What is the mentoring scheme?
The mentoring scheme is a voluntary low-threshold service available to PhD research fellows and postdoctoral fellows employed at the Faculty of Law. The objective of the scheme is to contribute to a positive working environment for young researchers. One of the aims is to ensure that any issues are identified as early as possible so that PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellow receive appropriate assistance in resolving such issues in a proper manner. The fact that mentors and PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows are matched across academic environments, departmental boundaries and age is believed to have a positive impact on multiple levels. It provides the PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows with broader support at the Faculty and this has a positive impact on the working environment as a whole.
Who can access the scheme?
All PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows employed by the Faculty of Law will be offered a mentor. A mentor can be assigned for the duration of the employment.
What does a mentor do?
Anyone can benefit from advice, support, reassurance and the opportunity to meet a wider network at the Faculty through contact with a mentor. The scheme will provide PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows with support and assistance from a more experienced researcher at the Faculty, within a flexible framework agreed upon between the mentor and PhD candidate/postdoctoral fellow. The mentor will provide social support and will be someone that the PhD candidate/postdoctoral fellow can freely discuss their work situation with. This could relate to e.g. progress, working environment and future plans. Meetings shall be confidential, which means that the PhD candidate/postdoctoral fellow can be assured that any information that emerges will not be disclosed. The mentor should ensure regular contact and take the initiative to meet.
What does a mentor not do?
The mentor role is not a therapeutic role, but the mentor can assist with finding help as needed. It is also important to note that mentors will not provide academic supervision. PhD candidates are assigned main academic supervisors and co-supervisors for this purpose.
Who can be a mentor?
All permanent academic staff or emeriti at the Faculty can be mentors. We recommend assigning mentors to PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows across the Faculty’s departments.
Departments should encourage emeriti to assume mentor roles and this should be included in emeriti agreements.
Who does what?
The departments will register the academic staff from their department who are willing to act as mentors. The names of mentors must be reported to the PhD Coordinator at the Faculty.
The home department of the PhD candidate/postdoctoral fellow must provide information about the option to be assigned a mentor during welcome meetings and shall also regularly mention the mentoring scheme, for example as part of appraisal interviews.
Departments shall keep the PhD Coordinator continuously informed of any PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows who require a mentor, as well as any special requests. The general rule is that the mentor shall work at a different department to the one in which the PhD candidate/postdoctoral fellow is appointed.
Mentors shall be assigned from the “mentor pool” in dialogue between the department, PhD Coordinator and the Head of Mentoring at the Faculty.
What does it entail?
This scheme is intended to work as an informal, low-threshold service. There are variations in the needs of PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows. Some might require a cup of coffee with a colleague once a year, while others might prefer to meet more regularly. Mentors can be credited with five hours of mentoring to their teaching time bank each year, i.e. 2.5 hours per semester per PhD candidate/postdoctoral fellow. Mentors are responsible for reporting the time spent mentoring to the person responsible for the teaching time bank within the Faculty administration.
Head of Mentoring
The Faculty shall appoint a permanent member of academic staff as the Head of Mentoring. The Head of Mentoring will have the overall responsibility for monitoring how the scheme works, ensuring dialogue with the Dean of Research and participating in the work of assigning mentors to PhD candidates/postdoctoral fellows.