Mentoring Circles - Postdocs | Applications now open

Mentoring circles are mentoring sessions in which a small group of University of Edinburgh 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.

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.

If you are considering being a mentor on this group mentoring programme, but not sure if you should - read our blog which provides a bit more context around the role, and feedback from our amazing mentors on our programme last year.