AdvanceScience Mentoring - Briefly Explained
AdvanceScience is a two-year mentoring program in the classic 1-to-1 format for postdocs, habilitation candidates, and junior research group leaders. In the 1-to-1 mentoring setup, a mentee is paired with an experienced mentor from the fields of science, business, or society for a hierarchy-free, regular exchange. Mentee and mentor jointly decide on the working methodology in their tandem relationship.
Your Benefits as a Mentee:
- Broadening Your Perspectives: Through exchanges with your mentor, you gain new insights and viewpoints that foster your personal and professional development.
- Career Orientation: Your mentor supports you in gaining clarity about your career path and making relevant professional decisions.
- Skills Development: Targeted feedback and guidance help you become aware of and further develop your strengths and potential.
- Network Expansion: The mentoring relationship grants you access to relevant networks and contacts that can be beneficial in your professional career.
- Goal Setting and Motivation: Your mentor encourages you to concretize your goals and inspires you to achieve them successfully.
- Personal Growth: Continuous support and guidance enhance your self-confidence, self-reflection, and personal progress.
- Learning from Experience: Your mentor shares valuable professional experiences, helping you better navigate potential challenges.
- Access to Specific Knowledge: Through exchanges with your mentor, you gain access to specific expertise and specialized knowledge.
- Strengthening Your Network: The mentoring relationship allows you to expand your professional network and make valuable connections.
How Does It Work?
Step 1: During the application process, including a personal interview with GRADUS, the mentee specifies preferences regarding the mentor and the desired professional background: 1) Science, 2) Business, or 3) Society.
Note: For those uncertain about which career path to pursue, our decision workshop "Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft - welcher Karriereweg ist der richtige für mich?" (in German) can help provide clearer insights. Here you can find the next dates.
Step 2: Based on this information, GRADUS searches for a suitable mentor and facilitates contact between the mentee and mentor.
Step 3: After the matching process, the mentee takes the initiative. At the beginning of the mentoring relationship, the mentee and mentor jointly define the framework for the mentoring (type of meetings, frequency, topics, etc.). The mentee is the driving force in the mentoring process.
The program lasts for two years and includes a kick-off and a closing event. A mid-term evaluation takes place after one year.
Dates
| Programme step | Period I Date |
| Call for application | July 2024 |
| Optional: Decision workshop "Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft - welcher Karriereweg ist der richtige für mich?" (in German) | 8 August 2024 |
| Application deadline | 16 August 2024 |
| Interviews | 10 - 13 September 2024 |
| Kick-off | 12 December 2024, 10 - 12 h (online) |
| Mid-term evaluation | December, 2025 (tbd) |
| Final event (online or face-to-face) | December, 2026 (tbd) |
Participation Requirements and Application
- The mentee should be prepared to proactively establish and maintain a mentoring relationship.
- Participation in the Kick-Off and Closing events is mandatory.
- The group size is limited to 20 participants; therefore, individual interviews will be conducted after the application phase. The University of Stuttgart aims to significantly increase the proportion of women in all status groups; hence, half of the spots are reserved for women.
- A general willingness to serve as a mentor in the future is expected.
- A one-time participation fee of 75 euros is required for the AdvanceScience Mentoring Program. This amount helps us finance the catering at the mentoring networking events.
Here you can apply as a mentee and become part of our inspiring network. Please fill out the profile form (see the form under the "Application" button) and send it to us along with your CV. Your information will help us find a suitable mentor for you. If you have any questions, please contact us at: mentoring@gradus.uni-stuttgart.de