Launching the Short-term Mentoring Scheme
by lizgloyn
We are very excited to be starting preparations for the launch of our Short-term Mentoring Scheme. This is the final element of our new mentoring programme, which complements both the Take A Graduate Student To Lunch scheme we run at the Classical Association conference and the Mentoring Triads which are running this academic year for the first time.
The short-term scheme provides the possibility of consulting a mentor on a specific topic for a brief consultation by e-mail, for a short period of no more than three months. The WCC UK will maintain a database of mentors, and assign mentees to appropriate mentors as and when they sign up. Mentors and mentees may join the scheme at any time of year, and people may be both mentors and mentees at the same time.
In order to set up this scheme, we need mentors! The guidelines for mentors are as follows:
- You should respond to your mentee’s initial email within two weeks.
- You are not obliged to advise on any issues other than those that you signed up to the scheme to help with.
- You should be clear and explicit about your ability to comment on any written material, and provide a clear timeframe of when you can provide comments if you are able to do so.
- You agree to communicate by email in the first instance. Any other means of communication should be arranged at your and your mentee’s discretion.
- Please remember that your mentee may have had different experiences from your own when giving advice.
- Please make reasonable time for your mentee, and inform them of the timeframes in which they might expect to receive responses from you.
- The scheme administrator will ensure that no mentor is overburdened at any given time.
- After sign-up, mentors will be consulted annually as to whether they wish to remain on the database. You can request to be removed from the database at any time.
- Signing up does not guarantee that you will be matched with a mentee.
The full WCC UK Mentoring Code of Conduct can be viewed here.
If you would like to sign up to offer support as a mentor as part of this scheme, please use this form.
The scheme will open for mentees in roughly one month’s time, once a database of mentors has been accumulated. Please note that you can still sign up to be a mentor once the scheme is open to mentees.
This scheme is for members of the WCC UK in good standing only; if you would like to sign up to the WCC UK, you can do so here.