From Dynamic Ecology
by Meghan Duffy,
a University of Michigan ecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyI recently learned about an approach to mentoring that I think has a lot of potential. My initial conversations with others suggests they think it has promise, too. The goal of this post is both to share the idea and to (hopefully!) hear from people with experience with this approach.
Here’s the general idea: some larger graduate programs at Michigan use an approach where each cohort is assigned a mentor. So, there is one mentor for all of the first year students, a different one for all of the second year students, etc. That person is an additional resource for those students – someone who they can turn to for advice. They also host regular events (I think maybe ~monthly) for the cohort, which helps them develop skills, explore different topics, and crucially, helps build community.*
A few more details:
- This apparently is really helpful even for students who have good relationships with their research advisor; we can all benefit from more support and more mentoring
- It seems to work better when one particular mentor does not follow the students all the way through…