MENTORSHIP IN RESEARCH BY GEOFFREY LAMTOO GULU UNIVERSITY

Concept of Mentoring Process of supporting and encouraging people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximize their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be Mentoring is a powerful personal development and empowerment tool which helps people to progress in their careers. A mentor is a guide who can help the mentee to find the right direction and who can help them to develop solutions to career issues.

Concept of mentoring (continued) It is a partnership between two people (mentor and mentee) A mentor is a guide who can help the mentee to find the right direction and develop solutions to career issues A mentor helps the mentee to believe in himself or herself and boost his or her confidence Mentoring allows the mentee to become more self aware, taking responsibility for and directing his or life Mentoring is about supporting beginning researchers, encouraging them to keep going, and helping them to deal with obstacles or problems in their research careers

Approaches to mentoring 1.Individual mentoring interaction between the mentor and individual young researchers (mentees) brings about close contact between the mentor and the mentee 2.Facilitated group mentoring allows a number of people to participate in a learning group and to benefit simultaneously from the experience and expertise of a mentor or mentors the richness of the experience multiplies as each group participant brings personal experiences into the conversation

Approaches to mentoring (Cont) 3.Peer-group mentoring brings together peers with similar learning interests or needs Group takes responsibility for designing its own learning agenda and for managing the learning process each member's learning needs are met and everyone derives maximum benefit from each other's knowledge, expertise and experience 4.Team mentoring offers a methodology for facilitating the learning of an intact team the team articulate mutual learning goals and work simultaneously with one or more mentors allows the team to be supported and to learn from each other’s experience and knowledge

Qualities of a good mentor 1.Commitment to the role of mentoring 2.Acceptance of the beginning Researchers 3.Possession of skills in research and mentoring 4.Being a model of a continuous learner 5.Communicating hope and optimism

Commitment to the role of mentoring should be highly committed to the task of helping beginning researchers find success and gratification in their new work Committed mentors show up for, and stay on, the job. Commitment comes from a resolute belief that as a mentor one is capable of making a significant and positive impact on the research quality of new researchers. A good mentor does not expect material benefit from mentees

Acceptance of the beginning Researchers has empathy - accepting another person without making judgments. sets aside, at least temporarily, personal beliefs and values. Recognises researcher as a developing person and professional. does not judge or reject mentees as being poorly prepared, overconfident, naive, or defensive. Views such characteristics as challenges to overcome to deliver meaningful support for research career development

Possession of skills in research and mentoring should have good skills and experience in research ability to coach beginning researchers to improve their performance whatever their skill levels are ability to engage mentees in team planning, collective decision making and shared responsibilities for research development. possess deep understanding of their own communication styles adjust their mentoring communications to meet the needs of individual mentees Ability to objectively observe the behavior of the mentees.

Being a model of a continuous learner Senior researchers who belief they have the right answers to every question and best solutions for every problem do not make good mentors for research transparent about their own search for better answers and more effective solutions to problems. open to learn from colleagues, including beginning researchers willing to pursue professional growth in research through a variety of means. interact with variety of people sharing experiences and knew knowledge in research.

Communicating hope and optimism communicates their belief to the mentees that they are capable of transcending present challenges and of accomplishing great things. share his/her own struggles and frustrations in research and how he/she overcame them. promotes trust in what he/she does by being genuine and caring. Project optimistic future for their institution

Activities of mentors Hold dialogue with mentees about leadership career development and share experiences Make observations of what mentees do and give feed back Delegate responsibilities to mentees Study performance evaluation reports of mentees and identify areas of improvement Encourage mentees to be optimistic about their development processes

Activities of mentors (cont) Help mentees feel good about what they have already achieved Help mentees keep to deadlines and schedules. Help mentees with bits of their work that appear to halt them Identify people who can help mentees in specific tasks Help mentees plan their works

Activities of mentors (cont) Give mentees feedback on work they do Help mentees to get the most out of feedback and advice from other colleagues Make learning for mentees possible by providing time, space, and facilities which mentees may need to do some of their learning in their day-to-day research work; Help mentees maintain perseverance when they are going through a difficult part of their own development Encourage mentees to appreciate that tough parts are only to be expected and can be overcome

Activities of mentors (cont) Give mentees feedback on work they do as they develop in their research careers Help mentees to get the most out of feedback and advice from other colleagues Make learning for mentees possible by providing time, space, and facilities Help mentees maintain their want when mentees are going through a difficult part of their own research career development, reminding mentees of the value of the final goals, and encouraging them to appreciate that tough parts are only to be expected, and can be overcome

Challenges Mentoring carried out in informal way in most institutions There is lack of comprehensive strategies to promote mentoring in institutions. Some of those who attempt to mentor new researchers lack basic skills in mentoring. There is lack of training in mentoring for both mentors and mentees Some senior researchers do not wish to share experiences with junior researchers and cannot therefore play the role of mentors

Strategies for improving mentoring in research 1.Set up mentoring scheme with clear policies, guidelines and management structure 2.There should be direct involvement (or demonstrated commitment) of senior management 3.The scheme should be monitored and evaluated regularly to allow the tangible benefits to be identified 4.The scheme should be well understood within the institution 5.Promote and provide effective training for mentors and mentees in research 6.Promote collaborations among institutions for effective development of mentoring program for research development

APPRECIATION THANK YOU