Mentoring programme for female postdoctoral fellows

What is the mentoring programme?

This mentoring program is a career development program for female postdoctoral fellows at UiO who want to pursue a further career in academia.

You as postdoc will be assigned a mentor who is an employee in an academic top position at UiO. In the programme you will be a mentee who will develop the mentoring relationship through individual meetings with your mentor and in workshops with the rest of the participants in the programme.

A mentor is a person who can support and help you in your development of your career path. A mentor takes the time to get to know your career and what you find challenging in order to achieve your goals.

Participate as a mentee?

A mentee is a female postdoctoral fellow who wants to use time with a mentor to clarify her career ambitions and career opportunities. 

In the mentor/mentee relationship you are both responsible for contributing to a positive mentoring relationship. This means an understanding that you as a mentee play the main role in your career development and you are responsible for your own learning and achievement through the programme. Your mentor is a discussion partner and a guide who is keen on helping you develop your goals. The mentor will guide you, but also challenge you. Your mentor is also your colleague at UiO, and is not a coach or therapist. The relationship is characterized by discussing your personal career development.

Possible benefits for you as a mentee

• Clarifying career ambitions and career opportunities
• Focus on reflection and actions to further your learning and your career development
• Building relationships and networks for furthering your career across UiO

Criteria to be eligible as a mentee

Mentees must be female postdoctoral fellows (SKO1352) employed at UiO. There are 20-25 places in the programme. There are between 50-60 applicants each year, and selection of participants will be based on the following criteria:

• Timeframe of the postdoctoral position (more than 6 months left of the position after the program is finished).
• Representation and selection based on belonging to different faculties and departments.
• Motivation and arguments for participation.
• Employed at the University in a 100 % position, and not on leave during the duration of the programme.
• You are not participating in other mentoring programmes / career support initiatives.

If you are not accepted to the programme one year, you can of course apply again the following year if you still meet the criteria. 

How do I apply?

You have to fill out an online application. The application is used to select participants, as well in order to ensure the best possible match between a you as mentee and an eligible mentor.

 The application period for the programme in 2024 is now closed.  

•  If you want to prepare your application for next year, please see the standard application form (word).

Participate as a mentor?

As mentor you are hired in an academic top positions at UiO and are motivated to support the career development of a female postdoc from another faculty/department.

You have to be prepared to set aside time to meet the mentee between 8-10 times during the duration of the programme. You are conscious of your position in relation to the mentee in terms of possible influence and power relations, and will maintain the mentoring relationship in accordance to UiO's ethical guidelines.

Possible benefits for you as a mentor

• Building relationships and networking with a new generation of researchers across UiO.
• Sharpening your skills for spotting and developing talent.
• Gaining new insight into the dynamics and learning opportunities of mentoring ¨C also using these skills in your daily work and in your own departments and teams, developing the organization.
• Developing your network with other mentors across UiO.

Criteria to be a mentor

The selection of eligible mentors will be based on the following criteria:

• Hired as associate professor, professor (I or II) or researcher (I) at UiO.
• Your motivation to participate in the programme and willingness to reserve time for your role as mentor.
• Your interest in encouraging other people's growth.
• Wish to develop oneself.
• Your ability to listen and serve as an inspiring discussion partner.

How do I apply?

You must fill in an online application. The application is used to select participants, as well in order to ensure the best possible match between you as mentor and a suitable mentee.

The application to be a mentor is now open and the deadline is November 12, 2023. 

Apply to be a mentor

Please note that your application will be assessed with focus on a successful matching between mentor and mentee. One criteria is that the mentee and mentor come from different faculties and/or departments. We can therefore not guarantee that you will be/continue as a mentor, but we are very happy to receive your application. 

How do we match mentee and mentor?

After we have assessed the applications, the selected participants are invited via email to attend a matching interview (app. 30 minutes in Zoom/Teams). These interviews will be conducted during the first couple of weeks of January.  

After the interviews, the programme managers will match mentee and mentor. The matching is based on the following criteria:

• Mentee and mentor from across faculties/departments to ensure as neutral a relationship as possible (i.e. to avoid conflicts of interest)
• The interests of the mentee vs. the experience of the mentor
• The ability to challenge each other, ensuring diversity, all the while working from a point of commonality

The final match will be announced at the Kick-off. See the event calendar for more information.  

Contents of the programme

The programme starts in January and ends in November. As a participant, you commit to attending the following:

• Interview: Individual introduction interviews at the start of January with mentees and mentors to ensure we know you and your aspirations when we match mentee and mentor.
• Kick off: The programme kicks off with an event at the end of January where the matches will be announced, and you will meet your mentee/mentor for the first time. 
• Mentoring meetings: During the programme, mentors and mentees are expected to hold 8-10 meetings of 1,5-2 hours. Both mentee and mentor have a responsibility to make sure these meetings happen.
• Workshops: In addition to the Kick off, the programme is framed by four workshops to prepare for mentoring, provide learning opportunities as well as to provide tools and inspiration for mentors and mentees.
• Evaluation: Towards the end of the programme, mentees and mentors are invited to fill out an online and anonymous evaluation of the programme.

The dates and more specific information about the workshops can be found in the event calender. The participants will be invited to these events in Outlook. 

Event calendar 2024

Language

• The main language of the programme is English, including communication via invitations, e-mails, workshops and information materials.
• We hope to have mentor-mentee meetings in a language both parties are comfortable with. Therefore we are recruiting both English speaking and Norwegian speaking mentors and mentees. 

Organisation

This program is organised by the Department of Organization and Personnel on behalf of UiO's coordination group for equality. The program is financed by UiO's equality budget in order to increase the percentage of women in academic top positions. 

If you have any questions relating to this progamme, please contact senior advisor Vivienne Lumayag : vivienne.lumayag@admin.uio.no