A2 - So you've got a mentoring scheme - what next? - Embedding mentoring and developing a mentoring culture
| Day | Day 1 |
|---|---|
| Session | A |
| Start time | 15:20 |
| Strand |
Research staff / talent development |
| Code | A2 |
| Presenters |
Jos Finer, Head of Organisational and Staff Development, University of St Andrews Alison Mitchell, Director of Development, Vitae |
Workshop overview:
Over that last few years, a range of sectoral drivers have pushed HEIs towards establishing formal mentoring schemes. Institutions have learned a lot about how to set up and manage schemes, how to train and support schemes members and have themselves developed their appreciation of mentoring as an effective approach to support professional and career development. There is a huge enthusiasm for mentoring, but much of the focus so far has been on getting the schemes up and running and then on refining and improving them, and making them sustainable. But after a few years, you have to ask 'what next?', what are our long term goals for mentoring and how can we achieve them? This workshop will address the issue from the perspective of the St Andrews' experience over the last 10 years, and will draw on our mentoring collaborations with more than thirty UK HEIs. The workshop will be delivered in collaboration with Vitae and will also reflect Vitae's experience in working with HE institutions to embed researcher development processes and to make them an integral part of the institutional research climate.
Workshop topics covered:
- Development of mentoring for researchers in higher education
- The current mentoring landscape
- Institutional experience so far
- Future considerations and longer term strategy
- Embedding a mentoring approach and achieving a mentoring culture
Themes covered:
- Engaging research leaders, principal investigators and supervisors to transform professional development of researchers and embed professional development in the research environment
Workshop outcomes:
By the end of the workshop participants will:
- Have a clear sense of the volume and range of mentoring activity in the sector
- Appreciate the main focus of mentoring activity over recent years
- Have explored considerations around the future development of formal mentoring as an embedded part of institutional life
- Have considered their own experience in this light and will have begun the process of clarify a mentoring strategy for the future.
Format:
Workshop, including presentations and group activities/discussion
