I have a small announcement to make. In the last months I became involved in MindTorch, a London based start-up that aims at matching students and young researchers with potential career mentors. It is important for young people to have a mentor or a person of reference to advise them, telling them how to invest in their future and which mistakes to avoid. MindTorch aims at helping people finding exactly that, by providing a community where everyone can find a mentor.
We are currently in the phase of recruiting mentors – that is, professional or researchers with good experience and who would be willing to dedicate some time to help and counsel younger people. Every mentor is supposed to dedicate one hour every month to their mentee, for three to six months and starting from next October/November, plus some initial time to communicate with us. So, if you would like to volunteer as a mentor for MindTorch, contact me or register as a mentor on the website.
In summary:
Do I have enough experience to mentor someone? If you have a degree and job experience you can certainly be a good mentor. We will train you and support any doubts you may have.
How much time and effort will it take? You will have to dedicate one hour every month to counsel a younger student, for three to six months.
What do I get from being a mentor? For the moment we are not planning on giving any monetary retribution to mentors, but you will get to learn a lot from the experience and have the opportunity to grow your network of contacts. We will also help you finding mentors and new contacts for your own career.
How to join: register as a mentor on the website.