Those of us who have been fortunate to have one or more mentors to whom we can turn for guidance will know just how valuable it can be to have trusted people to provide support at critical times during the development of our careers. Equally, those of us who have been entrusted with the opportunity to provide mentorship to our colleagues will know just how rewarding it can be to see mentored colleagues succeed and prosper in their career journeys. Indeed, such professional relationships often lead to lifelong friendships that can be both professionally and personally rewarding and define us in ways that we cannot even initially imagine.
The ISGS is proposing to establish a mentorship program to support colleagues in the sol-gel community-of-practice at all stages of their career journeys, from PhD student to early/mid -career to established practitioner. Although many of us successfully identify mentors within our immediate workplace, it is sometimes highly beneficial (or even necessary) to seek advice from colleagues who might not be an integral part of our daily professional environment, and who might have insights and perspectives that would otherwise be unavailable to us. The foundations of any such relationships are trust and mutual respect, together with a capacity (on both sides) to actively listen, to be available and to propose strategies to address issues. Of course, celebrating success is also one of the rewarding outcomes on both sides of the relationship.
If you are interested in either being a mentor or in seeking the support of more senior colleagues to help you to define and/or achieve your career aspirations, then we invite you to contact the ISGS Newsletter Editor by email.
For those interested in becoming ISGS mentors, please provide:
- A short CV
- Any formal experience that you might have had as a mentor
- An indication of the areas in which you would be prepared to provide advice or mentorship (e.g. advice on career development opportunities for PhD students or Post-Doctoral Fellows, approaches to building new, productive collaborative relationships, etc)
- An indication of how many people you would be prepared to mentor
For those interested in being mentored or seeking specific career advice, please provide:
- A short CV
- An indication of your short and mid-term career aspirations
- An indication of the area(s) in which you are seeking advice or mentorship
- An indication of the type of mentor that you are seeking to engage with.
All information provided will be treated confidentially, up until the point where potential mentors and mentees agree to engage in a mentoring relationship.
As always, if you have any suggestions that might help us to refine the aspirations and outcomes of the ISGS Men-torship Program, please pass them on to the Newsletter Editor by email.
