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Mentoring is a key and critical component in the development of a successful research career. A mentor is a person who has experience in a relevant discipline and is someone with the time and capacity to assist mentees as they navigate through the trials and tribulations of track record development. A good mentor will offer guidance and support rather than instruction and direction. As part of a productive mentoring partnership, a mentee needs to be able to conceptualise a long-term vision around research goals and career development and proactively work with the mentor to achieve set goals in a realistic timeframe.
Potential Benefits to the Mentee
- identification of an experienced colleague who can facilitate the transition into QUT and the broader research community
- ability to enhance research expertise around grant writing, publishing, supervision and cross-faculty collaboration
- easier integration into competitive teams
- honest and frank assessment of performance and opportunity
- increased confidence and knowledge associated with meeting goals
Characteristics of a Good Mentor
- a strong research track record characterised by national competitive grant success and quality peer reviewed publications
- experience in research leadership at a senior level
- active participation on expert advisory committees, external assessment panels and editorial boards.
Role of the Mentor
It is expected that mentors will undertake the following roles:
- identify and discuss the research goals and career expectations of the mentee
- support and develop the capacity of the mentee to undertake quality research
- assist the mentee to develop a research plan that clearly identifies the tasks, objectives and milestones associated with a developing track record
- monitor achievement against the research plan, and address issues as they arise
- critically review the content of draft applications and publications and provide constructive feedback
- review assessors' comments and assist mentee to provide an appropriate response
- review unsuccessful applications and publications and provide advice on areas for improvement.
Role of the Mentee
- the ability to conceive a long-term vision around research goals and career expectations
- proactive communication with the mentor, including a commitment to meet regularly
- a willingness to submit work that is of sufficient quality to enable critical review and constructive feedback
- a willingness to collaborate with other researchers
- an understanding of QUT's Code of Conduct for Research and Intellectual Property Policy
Developing a Research Plan
- a well conceived research plan is a critical component of the mentoring partnership and should be constructed around specific goals against realistic time frames
- the research plan must be guided by the research goals and career expectations of the mentee. Sufficient time should be allocated to teasing out the key principles of a realistic plan for the mentee.
Getting the Ball Rolling
Stage 1:
- Mentor and mentee meet to discuss research goals and career expectations
- Goals and expectations are discussed in the context of what is possible at the school/centre, faculty/institute and university level.
- Goals are prioritised as part of a research plan and a strategy is developed for meeting them in a realistic timeframe. At this point the mentor may choose the assign a series of tasks associated with the identified goals
- Frequency of meetings is discussed and placed into the QUT diary
Stage 2: (6 months)
- Assessment of progress towards goals is made by the mentor
- Research plan modified based on feedback
Stage 3: (12 months)
- Assessment of progress across the year is reviewed by the mentor
- Successes and failures are examined to identify areas of strength and weakness
- Revision of the research plan
Agreement
While many mentoring relationships function well under an informal environment, it may be useful to enter into a formal mentoring agreement to ensure that there is alignment of the mentor and mentee's expectations.  Agreement template.
Assistant Deans (Research)
Each faculty has an Assistant Dean (Research). It is the responsibility of the Assistant Dean to drive the research and research training agenda for the Faculty and to ensure that Early Career Researchers (ECR's) and new staff are aware of research priorities and opportunities within the Faculty and across the broader university.
- Built Environment and Engineering: Professor John Bell - ext: 84298
- Business: Professor Per Davidsson - ext: 82051
- Creative Industries: Professor Brad Haseman - ext: 83730
- Education: Professor Carmel Diezmann - ext: 83601
- Health: Professor Mary Courtney - ext: 89639
- Information Technology: Professor Kerry Raymond - ext: 89390
- Law: Professor Bill Duncan - ext: 82709
- Science: Professor Martin Sillence - ext: 82565
- Humanities Program: Professor Clive Bean - ext: 84512
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