Mentoring Scheme

The CPLAS Programme Grant management team aims to support and develop the team across all career levels. We are piloting a mentoring scheme open to Early Career Researchers who would like and to explore their role, future progression and gain new skillsets with a mentor.

Each mentee will be matched with a co-investigator at a different institution, which we hope will create lasting connections and foster a sense of community.

Mentoring can be one of the most rewarding areas of professional life, with both mentors and mentees reporting that they gained greater insights into their own approach to their career, as well as making firm friendships within their pairings. The relationship between the mentor and the mentee is at the core of the enterprise, where the development of the mentee is the key focus. The development needs satisfied through the relationship can vary in focus from guidance on settling into a new organisation, and performance improvement to career management. The main point with mentoring is that the mentee determines the focus. They take the lead in identifying issues and, with guidance from the mentor, resolving them. The mentor is not there to provide ‘the answers’, but to guide the mentee towards ‘the answer’ that is right for them.