Law and Management

• Areas of study
• Future students
• About the Faculty
  • Schools in the Faculty
  • Campuses
  • Our staff
  • Teaching and Learning
    • Initiatives
    • Workshops and seminars 2009
    • Events calendar
    • Language and Academic Skills Unit
    • Study guides
  • Partner institutions
  • Industry and community engagement
  • Publications
  • News
• Research
• Alumni
• Contact us

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring is an important and increasingly common process in universities. Mentoring is a relationship in which a more experienced member of staff (mentor) supports a less experienced colleague (mentee) as the mentee works to develop his or her professional skills and approaches in ways that are relevant to him- or herself.

Mentoring is a confidential, non-reporting relationship. The mentor does not have responsibility for the mentees PEDS, and is not reporting progress to a supervisor. As a result, the mentee is more able to take supported risks in their professional learning, and both are able to be less reserved than would be possible in a more formal relationship. In a formal program, some of the goals of mentoring may be pre-established by the School/Faculty/University, but within the mentoring relationship, the ways in which those goals are addressed and supported is negotiated between the mentee and mentor.

What are the benefits of mentoring?

Mentoring can be a very productive and rewarding activity for both the mentor and mentee. While the gains for the mentee may seem more obvious (support for development, an insider perspective, etc.) the mentor also has an opportunity to reflect upon their own experiences and goals, and to see their experience as valued beyond their immediate performance.

Benefits For Mentees

Mentoring provides an important support and development tool for new and developing staff. It also helps new staff to form relationships within the institution and/or school. Other benefits include:

• support in the development of teaching materials and practice
• the development of reflective practice (by way of having a critical friend)
• increased self-confidence
• access to networking
• a sense of belonging to the School and Faculty
• greater understanding of the organisational culture in which he/she is working
• having a confidential listener for issues that arise in the context of their role

Benefits For Mentors

Because mentors are often in a senior role, they have the opportunity to invest their experience into the institution and the individual in a unique way. Benefits for the mentor from this include:

• recognition of expertise;
• opportunity to reflect on your own teaching;
• identification of possible areas of self-development;
• satisfaction of supporting a colleagues development;
• possible organisational recognition and reward;
• possibility of conversations leading to new insights for own work.

Mentoring in the Faculty of Law and Management

In 2009, The Faculty of Law and Management will introduce a voluntary mentoring scheme to be trialled in one or more schools in conjunction with Peer Observation and Review of Teaching (PORT). The aim of the program will be to help new academics develop their teaching activities (including development of learning materials, and teaching practice) within the School context.

For further details, contact Bernadette Knewstubb or David Spencer