The Mentoring Scheme

The Mentoring Scheme

The E4 DTP team recruited ten mentoring groups with three participants each: a current PhD student, a widening access undergraduate student, and a Secondary 6 pupil attending a school eligible for the Lothians Equal Access Programme for Schools (LEAPS). The sessions between high school pupils and undergraduate students were varied and included attending lectures and tutorials, tour of the campus, chat about UCAS applications, furthering knowledge on topics the high school pupils covered at school, attending lab sessions and fieldtrips. Some of the activities that high school mentees attended with their PhD mentors included lab work, attending seminars, working on undergraduate assignments, taking part in coding sessions, and field trips. PhD mentors introduced their undergraduate mentees to their PhD supervisors and other PhD students, took them to reading groups, chatted about writing PhD applications, and gave advice on writing academic CVs.

 

“The E4 DTP mentoring scheme gave me a great insight into what university life is like and has ensured me that studying Geography at Edinburgh University is the right path for me.

Getting to see lectures and doing some experiments was a great experience.

I made some good friends while on this programme as well as good memories. I have also learned a lot about volcanoes by helping with an experiment and going to lectures.

My mentors helped me work through and review my first draft of my issues essay for Advanced Higher Geography even though they hadn't ever seen one before. They majorly helped me progress through my essay and gave me some great tips as well.

This mentoring scheme made me feel more confident about going to university as well as boosting my interest in the general subject of geography.”

- Naomi, high school pupil mentee - 

 

 

“I met around once a week with my high school mentee, usually having quite informal sessions in a university café. We discussed what their hopes were for university and how they could benefit from mentoring. The sessions ranged from casual chats about what university is like, to researching universities and courses, to providing tips on writing personal statements and academic study.

With my PhD mentor, we discussed what the application process is like and how to go about finding programs that match my interests. He also provided advice on academic CVs and what sort of things I could include in it. I really enjoyed getting to hear about his journey to a PhD and also learning about his field of research as it was very interesting!

Before the mentoring scheme, I felt like a PhD would have been something unachievable for me as I had no idea what the process involved. Now, I feel that postgraduate study could be an option for someone like me and I am much more confident in thinking about my options for the future. I am also much more confident taking on the role of mentor. The opportunity to both be a mentor and also be mentored myself was a unique, enriching experience.” 

 

 

 

 

“It was amazing to be a part of the mentoring scheme and mentor two lovely students. I tried to show them a glimpse of my PhD life.

I shared some of my schedule, my daily routine work, my experiments and workshops with them and it was fun.

They both were very interested to learn about everything, and hopefully this will help them to make well-informed decisions for their future steps.

This scheme also helped me improve my skills for explaining my work to somebody who is not related to my field.

I really enjoyed to be a part of this scheme and would love to do it again if an opportunity arises."

- Ayushi, PhD  mentor -