Do you want to improve your mentoring relationships? Join the Mentor Training Program for postdocs, now in its 5th year! The first session will be on Monday, October 28th, 11:30 am-1:00 pm in KCBD 3200 (on the 3rd floor where GCIS, BSLC, and KCBD meet). The topic of the first session will be “Maintaining Effective Communication”.

The training sessions last 1.5 hours and are held with two session in the Fall, two sessions in the Winter, and two sessions in the Spring. Postdocs who complete all 6 sessions over the course of 2 years will receive a completion certificate for the program. The interactive format consists of moderator-led workshops where participants work through interactive exercises and case studies in small group discussions. We use a tested curriculum developed specifically for postdocs by the National Research Mentoring Network that we evaluate annually. Literature on mentoring shows that postdocs directly benefit from improved mentoring relationships.

To register for this program, complete this mentoring pre-survey.

Topics discussed during the course include:

  • Maintaining effective communication
  • Aligning expectations
  • Assessing understanding
  • Addressing equity and inclusion
  • Fostering independence
  • Promoting individual development

Feedback from Postdocs who completed the program 2015-2019 (n=34):

  • 100% said it was a valuable use of their time
  • 100%  would recommend training to other postdocs
  • 100%  made changes in their mentoring as a result of the training (all showed improvement in mentoring self-assessed mentoring skills)

Postdoc Testimonials:

“Thanks for including me in the mentor training program this year. This is very much needed a program for upcoming and young mentors. The most beautiful part of this is given an idea and how to understand, taking into confidence, trained and groom the student. Addressing equity, fostering independence and accessing understanding looks familiar and easy but difficult to bring into right practice. And this what this program delivers. Very Interactive session. Awesome!”

“I revised my mentoring strategies with my current PhD student towards an inclusive approach…leading to a consistent improvement of his performances and research results.”

“I plan to more proactive in my mentoring style. I.e. arrange formal meetings, establish expectations and goals at beginning of relationship”