ExploreScience group mentoring

In the group mentoring, a small group of 6 to 8 mentees is formed on the basis of a chosen career path (academia, business or society) with focus on special topics (e.g. career strategies, leadership, reconciliation of family and career), and supervised by one mentor from this field. Mentees and mentor meet in regular structured working meetings and exchange views on professional, career and everyday life-related issues. The mentoring takes place only within the group meetings. The duration of the program is 3 - 6 months.

All doctoral researchers at the University of Stuttgart are invited to participate. In case of great interest, doctoral researchers in the second half of their doctorate will be given preference. The number of participants is limited.

• Exchanging experience with peers and a mentor from academia, business or society.
• Joint reflection, discussion, and mutual support on relevant professional, career, and everyday issues in a trusting, appreciative, and noncompetitive setting.
• Building up and widen your network.

Kick-off: During the initial kick-off meeting, the mentor and the group get to know each other. This kick-off is organized and moderated by GRADUS. The mentees' pre-communicated key topics are prioritized together, and essential aspects are discussed to ensure that the mentoring becomes an inspiring and valuable experience for everyone.

Working meetings with the mentor: The following 3 to 6 working meetings with the mentor are organized independently by the group. For each meeting, an organizer from the group is designated. It is recommended to send the topics for the upcoming meeting to the mentor in advance to allow for preparation. The meetings take place approximately once a month and are moderated by the group.

Closing event: The group mentoring concludes with a joint closing event, where the results of the mentoring and the group's collaboration are reviewed. The closing event is moderated by GRADUS.

Step 1: At the beginning of each mentoring round, GRADUS selects committed mentors to encompass a broad spectrum of career paths – academia, industry, and society. The profiles of the mentors for each round are available on the GRADUS website when the call for applications is announced.

Step 2: During registration, mentees indicate their preferred mentor based on their intended career path and share the key topics they anticipate addressing during the mentoring.

Step 3: We strive to offer mentoring to all interested parties. However, if we receive more applications than there are spots available in the mentoring program, we reserve the right to make a selection. In this process, priority will be given to doctoral candidates in the later stages of their PhD.

Before the mentoring program starts, it is possible to participate to a decision-making workshop in order to gain clarity about one's own career path.

A general willingness to act as a mentor in the future is required.

To take part in the ExploreScience Peer-Mentoring Program, we ask the participants to pay a one-time participation fee of 20.00 Euro. This fee helps us to offer catering at the networking events within our mentoring programs.