The International European University is pleased to announce opening a mentorship program for young researchers.
The mentoring program is a new form of career support for young researchers at the International European University through the exchange of informal practices.
Ten mentor-mentee pairs will be supported during the pilot cycle.
Pilot mentoring cycle schedule:
| 06-09.2025 | Accepting applications for the program participation in the program from mentors |
| 07-11.2025 | Accepting applications for participation in the program from young scientists (mentees) |
| 12.2025 | Selection of mentee-mentor pairs |
| 01-12.2026 | Mentoring meetings (approximately five meetings per year) |
The main focus of the Mentoring Program:
♦ Providing tools for the continuous career development of young researchers. This helps to effectively overcome obstacles and resolve dilemmas related to career direction.
♦ Supporting equal opportunities and cultural and institutional change at the International European University, with a focus on supporting young scientists in science and research.
Target groups
Mentees are employees of the International European University: young researchers in the early stages of their careers — individuals with no more than eight years of experience in science at the Ph.D. level, both women and men. Applicants are welcome regardless of their priority in their future research career – those aiming to obtain a habilitation and those planning further career steps outside of academia.
Mentors are experienced researchers with at least eight years of experience in science and research after obtaining a PhD. Mentors are expected to come from the International European University, other Ukrainian or foreign academic institutions, and non-academic sectors (companies, government agencies, non-profit organizations). Academic mentors must have a tenured position (associate professor or professor). Non-academic mentors are not required to have a PhD.
Expected benefits of the mentoring program:
Benefits for Mentees
♦ Identifying and achieving desired career goals through informal information and access to new networks (networking).
♦ Reasoned decisions in the area of improving competencies to promote progress in your chosen career.
♦ Informed decisions about balancing personal and professional life.
Benefits for mentors
♦ Obtaining mentoring skills and transferring them to the work of a supervisor: scientific director and mentor.
♦ Adopting a culture of support in working with young researchers.
Benefits of the International European University
♦ An active mentoring program as a proven tool to support young researchers in the early stages of their careers.
♦ Introducing new procedures for young researchers’ career development through exchanging experience with experienced colleagues from the International European University and other institutions.
Content of mentoring meetings
Meetings should always be confidential. The foundation of successful mentoring is mutual trust and the understanding that the topics and information discussed will not be disclosed outside the couple.
Meetings should focus on the program objectives, i.e., setting and achieving career goals, identifying competencies needed to achieve them, and balancing personal and professional life (if applicable).
During the first meeting, the mentee, in collaboration with the mentor, establishes in the Mentoring Agreement specific goals that he wants to achieve during the mentoring meetings.
The topics discussed include the specifics of an academic career, the path to tenure, career transition to a non-academic institution, competencies needed to achieve career goals, competitiveness/conflict within a research group, balancing personal and work life, etc.
Various forms of meetings are welcome: discussions, joint visits to professional symposia or networking events, etc.
Selection of mentors
Mentors will be selected based on applications received through a competitive selection process. Based on the applications received, ten mentors will be selected, ensuring approximately equal representation of men and women, covering all major academic disciplines (humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, medical sciences, and technical fields), including both staff of the International European University (agents of change) and representatives of other academic and non-academic institutions. The emphasis will be on the variability of the career path.
A list of mentors will be published on the program website, and if necessary, potential mentors not on this list will be contacted to reflect the mentorship candidates’ preferences.
The mentee will be able to propose their mentor, whom the program administrator will contact.
Mentors will not receive financial compensation for their mentoring activities.
The main benefit for mentors is acquiring new competencies through mentoring.
These competencies include the ability to motivate and support junior colleagues, leadership skills, communication skills, the ability to see a situation from another’s perspective, and creating a culture of open feedback.
A mentor should also be willing to share their experiences, knowledge, and expertise; they should be empathetic, open, and supportive.
Selection of mentees
Mentees will be selected on the basis of a competition. The application will consist of a questionnaire, resume, and motivation letter.
If the program administrator receives more than twenty applications, the selection will be made according to the following criteria:
♦ gender (priority will be given to female researchers; half of the mentor positions will be reserved for them),
♦ academic discipline (preferably a broad representation of disciplines across the university),
♦ the applicant’s motivation to participate in the program.
Particular attention will be paid to applications that address topics such as:
♦ Development of theory and methodology and the search for solutions to the global community’s response to the challenges of the emergence and spread of new diseases and clinical conditions. The interaction of cultural heritage, natural resources, and social and economic factors in the focus of sustainable development.
♦ Development of applied solutions for implementing and using modern technologies and innovations, primarily artificial intelligence, in the context of the transition to a new socio-economic formation caused by the emergence and development of Industry 4.0 and 5.0.
♦ Determining ways and mechanisms to achieve sustainable development of society, overcoming the consequences of the exacerbation of global military-political, financial-economic, and environmental risks due to military aggression in Ukraine.
Matching between mentees and mentors
Selection will be based on the preferences indicated by mentees in the program application, where they can select a mentor from a list. If no potential mentor matches the mentee’s preferences, the project administrator will contact other potential mentors outside the initial list. Interdisciplinary mentee-mentor pairs will be welcome. An equal opportunities specialist will be involved in the selection process to ensure that the mentoring program will bring the greatest benefit to the field of equal opportunities at an international European university.
Mentors and mentees must also have “minimum professional distance.” Minimum professional distance means that the mentor should not be an employee of the same department/institute as the mentee. However, experienced researchers working in a similar field at foreign universities or candidates from the private sector will be given preference when selected as mentors to ensure the mentors’ independence from the mentee’s home institution.
Decisions are made by the Academic Council of the International European University following a competitive selection procedure. Particular attention is paid to whether the choice of mentor is conducive to the research project and personal career development.
Detailed information for mentors and the application form for the mentoring program will be published in early June 2025.
The Department of Scientific Activities of the International European University manages the mentoring program.
If you have any questions, please contact Iryna BOIARKO at iboiarko@ieu.edu.ua (subject of the email “Mentoring Program for Young Researchers”).