The Spinal Cord Injury Network Mentoring Program

As part of the Spinal Cord Injury Network’s remit to facilitate spinal cord injury research, we are piloting a mentoring program for emerging researchers and clinicians in 2009/10. Basic scientists are hard hit by the increasing difficulty of obtaining research funding. Clinicians struggle to find time to develop the academic side of their careers. The Spinal Cord Injury Network is committed to helping where we can, and ensuring we keep our best and brightest researchers and clinicians in the spinal cord injury arena. The aim of the program is that each mentor will develop a one-on-one partnership with an emerging researcher/clinician. The mentor–mentee partnership should be based on honesty, mutual respect and a genuine interest to learn from each other. It should have a clearly defined and specified short-term goal. Both parties should recognise mentoring can be time-consuming and you must be prepared to ‘put in’ if you want to ‘take out’. Confidentiality is essential and mentors and mentees should also be aware that conflicts of interest can be an issue if you are competing for similar sources of funds or revealing intellectual property.

Be a mentor

We are looking for enthusiastic and experienced researchers who would be willing to be a mentor. Benefits of being a mentor include the satisfaction of helping young people enhance their career development and an opportunity to see a new perspective on your own professional experiences. Once you have registered your interest, the Spinal Cord Injury Network will approach you with the name of a mentee, where appropriate. We will only ask you to look after one mentee, and of course you can decline at that stage should you wish. If you accept, we will let both you and the mentee know, and seek feedback from both of you at a later stage.

Download Nature's Guide for Mentors. Click here

Register your interest to become a mentor

 
Name:
 
Email Address
 
Phone no
 
Area of research interests    
 
 
 

Be a mentee

If you need independent advice about your career plans, future directions, or grant writing, the Spinal Cord Injury Network mentoring program is for you. Seek an expert’s advice. You will receive support and encouragement from someone who has gone through similar experiences and a broader view on what you need to do to survive the system.

Register your interest to become a mentee

 
 
Name:
 
Email Address
 
Phone no
 
Area of research interests
 

Please include a brief career
summary and any previous
experience with mentoring, or
attempts to seek a mentor
 
Goals you seek from
the mentoring experience
 
 

The Spinal Cord Injury Network will do its best to link you with a potential mentor, based on the information you provide, so be as specific as you can. When we have found you a mentor, we will leave you to work together on the goals, timeline, etc. We will seek feedback on the experience at a later stage, so we can optimise its usefulness.