The Arqus Mentoring Programme for Early-Stage Researchers aims to support PhDs and PostDocs in the pursuit of an academic career. Mentees are matched with more experienced researchers from another Arqus university to discuss topics such as strategic career planning, time and project management, job application processes, or publication strategies. Mentors are not compensated, but self-motivated, often by the desire to “give back” to the younger academic community, to stay in touch with current developments in academia, to improve their mentoring and supervision skills and to increase their network. Between 20 to 30 mentees get selected each year, the matching is carried out by the working group based on the applications as well as short interviews with the mentees. The programme lasts nine months, from October to June, and is entering its third round in fall of 2025. The Arqus Mentoring Programme starts with a Kick-Off Workshop in late September/early October, previous workshops have been held in Graz and Lyon. This two-day event, led by the professional facilitator who is accompanying the whole programme, serves to prepare mentees for the upcoming months, discussing best practices and challenges in mentoring, and to build the peer group. Mentees also receive five online training sessions on topics such as AI in academia or international funding opportunities. Mentors are able to join regular Mentors’ Lounges to exchange on the mentoring process with their peers and the programme facilitator. As the mentoring hinges on the interpersonal relationship between mentor and mentee, experiences within the programme can vary, but feedback to the first fully completed round (2023-2024) have been overall very positive, and critique has been considered in carrying out the next rounds, with the desire to keep improving this offer for Early-Stage Researchers.
