Mentoring for postdocs
At the Postdoc Academy, we run a mentoring scheme which offers postdocs the opportunity to have reflective and developmental career conversations with a mentor from academia or beyond.
We match postdocs individually with a mentor that they will work with over a 9-month period.
The aim of mentoring is to support you to identify and achieve your professional goals or overcome challenges. The conversations with your mentor provide a confidential space for guided reflection, personal development, and the introduction of new perspectives.
Mentee applications for the January 2025 round have now closed.
The next round of mentoring will begin in May 2025 and we will open for applications in February. In the meantime, prospective mentees can look out for the next call for applications via the weekly Bulletin and on our LinkedIn channel.
Please note we are no longer using a register of interest form in between application windows.
If you have any questions about mentoring, please get in touch with the team at mentoring.pda@admin.cam.ac.uk
What to expect from the scheme
The following introduction video explains how our mentoring programme works and what postdocs can expect when they apply to be matched with a mentor.
The key features of this scheme are that it is:
- developmental - focusing on how you can achieve personal or professional goals
- 9 months in duration - with at least 3-5 meetings over that time
- driven by you, the postdoc - based on your needs and ambitions.
Other sources of support
If you miss an application window for our scheme, or you are looking for a different type of support with your development, you can find the following resources around the University:
- Postdoc Careers Service - offer 1:1 appointments for career planning, feedback on applications and preparation for job interviews.
- Staff Diversity Networks - are open to individuals who work for the University, a College or an associated institution and are members of a protected group. They provide networking and social events, and some run their own mentoring programmes.
- Strategic Research Networks and Interdisciplinary Research Centres - provide opportunities to connect with people across the University working on similar research themes in different disciplines.
- Staff Counselling Centre - provide counselling sessions open to all members of staff, you can refer yourself in confidence online. They also provide mental health resources and information about ways to seek support.
- The p2i network app - connects you to experts in a range of entrepreneurial fields.
Are you interested in becoming a mentor?
We are always looking to expand our pool of potential mentors to meet the development needs of Cambridge postdocs - we would love to hear from you whether you work in academia or beyond.
Non-academic mentors just need to have experience working in a sector that may be of interest to postdocs.
Academic mentors need to hold a teaching or research position at the level of Senior Research Associate or above.
Please fill in the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/a6whr5na3P