FCNC Faculty-Trainee Mentorship Program
Goal:
The primary goal is to foster the professional development of trainees (graduate students and postdocs) by connecting them with additional mentors who are FCNC members and who can offer guidance on research (e.g., providing technical or conceptual expertise that complements what’s available in the Trainees’ lab) and career development (e.g., grant writing, job applications).
Benefits:
· Trainees will gain valuable insights, advice, and support from experienced faculty members, helping them to develop their skills and advance their careers.
· Mentors will benefit from the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience, contribute to the development of the next generation of scholars, and potentially gain new perspectives from their mentees.
· The program can build the communication between Trainees’ advisors and FCNC mentors, and foster potential collaborations.
Process:
Participation in the program is entirely voluntary. It is recommended that mentors be paired with 1 to 2 mentees (or more, depending on the mentor-mentee ratio). Mentor and mentee(s) will have a one-on-one or group meeting at the FCNC conference to discuss their research, career paths, etc. Trainees’ graduate/postdoc advisors are welcome to attend the meeting.
1. Pairing mentors and mentees.
First, interested faculty should register by submitting their CV or biosketch or Lab/personal website here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVTEOrLpHzqtZX_5Zi-91FJibHIE-ZAu05o8MfnxrEpitLdQ/viewform?usp=header).
Second, the participating faculty list will be shared with the trainees. Interested trainees could choose 1-3 faculty members as potential mentors, write the reason for choosing each faculty member (less than 100 words), and submit their CV by using this link (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRMCVLfqWMRWTte5qKd9uKvu8cUoDqVtNYCbpGy6PhfpOH-g/viewform?usp=header).
Third, the trainees’ choices will be shared with faculty members. Each faculty member can choose 1-2 (or more) of the trainees who selected them. If a faculty member chooses over 2 trainees, they could consider having a group meeting.
The faculty-trainee pair lasts for at least a year, and it is extendable.
2. Mentor-trainee meeting.
Trainees could schedule a meeting with their FCNC mentors at the FCNC conference. It could be a one-on-one meeting if mentee/mentor ratio is 1 or 2; otherwise, they could consider a group meeting. They could also correspond and meet at times outside the FCNC conference.
Trainees’ graduate/postdoc advisors are welcome to attend the meeting.
Conclusion:
This FCNC Faculty-Trainee Mentorship Program provides an opportunity for communication between trainees and faculty members, and facilitates the trainees’ career development. Additionally, this program can foster potential collaboration between trainees’ advisors with FCNC mentors. The overall goal of the program is to build a platform to enhance connections, promote collaborations, and advance career development.