D1 - Mentoring schemes: coordination, data management and technology
Day 2 at 13:45 - Mentoring schemes are becoming an increasingly important approach to supporting professional and career development for researchers, with drivers like REF2014, the HR Excellence in Research Award and Athena Swan all pushing mentoring up the agenda. While mentoring schemes are a cost effective way to achieve truly transformational impact on researchers' careers they can also be a significant administrative burden for scheme coordinators. Application processes, matching of partners, tracking of partnerships and maintaining a sustainable scheme all require staff resources and generate a large amount of data - which must be recorded and stored in an accurate and accessible way. This workshop explored the typical work processes for supported mentoring schemes, the data management issues associated with running schemes and the different approaches that can be adopted to ensure that schemes are efficient, effective, adaptable and accommodate increasing institutional capacity to provide mentoring. During the workshop Jos also presented technology solutions developed and implemented by the University of St Andrews based on its experience with mentoring schemes since 2005. Strand - All Researchers (practice).
| Day | Day 2 |
|---|---|
| Session | D |
| Start time | 13:45 |
| Strand | All Researchers (practice) |
| Code | D1 |
| Presenters | Mr Jos Finer - Staff Developer (Research Staff), University of St Andrews |
Topics covered:
- the value of mentoring schemes to support professional and career development
- typical work flows and key administrative processes in centrally coordinated mentoring schemes
- data generated by mentoring schemes and data management issues
- approaches to administration and data management for mentoring schemes
- using technology effectively to create adaptability, efficiency and capacity in mentoring schemes.
Workshop outcomes:
By the end of the workshop, participants:
- had a clear appreciation of the typical administrative processes associated with coordinating mentoring schemes
- understood the scope and scale of data generated by mentoring schemes
- were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to the administration of mentoring schemes
- appreciated the value of making effective use of technology to support mentoring schemes, such as the technology solution developed at the University of St Andrews.
Format:
Workshop including group work, discussion, presentation and demonstration.
