The Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) is pleased to announce the launch of our first Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) mentoring programme.
The YCEDE PGR Mentoring programme has been created in consultation and collaboration with staff and PGRs from across the consortium to provide a bespoke mentoring programme for UK black, Asian and minority ethnic* PGRs. The purpose of this programme is to provide PGRs with a trained mentor with whom they are able to have supportive, non-judgemental conversations about their experiences of postgraduate research and their professional and career development. The YCEDE PGR Mentoring programme is part of a wider programme of opportunities and support that students can access.
Registration is now open for interested postgraduate researchers who would like to become a YCEDE mentee. Please find full details of the YCEDE PGR Mentoring programme below.
What is the YCEDE PGR Mentoring programme?
The Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) is a collaboration between five universities in Yorkshire, 12 UKRI-funded Doctoral Training partnerships and Centres for Doctoral Training plus a number of external partners dedicated to equity at the doctoral level. The five Yorkshire universities involved are; Sheffield, Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield Hallam.
This is a 6-month, one-to-one mentoring programme, which pairs a PGR with a member of staff, either at their own institution or from a partnered university. This mentoring programme is not for PGRs seeking research-specific guidance or support, as mentors will not be able to comment on your research. This programme is for those who wish to speak with a mentor about their experiences of postgraduate research and/or their professional and career development. Further details and programme specifics will be covered as part of the induction process.
The YCEDE PGR mentoring programme forms part of our commitment to ensuring we deliver an equitable PhD experience for black, Asian and minority ethnic PGRs across the consortium.
Who is eligible to be a YCEDE mentee?
To participate, we ask that you identify as black, Asian or minority ethnic and are a home (UK-domiciled) student currently enrolled as a doctoral researcher at a YCEDE institution. This programme is open to PGRs in any year of their doctoral programme.
We ask that interested PGRs can commit the following to the programme:
- Be able to meet with their mentor 6 times between January and June 2023. Meetings can be held online or in person and we would suggest having an expectation of each meeting being approximately an hour in duration.
- Be able to attend an induction programme which forms part of our support to both mentors and mentees. This includes an induction to the programme and mentoring, and a bespoke session delivered by Diverse Minds. These can be attended together or as two separate sessions (totalling 3.5 hours). All sessions are held online.
- Are committed to providing feedback to the programme.
The Diverse Minds session is being held Tuesday 6th December 10:00 – 12:00. Induction workshops are being held on several dates and you only need to attend one: Monday 5th December, 10:00 – 11:30; Tuesday 6th December, 12:00 – 13.30; Wednesday 14th December, 13.30 – 15.00. If you are unable to attend at these times or if you would prefer to take part at a later date please complete this form so we are able to contact you to participate in future rounds.
Who are YCEDE mentors?
From consultation with our current PGRs, YCEDE mentors are research staff (postdocs, research fellows etc.), academic staff and professional service staff who hold a PhD and have lived experience, research experience or awareness of the cultural context of underrepresented groups in higher education. All mentors will have undertaken training prior to becoming a YCEDE mentor. Both mentors and mentees are offered continued support throughout the programme.
How to register?
Please register by completing this form. You will be asked to select induction and workshop dates during registration. Please register by Friday 2nd December.
Any questions?
We welcome further questions by email to esther.allen@sheffield.ac.uk or info@ycede.ac.uk
