FORTHEM facilitates active collaboration among partner universities with interdisciplinary events and opportunities, involving the whole academic community: researchers at different career stages, professors and students. FORTHEM is particularly engaged in fostering the employability of researchers and as such it offers the opportunity to develop new competence and identifying new research areas.  In December 2024, FORTHEM Alliance will launch a peer mentoring programme for researchers at different stages of their career. The programme fosters interdisciplinary research and facilitates the matchmaking between mentors and mentees via online meetings combined with physical mobility.

How? You will interact with other researchers, through the individual mentoring or being part of a group where one or more experienced researchers interact with less experienced researchers, exchanging experiences and providing career advice. The basis for interactions is confidentiality.

The mentor is not meant to be a supervisor, rather a counsellor – no prior-to-meeting preparation is expected from mentors.

Why? As a mentee, you will have the opportunity to get new knowledge and learning from your mentors’ experience. You will propose topics for discussion and set your own objectives. As a mentor, you will help your mentees navigate in research and showing different development options.

We will provide for you a certification attesting your participation in the project and, if required, an Open Badge attesting your competences and activities.

Other incentives will be conceived according to the internal police of your university, which you can conctact for more information.

Group composition? Groups will be made up of a max of three mentors and a maximum of 9 mentees. Matchmaking will be done based on the preference expressed at the application stage. Each group freely agree meeting intervals (suggestion is, one meeting per month lasting about 1hr).

Individual mentoring? If required and in case group mentoring is not viable, you will participate in individual mentoring.

What is expected from mentors? Mentors do not have to prepare materials of activities for the meetings, but simply act as meeting coordinators in practice. They do not act as supervisors or leaders but offer support for the common sharing of experiences within the group, initiate interdisciplinary discussion, and can shed light on academic career development based on their own experiences.

Who can apply to be a mentor? Experienced researchers, Post-docs and PhD students.

How the mentors will be selected? The selection will be carried out taking into account the motivation letter, CV and previous experiences as mentor.

Who can apply to be a mentee? Post-docs, PhD students, MA students.

What is expected from mentors? After the selection, mentors will be briefed on the program and the metolodogy, for better supporting the mentees in their career.

What is expected from mentees? Groups are self-directed and mentees proactively propose topics and scheduling. One meeting per month is advice but you can manage time on your own and in coordination with your mentors. The group activities are based on confidentiality, reciprocity, and dialogue. There is no hierarchical tie between the mentor and the mentee(s).

Preliminary schedule:

• One year online mentoring (January 2024 - December 2024)
• Bootcamp (May 2024 either in presence or online – to be defined)

For this programme, we are now looking for mentors and prospective mentees.

Sign up by filling out this form by the end of December 2023.

Registration is closed. The next call will be opened in approx. October 2024.