Purpose of the Postdoc Mentoring Program

The Cluster is committed to supporting the scientific, professional, and personal development of its postdoctoral researchers. To complement scientific supervision, the Cluster would like to offer a mentoring program that provides access to independent advice, career guidance, and broader professional perspectives.

Mentoring is intended to support career development, professional growth, networking, and navigating academic and non-academic career paths. It is distinct from scientific supervision and project management.

Participation in the mentoring program is strongly encouraged for newly recruited postdoctoral researchers. Postdocs appointed prior to the establishment of the Cluster may participate in the Cluster mentoring program or make use of existing mentoring and career-development programs offered by their home institutions.

Mentoring for Postdoctoral Researchers

Mentor Selection

Postdocs are encouraged to identify a mentor within the first three months of their appointment. The following mentoring arrangements are possible:

Option 1: Cluster Mentor

Postdocs are encouraged to select mentor from the Cluster’s key researchers who is independent of their supervisory and collaborative network, while having sufficient scientific or professional overlap to provide relevant guidance.

Option 2: Existing External Mentor

Postdocs who already have an established mentoring relationship outside the Cluster may continue with that mentor and report this arrangement to the Training Unit as part of the Periodic Reporting process.

Option 3: Home Institution Mentoring Program

If the postdoc’s home institution offers a structured mentoring or career-development program, participation in that program may be used to fulfil the mentoring recommendation of the Cluster and be reported as part of the Periodic Reporting process.

The Cluster aims to complement, rather than duplicate, existing institutional mentoring structures.

Recommended Frequency

• One to two mentoring meetings per year, or additional meetings as needed
• Meetings may be conducted in person or online

Suggested Discussion Topics

Mentoring discussions may include:

A. Career Development

• Academic career planning
• Fellowship applications, independent funding strategies
• Transition to group leadership
• Professional opportunities within the Cluster
• Career opportunities outside academia

B. Research Leadership

• Project management
• Team leadership and supervision
• Collaboration building
• Scientific visibility and networking
• Publication strategies

C. Professional Skills

• Grant writing
• Teaching and mentoring
• Communication and presentation skills
• Leadership and management
• Building a professional profile, feedback of CV, job applications

D. Personal Development

• Work-life integration
• Managing setbacks and uncertainty
• International mobility
• Long-term career decisions

More detalied structure of topics are avalailable here.

Responsibilities of the Postdoc

The mentee should:

• Take ownership of the mentoring relationship
• Define mentoring goals
• Prepare agendas for meetings
• Reflect on career progress and future plans
• Follow up on agreed actions

Responsibilities of the Mentor

The mentor should:

• Provide independent and confidential guidance
• Share professional experiences and lessons learned
• Offer constructive feedback
• Support career exploration and decision-making
• Facilitate networking opportunities where appropriate

Principles of the Mentoring Program

The mentoring relationship should be based on mutual respect, confidentiality, open communication, voluntary participation, and independence from formal supervision.

Mentoring is not intended to replace scientific supervision, performance evaluation, conflict-resolution procedures, or institutional support services. Rather, it provides an additional source of guidance and professional development.

Documentation

The Training Unit Coordinator maintains a record of mentor assignments and mentoring participation.

Mentees are asked to report:

• Mentor name during the first Periodic Report
• Date(s) of (planned) mentoring meetings during Periodic Reports

No confidential details of discussions will be collected.

Contact

Questions regarding the mentoring program may be directed to the Training Unit Coordinator (margit.katalin.szigeti@univie.ac.at).