EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE ASSOCIATION

Mentoring

EPSA Mentoring Scheme

Applications are now open for the EPSA's new mentoring scheme. The EPSA mentoring scheme is open to all EPSA members. It is designed in the first instance to help junior/early-career scholars, especially those currently working or aiming to work in Europe. However, the scheme may also be of use to senior academics who are moving to or around Europe and need advice from a peer. 

The aim of the EPSA in creating the mentoring scheme is to provide career advice, guidance, and general counsel on issues that scholars typically face in the profession, including but not limited to:

  • Questions about how to apply for PhD positions in Europe.
  • Discuss questions about how to apply for academic jobs in Europe. 
  • Discuss questions about job and tenure negotiations.
  • Discuss questions about research stays abroad.
  • Obtain information about the working conditions in different European countries, including basic information about the work regulations (e.g. number of vacation days, duration of maternity leave, number of required working hours a week, etc.).
  • Obtain information about potential research groups in Europe that may work in similar topics to the one of the mentee.
  • Obtain information about potential funding sources for early career researchers across Europe.
  • Discuss questions about how to combine family and academia (incl. two-body problems) or deal with chronic illness in academia.
  • Discuss issues of discrimination or conflicts at work.
  • Discuss questions about the professional development (research focus, time management, publication strategies, teaching, service expectations).

Mentoring is intended to be a one-off meeting of 60-90 minutes. Of course, mentors and mentees can decide for their meeting to become the basis of a longer-term connection, but that is beyond the intended scope of the mentoring scheme.

Both mentors and mentees must complete a short online application. This is an opportunity to reflect on what you hope to achieve and helps us to make a strong match.

Information for mentees

As a mentee, you will have the opportunity to talk to a senior academic about issues that scholars like yourself tend to face in the profession. To benefit from the scheme, mentees need to fill in a form, where they provide some details about the type of enquiry they aim to address with the mentor. Access to the mentoring scheme is exclusively restricted to EPSA members. (The EPSA offers a discounted membership fee for Students and Eastern European members.)

Apply to be a mentee

We aim to check the applications pool and respond to any enquiries weekly.

Information for mentors

As a mentor, you will have an opportunity to pass on your knowledge and experience. Mentors should be senior scholars in the profession (ranging from experienced postdocs to faculty Professors) interested in providing occasional counsel to junior scholars on a range of issues.

Mentoring activities can take place by any means that the mentor and the mentee consider appropriate (in person, by phone, by skype, etc.). The activity should typically take no more than 60-90 minutes. This is a working model adopted from SWIP Germany where this kind of mentoring has already been successfully established.

Mentors will always have the final say in whether they want to provide counselling in any particular case.

Apply to be a mentor

We aim to check the applications pool and respond to any enquiries weekly.

Confidentiality

All the information will be treated confidentially. Neither the contact details of the mentees nor mentors will be made public, and your information will only be shared upon specific user requests. Data entered in the mentor and mentee forms will be processed through Google services. View Google's privacy policy here.

Contact us

For all enquiries, contact the EPSA Mentoring Scheme at epsa.mentoring@gmail.com.

Acknowledgements

The EPSA mentoring scheme is a joint initiative by the Women's Caucus, the Student Representatives, and the Steering Committee of the EPSA. We owe special thanks for setting up and supporting this programme to Maria Jimenez Buedo, Lena Kästner, Insa Lawler, Agnieszka Proszewska, Javier Suárez Díaz, and Johanna Thoma. For technical support, we thank James Wilson.

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