Take part in the mentor scheme
What is the most targeted approach you can take to a career as a researcher at Aarhus University? The purpose of a new mentor scheme entitled ‘Empower Talent!’ is to bring young researchers together with more experienced colleagues to discuss questions like this one in more depth. You can register as either a mentor or a mentee until 15 November.
‘Empower Talent!’ matches staff at assistant professor (assistant professor/researcher/postdoc) level with more experienced colleagues at associate professor level or higher. A mentorship agreement usually runs for one year.
What do participants stand to gain from registering for the ‘Empower Talent!’ scheme?
For mentees, the obvious benefit of taking part is that the scheme can help provide feedback on their CVs, assistance with networking, skills mapping and advice about how to succeed in a research environment.
For mentors, ‘Empower Talent!’ opens up the opportunity to shape and reinforce the research and teaching environments as well as to contribute to and influence the generational change at AU. Above all, it gives the pleasure and satisfaction that come from helping young researchers to develop professionally and personally.
The website www.au.dk/en/empowertalent contains much more information about what you stand to gain from taking on the role of either mentor or mentee – along with details of what will be required of you.
Retaining talent and exchanging information across AU
The primary purpose of ‘Empower Talent!’ is to highlight career paths and to attract and retain the most highly skilled academic staff.
The scheme is intended to match ‘mentor pairs’ across disciplines, which means that both mentors and mentees can expect to gain insight into how things look from different parts of the university.
“Pairing mentors and mentees provides the perfect opportunity for academic staff in all areas of Aarhus University to exchange useful information and experience. It is an opportunity that cuts across the usual contact interfaces that exist at the individual departments,” says Dean Svend Hylleberg, one of the driving forces behind the ‘Empower Talent!’ scheme – who also intends to put himself forward as a mentor.
Facts and links.
- The application deadline for the first round of the ‘Empower Talent!’ scheme is 15 November 2013.
- To find out more and to register, visit: www.au.dk/en/empowertalent.
- See the evaluation of a mentor pilot project at the former ASB and NAT in 2010, where both mentors and mentees share their experience.
AU HR is facilitating ‘Empower Talent!’ To support the process, a variety of materials have been developed, including a new website (www.au.dk/en/empowertalent), a template for agreements between mentor and mentee, inspiration material, assessment and theme meetings. Moreover, all participants will be offered the AU Mentor Manual, which will soon be available.