SGSSS RSE Mentoring Programme
The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) has partnered with the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) on a mentoring programme that matches RSE Fellows to support ESRC-funded PhD researchers keen to enhance their research by exploring (or exploiting) its interdisciplinary potential.
Objectives
The mentoring programme is designed to:
- Awaken and develop sensitivity to the value of interdisciplinarity in research
- Enhance the student experience by supporting professional development and social capital (research impact, developing networks, careers advice)
- Support students’ engagement with their own professional development by encouraging them to negotiate the terms of their mentoring needs with their mentor as the relationship develops
- Contribute to the strategic aims of the RSE and SGSSS to create more cross-sector partnerships that support diverse and interdisciplinary research
- It should be noted that each mentee will have the opportunity to set and work towards their own objectives for mentoring.
Key Benefits
Mentees Benefits
- Explore different disciplines and learn how interdisciplinarity benefits the world of research;
- Dedicated time to focus on career options and planning with access to a knowledgeable sounding board for testing out ideas
- Increased professional networks and points of contact via the mentor, and the other mentees and mentors in the programme cohort
- Increased self-awareness, awareness of the transferability of research skills, and confidence in joining new work environments
Mentors Benefits
- Management and leadership development: self-awareness, active listening, challenging, motivating others, building commitment to action, coaching
- Increased professional networks, via the mentee, and the other mentees and mentors in the programme cohort
- Appreciation of the skills and experiences of PhD researchers and the benefit they can bring to private sector organisations
- Satisfaction of helping others who are transitioning from academic research into other sectors and/or research opportunities
Mentors and Mentees
- SGSSS Mentees: This opportunity is open to all 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 online welcome event on Wednesday 12 January 2022 at 17.00-18.30. 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 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 meetings would normally take place at the Fellow’s place of work. However, sessions may take place online due to Covid-19.
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 email, after the first 3 months
– social virtual event, after 6 months
– informal focus groups, after 9 months
– 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.
The perspective and advice offered by an expert from a different academic discipline allowed me to develop new views and approaches, and consider future possibilities in a different light.
I’ve enjoyed doing this and have found my mentee to be an engaging discussion companion and of course it’s good to be able to hand on some relevant experience and to know that it counts.
To apply for this programme please read the guidance and complete the Application Form by 26.11.2021 5pm.
The successful mentees will be matched with a mentor in December and the programme begins with a compulsory launch event on Wednesday 12 January 2022 at 17.00-18.30.
For any questions, please contact the Programme Manager Flaminia Raiteri – team@sgsss.ac.uk.
