ESRC Doctoral Training Centre
Mentoring Circles for ESRC DTC students – Information for Mentors
What are mentoring Circles?
Mentoring Circles are groups consisting of one or more Circle Leaders (or Mentors) who are people
with some experience of the field in question, and a group of participants (Mentees) who have less
experience. They meet regularly to discuss experiences and challenges that mentees face.
The advantages of mentoring circles over traditional 1:1 mentoring models include:
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Peer to peer support in addition to standard mentoring
Networking and building relationships
Variety and depth of discussions
Different perspectives
Can reach a larger number of mentees with fewer mentors
Administratively lighter touch
Key features of the DTC scheme include:
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Circle allocation – Interdisciplinary circles of 5-6 participants who are new studentship
holders. Successful schemes elsewhere have found that the groups work well if participants
have broadly similar interests, but are from a mixture of different disciplines. This enables a
greater variety of perspectives and experiences to come out in discussions and can lead to
increased learning for the participants.
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Voluntary participation – It is essential that participation is voluntary for both circle leaders
and circle participants. If a participant decides not to continue, there will be no negative
repercussions for that individual. However, we would ask that they notify the DTC coordinator to provide some feedback to inform future improvements/developments to the
scheme.
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Two mentors per circle who have already completed the first year of the PhD – Mentoring
circle schemes in other contexts have found it beneficial to have mentors that are a little
further on than the mentees. If there is too much of a gap in knowledge/status/experience
between mentor and mentees, it can in some cases inhibit the mentoring process. Having
two mentors means that there is some mutual support and provides potential for reflection
following the sessions.
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Training and support for mentors– Training will be provided for mentors. This will include
details of how to initiate the circle and set ground rules. Further meetings for the mentors
will be arranged during the year and the DTC Director will be available for support as needed.
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Circle Meeting Coordination and Frequency – We will advise that circles meet every 6-8
weeks but it will be up to the circle group/circle leaders to discuss and decide a schedule of
meetings. We will advise that meeting dates are scheduled up front to ensure that dates are
in the diaries well in advance.
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Circle Meeting Discussion Themes –Topics for discussion for circle meetings will be up to the
circle groups to decide, though we will make some suggestions.
What are the benefits to me?
Mentoring circles are not only beneficial for the circle participants; there can also be both personal
and professional benefits for those that take on the circle leader/mentor role. For mentors the
circles can provide:
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Opportunities to develop and refine skills (mentoring, coaching, listening, supporting)
Opportunity to network and influence
Recognition of your achievements as a doctoral researcher
Opportunity for reflection through the views of mentees and peers
Satisfaction when a mentee succeeds or gains confidence
Opportunity to share experiences to assist others in their development and growth
Impressive entry on your CV.
What are the expectations for Mentors?
The circle leaders’ key role is to listen and facilitate. The circles allow the participants an opportunity
to talk and share their experiences, issues, hopes and fears with other doctoral researchers.
As a circle leader you would be expected to:
 Be able to commit to 4-6 circle meetings of 1.5 – 2hr duration to be held at roughly 6-8 week
intervals throughout the 14/15 year (number and schedule of meetings will be up to the
circle leaders and group members to agree)
 Work collaboratively with the other mentor in your circle
 Ensure ground rules and expectations are discussed in the initial meeting
 Provide a supportive and positive atmosphere that encourages individuals to share personal
stories and advice
 Provide a good balance as a facilitator, bringing everyone together
 Provide constructive feedback and when appropriate, push participants to think more
deeply, address uncomfortable issues and set higher personal ambitions
 When appropriate provide practical relevant advice/suggestions
 Portray a realistic view of academic possibilities
 As a more senior research student within the circle you will have valuable
experience/knowledge/information so please share it with your circle, but you are not
expected to know it all.
 Provide feedback on the scheme as it progresses throughout the year. You will be asked to
participate in a review meeting at the end of the year so that we can feed in ideas to
improve the scheme next year.
What happens in mentoring circle sessions?
Circle leaders will adopt their own method to running and facilitating their circles. Circles are a space
for everyone to speak. At times circle leadership will be mainly facilitation of discussion between the
mentees. Encourage this sharing and exchange.
As the scheme aims for a fairly informal approach, circle leaders may wish to consider a loose plan
for running the sessions. A suggested structure for a circle session could be as follows:
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Welcome and Introductions (for the first circle meeting)
Each person says who they are and what their background is.
Ground Rules (for the first circle meeting)
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It is recommended that circle groups agree at the outset a set of rules that they will adhere
to throughout all of their discussions. In addition to any ground rules proposed by the group,
it is recommended that all circle groups adhere to the following:
o Confidentiality –anything discussed in the session will not be discussed outside of the
circle or with any external parties
o Respect – all mentees and mentors will be respectful of the views and feedback of
others
o Honesty – the circles are designed for open discussion, to share issues and ideas and
to help each other. Therefore all mentees and mentors are encouraged to be honest
with each other.
o Trust – Both personal and professional issues may be explored within the circles so
each mentee and mentor must feel within an environment of trust.
o Non- judgmental environment – participants and circle leaders must feel able to
discuss topics and issues without fear of judgement from other participants.
Participants should approach issues sensitively and professionally.
o Listening – participants and circle leaders will pay attention to and not interrupt
each other
o Members of the circle may wish to agree further ground rules either at the start or in
the light of experience during the year.
Time allocation
Discuss allocation of time for each person so individual participants do not dominate
discussion.
Setting or clarifying the agenda
You may decide to theme each session or ask for participants to suggest discussion topics in
advance. Agree at the start of the session the topics for discussion.
Share information
Encourage the participants to contribute to the circle by discussing their particular issues,
questions, and experiences.
Agreeing any actions
If any actions have been set or discussed then confirm them to the circle and which need to
be completed before the next meeting, and summarize the conclusions from the discussions.
Date of next meeting
Set the date/time/agenda for the next session if this hasn’t already been agreed and decide
what points or areas of discussion will be covered next time.
When should we meet?
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The first meeting will be arranged by the DTC.
Thereafter each circle will set its own meeting dates.
Participants should be encouraged to contact/meet each other between meetings to discuss
further how they are progressing towards their goals.
Try and time the meetings appropriately factoring in work/life commitments.
Try and make the venue accessible to all members.
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