-12 months’ time:  

• Introduction and negotiation of the relationship (Meeting 1) 
• Sharing experiences across research traditions (Meeting 2) 
• Impact of research (Meeting 3)  
• Career opportunities (meeting 4)  

We expect that the mentoring meetings would normally take place virtually. 

Monitoring and evaluation  

We’ll be regularly in touch to hear how your experience is going and help to make it even better through the following mechanisms:  

– check-in emails

– informal focus groups

– programme evaluation survey, at the end of the programme 

Measures of success  

• Mentees’ social capital is enhanced through increased opportunities for research impact, exposure to different ways of thinking, methodologies and approaches, and developing networks and careers advice outside of their discipline.  
• Mentees feel engaged in their own professional development through being able to negotiate the terms of their mentoring needs with their mentor as the relationship develops.  
• Mentors feel they are contributing to the professional development of the future workforce and nurturing leadership talent. 
• Mentors and mentees have a deeper understanding of each other’s worlds. 

Timeline