Mentoring in Academic Settings

Mentoring can be applied to a variety of people, situations and purposes. In academic settings, mentoring is used both for students and for academic staff. The broad aims of mentoring for staff are to reduce academic stress; to ensure that academics are encouraged to engage in quality teaching and research; to develop a culture and community of mentoring in the faculties; and to encourage cross faculty collaboration. Mentoring for students is used for stimulation and motivation purpose;  to acclimatize new students to college life and its challenges, and to provide help by older students to younger students in specific subjects.

Some mentoring schemes involves researchers who would benefit from mentoring in teaching and some would improve the capacity for research-led teaching outcomes in faculties by involving innovative teachers who would benefit from mentoring in research-led teaching (eg.early career academics and stalled researchers that may benefit from a range of mentored skills such as time management, research prioritisation, research methods, grant getting or pedagogical research and other opportunities).