SMB's In-House Peer Mentoring Programme
The School of Molecular Biosciences has developed a peer-lead mentoring scheme for all members. This mentoring scheme pairs a more senior SMB member with a newer or less-experienced member to provide peer support, career advice, and more.
Providing A Tailored Mentoring Programme for SMB Members
SMB's mentoring programme matches mentees to mentors. Over the course of a year mentors and students commit to meeting for 30 minutes per semester either online or in person.
The regular meetings are an opportunity for mentors to talk about their own career journey or experience and to share insights. Mentors might also offer advice on how mentees could develop and enhance their skills or discuss the student’s future career options and ideas.
Mentoring offers an informal and non-judgemental space to explore aspirations, concerns, challenges, careers advice, future research goals, and creativity. SMB strongly endorses the importance of strong mentorship connections within the School, and wants to ensure all members have access to this scheme.
You can check our Mentoring Slide Pack to learn more.
We operate an Opt-Out scheme, so please contact smb-admin@glasgow.ac.uk if you aren't interested in being a member of our mentoring scheme. There are plenty of other mentoring schemes available within the University.
What does the Mentoring in SMB scheme hope to achieve?
The mentoring scheme has been developed to facilitate personal and professional development of our members. As such, we run a mentoring scheme that aims to link individuals of all levels from all areas of the school with a more experienced member in the school.
How much time do I need to give to the mentoring scheme?
The mentoring scheme is designed to be informal and accessible. To get the most from our mentoring scheme, we recommend giving at least two hours per year.
How often should we meet?
You can meet as often as you like, but we recommend at least twice a year.
Who organises the first meeting?
Once you’ve been paired, you will receive an email from smb-admin introducing mentoring pairs. You will be encouraged to organise your first meeting within one month of being paired.
How much work is this?
Not much at all! Our mentoring scheme is based on casual conversations – no prior preparation is required at all.
Why is this an opt-out scheme?
All SMB members deserve the opportunity to learn from someone with more experience, or share their experience with someone else. We are embedding these principles at the core of SMB, therefore we have decided an opt-out system ensures as many people as possible will benefit from a mentor.
I have applied to be a mentor, now what?
You will be paired with a mentee whose interests align with your own. You will receive an email from smb-admin introducing you and your mentee and encouraging you to organise a meeting within the next month.
My mentor’s interests don’t align with what I was hoping for. What can I do?
We cross-reference our mentors and mentees, but if for whatever reason you’d like a different mentor, please email smb-admin and you will be re-matched when possible.
Can I be both a mentee and a mentor?
Yes! Everyone has something to offer, and SMB will facilitate anyone who wants to act as a mentor while still receiving support from a more senior SMB member.