Mentorship
Mentoring is a recognised strategy to support career advancement and can, therefore, assist in redressing imbalances in representation of people of different races, genders and those with disabilities at higher levels in academia.
The need for additional support and mentoring for students, academics and PASS staff at early career stages, particularly over and above that which is provided through the traditional supervisor relationship, has long been recognised. This can range from support with specific skills through to more personal issues such as balancing work and family and overcoming personal barriers to participating in academic life.
The IDM Mentorship Programme is open to all staff and students affiliated with the IDM. Membership to the Mentorship working group is voluntary, and open to all staff and students affiliated with the IDM. The Chair, Catherine Orrell and co-chair, Georgia Schäfer may be contacted regarding joining the Mentorship working group.
What is mentoring?
In this context, we define mentoring as one to one support given by a more experienced colleague to a junior colleague over a period of at least a year. Mentoring can provide support to mentees around a number of issues.
We also have several resource guides available to assist Mentors and Mentees. These include:
- Induction Guide to the IDM
- Staff and Student Development Opportunities at UCT
- Staff and Student Wellness Services at UCT
- Structures, Policies, and Procedures for Raising Grievances and Resolving Disputes
All these resource guides, and more, can be found here.