Mentoring Circles - Postdocs

What are Mentoring Circles?

Mentoring circles are mentoring sessions in which a small group of postdocs are provided a mentor.  They will allow a postdoc to receive mentoring support alongside the opportunity to meet other postdocs with similar interests, challenges, concerns and who may be at the same stage of their career, therefore finding solutions to problems whilst building connections.

This mentoring opportunity is part of our commitment under the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

Benefits of the Mentoring Circles

Mentoring circles provide many of the same benefits to traditional mentoring, with some added advantages including:

• Building connections and expanding networks
• Peer to Peer support
• Sharing ideas and plans around career development
• Broader variety of discussions

This experience has been both new and positive. Until now, I had not encountered such an environment. I have greatly benefited from collaborating with a group of esteemed colleagues who share diverse perspectives. In this setting, there is a mutual respect, with no competition among team members; instead, each individual offers valuable suggestions from their unique viewpoint.

For me the group aspect has been super valuable, providing the opportunity to get ideas & perspectives from both postdocs and faculty, and also have more wide-ranging discussions than in a 1-1 setting

Mentees in Mentoring Circles Programme, Academic Year 2024/25

How do Mentoring Circles work and what is the time commitment?

The group will be constructed based on preferences provided on registration and will all have similar objectives for taking part in mentoring.  What is discussed, a schedule, and the focus of the mentoring circles is decided by the group in the initial meeting.  We ask that discussions remain confidential to allow individuals to feel comfortable contributing and sharing.

The group composition will include 3 or 4 mentees, who will typically be postdocs, and 1 lead mentor, usually a more senior academic.  To get the most out of these Mentoring Circles we strongly encourage mentees to attend all sessions. We suggest the mentoring circles should meet over a 6-month period from 2nd February – 31st July 2026 and we encourage everyone in the group to get the meeting dates in the diary at the first meeting, to ensure everyone can attend.  The meetings’ frequency and duration will be decided by the group, but we suggest meeting 4-6 times, for 1-1.5hr each time. 

How does the matching work?

Mentees will be matched with colleagues who are at a relatively similar stage, have common interests, objectives and goals for taking part. We will also consider cross School/College matches, where appropriate. The mix of disciplines will of course depend on who registers. Mentors will be considered for their area of research and linked to the expectations of mentees. 

What if the mentoring circle is not right for me after all?

Once matched, if any mentee decides not to continue and / or feels that the group mentoring isn’t working for them, this is completely fine.  There is no obligation to continue in a mentoring circle if it’s not supporting your interests, career goals and development.  We do ask that you let the group mentor and IAD know, so we can update our details accordingly.

Role of the mentor in the mentoring circles

Mentors will be able to share their professional experiences, knowledge, and skills with a wider pool of researchers.  Being a mentor can help you to develop your communication and interpersonal skills and allow you the opportunity to reflect on your own practice.  

Was also supported by the group - was able to provide insight into experience and challenges I face at my career stage and felt the group provided really useful support and insight there too.

Being a mentor allowed me to reflect at my own career, experiences and strategies. 

Mentors in Mentoring Circles Programme, Academic Year 2024/25

The Mentoring Circles should be an informal space where everyone feels encouraged and comfortable to speak but mentors should still be focused on running the session based on the group aims and objectives and we encourage them to adopt their own method of facilitation for the session. 

How can I get involved?

For those interested in applying to take part in Mentoring Circles during Academic Year 2025/26, please see the key dates below:

The application form consists of a short MS Form, gathering only the relevant information around your role, experience and what are you looking to get out of the mentoring. The number of participants accepted will depend on the number of mentors available.

Matching will be carried out by the IAD's Researcher Development Team early December 2025, and an email will be sent to both mentor and mentee applicants to inform them of the outcome of their application mid-December.

Being part of the Mentoring Circles scheme was an amazing experience for me as a mentor. I wasn't convinced by the idea of group mentoring before, having only been part of one-on-one schemes - but I was blown away by how well this works. Mentees in the group are able to help support each other so much more effectively than a senior mentor can do alone. And as a mentor I learned a lot about the challenges post-docs face by hearing the different perspectives and the exchanges within the group.

Mentor in Mentoring Circles Programme, Academic Year 2024/25

This programme has helped me be more strategic in how I approach my career,  . . . The meetings also acted as good check-in/accountability checks for me (although my mentor never made us feel like we had to demonstrate our progress since last meeting) which helped keep me actively working towards my goals more strategically and with more clarity

Mentee in Mentoring Circles Programme, Academic Year 2024/25

I feel grateful to have been a part of the Postdoc Mentoring Circles pilot programme, as this was an entirely positive experience. My mentor was truly fantastic, offering excellent support and wisdom during each mentoring session. I also really enjoyed meeting fellow postdocs that I would not have otherwise crossed paths with (being in different disciplines/locations), hearing about their experience and building my academic network

Mentee in Mentoring Circles Programme, Academic Year 2024/25

Mentoring resources

For further information on mentoring, please have a look at the IAD Mentoring Resources page.