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.

Who can apply?

PhD students, Early Stage Researchers and Experienced Researchers.

Why?

As a mentor, you will help your mentees navigate in research and showing different development options, not limited to the academic field, but also to the work-like balance or personal experience. In this sense, the mentee will have the opportunity to get new knowledge and learning from your experience. You will propose topics for discussion and set your own objectives.

As a mentee, you will find a guidance and explore with your mentor different development options, not limited to the academic field, but also to the work-like balance or personal experience.  You will have the opportunity to get new knowledge and learning from the mentors’ experience. You will propose topics for discussion and set your own objectives.

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.

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.

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.

What is expected from mentors and mentees?

Mentors are not meant to be supervisors, rather counsellors or learning facilitators. They 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.

No prior-to-meeting preparation is expected from mentors. They do not have to prepare materials of activities for the meetings, but simply act as meeting coordinators in practice.

Mentees will set their objectives with the mentor and they will schedule their meetings.  They are in charge for the prior-to-meeting, in terms of setting the content of the meeting.

As part of a group, you have to participate in the meetings taking place during the period of the Mentoring, approximately one per month, for the duration of the programme (one year since the matchmaking).

Preliminary schedule:

• One year online mentoring (January 2025 - December 2025)
• Bootcamp (May 2025 either in presence or online – to be defined)

How to apply?

Experienced researchers, Post-docs and PhD students can apply for being mentors.

Only 30 mentors and 60 mentees will be selected. The selection will be carried out taking into account the motivation letter, CV and previous experiences as mentor.

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

Sign up by filling out this form by September 25th for mentors / October 10th for mentees

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