Resources for Empowering Successful Mentoring Relationships
Nature's Guide for Mentors
Mentoring sometimes does not get the recognition it deserves. The Nature award for creative mentoring in science was created to acknowledge and celebrate mentoring. A good mentor early in your career can make all the difference, no matter your area of study or career path. The following article includes references for how important mentoring is, highlights satisfaction for being a good mentor, and expresses how second-generation mentors are learning from their own mentors. This is a great resource for both mentors and mentees.
Building a Relationship with a Mentee
Building an effective relationship of mutual understanding and trust with the mentee is a critical component of effective mentoring. Mentors can establish rapport with their mentees by using effective interpersonal communication skills, actively building trust, and maintaining confidentiality. This document contains information and advice to help mentors build rapport and create positive relationships with mentees so both parties can achieve the greatest benefit from the mentoring experience.
The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) serves as a vital catalyst for advancing the research enterprise by fostering excellence in professional development and institutional culture. By facilitating comprehensive training for mentors and mentees across all career stages and disciplines, CIMER ensures that these critical professional relationships are built on a foundation of proven success.
Beyond simple training, the organization is committed to innovation and sustainability within the field. They actively develop and study new resources and approaches to enhance mentoring dynamics while supporting a robust network of professionals dedicated to studying these relationships. Ultimately, CIMER’s mission is to promote a lasting cultural change that prioritizes and values high-quality research mentoring as a cornerstone of academic and scientific growth.
OITE has created workshops and other training activities to support extramural principal investigators (PIs) and staff as they manage and lead biomedical research groups. In this series, five units covering communication, resilience, inclusivity, conflict and feedback, and trainee wellbeing, will help PIs and staff support your biomedical trainees. Each unit will explore ways to manage common challenges in research groups by means of a webinar (to watch in real-time or via a recording) and facilitated small groups designed to build a community to improve training across the US. You are encouraged to attend the entire series, but each unit may be attended as a stand-alone. Workshops begin February 1st, 2022.
ISSA is here to support international students through their transition at IU Indianapolis. We focus on:
- Getting to know IU Indianapolis
- Becoming familiar with Indianapolis
- Adjusting to U.S. life and academics
- Setting and achieving success goals
- Meeting people and having FUN!
Questions? Email imentor@iu.edu.
The goal of the Graduate Emissaries program is to connect trained IU Indianapolis graduate and professional students to serve as program ambassadors and assist in the various stages of the graduate process. A major function of emissaries is to provide for the interchange/exchange of information that facilitate progression and successful completion of their graduate student programs. Emissaries will serve as initial peer contacts for pre-application graduate and professional students and will also work to build a more connected graduate student community through formal and informal mentoring activities. Additionally, emissaries will assist in creating a welcoming campus environment, networking support, and providing information and referrals to on campus resources and services.
Additional Mentor Training Courses
This self-directed course is designed to help faculty members (or other experienced researchers) optimize their mentoring relationships with graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and early-career faculty. The course predominantly addresses research mentoring that occurs within biomedical, behavioral, and social science fields. But, many of the principles and approaches covered in this course are applicable to other disciplines and other types of mentoring relationships.
Mentoring Graduate Students, Post Docs & Early Career Faculty
For Faculty and Staff, NIH OITE offer the Raising A Resilient Scientist Series. There are five units in the series; each unit will consist of a 60-minute online lecture followed by a 15-minute Q&A. Lectures will run from 12:00 - 1:15 pm ET. For more information and to register, please visit Raising a Resilient Scientist series 2025