Mentors

University professors, academics from non-university research institutions and professionals from industry and other non-academic institutions are recruited as mentors by Osnabrück University. The mentees can propose their desired mentors themselves, which means that the mentors are held in great trust and high esteem.

Mentors are characterized by their special commitment to supporting doctoral candidates and postdocs and by the pleasure they take in passing on their knowledge. Within the mentoring partnership, they pass on their experience and knowledge of career planning and development to the mentees. They support their mentee in an advisory capacity with regard to the next career steps, important upcoming milestones in their professional career (e.g. an appointment procedure) and the development of networks.

Role of the Mentors

As a mentor, you support your mentee in their decisions and in realistically assessing and valuing their own abilities. You advise the mentee on a wide range of topics and professional situations. Mentors contribute their experience and knowledge of informal structures, give mentees feedback on their skills and help develop their strengths. It is not the mentor's job to be able to answer every question. It remains the mentee's task to find their own solutions to their concerns; mentors can accompany them on the path to finding solutions.

The mentoring relationship should be based on partnership and equality, with the mentor and mentee jointly deciding on the topics of the discussions. Key requirements are confidentiality, voluntariness and independence: there should be no dependency between the participants.

Mentoring is not a one-sided process. Mentors also benefit from the exchange with their mentees.

Advantages for mentors

• Active involvement in the promotion of young academics
• Expansion of interdisciplinary networks
• Reflection on their own career path and experiences
• New ideas for their own work