ESRC Doctoral Training Centre
Mentoring Circles for ESRC DTC students – Information for Mentees
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 mentees 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 tend to work best if mentors that are a little further on than the mentees.
Circle leaders will also have received a brief induction and training and will be able to call on
support from the DTC.
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Circle Meeting Coordination and Frequency – Circles will meet every 6-8 weeks but it will be
up to each circle to discuss and decide a schedule of meetings.
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Circle Meeting Discussion Themes –Topics for discussion for circle meetings will be up to the
circle groups to decide
How may participation in a mentoring circle help me?
Those who are mentored generally report increased confidence and motivation. Mentoring circles
can also:
 Help you to develop your potential and reflect on the value of your work, skills and abilities
 Help you to identify strengths and weaknesses
 Provide independent advice and direction
 Help you identify and clarify issues, problems and obstacles
 Help source new ideas and practices outside of your usual area
 Offer the opportunity to network.
What are the expectations for Mentees?
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Demonstrate commitment by preparing in advance of meeting
Be ready with topics and discussion points to bring to the sessions
Meetings will be scheduled by the circle leaders in consultation with the group. You should
aim to make the majority of the scheduled meetings. (Guidance for the scheme is 5-6
meetings in total, 1.5-2 hours, roughly 6-8 weeks apart. The actual number and schedule of
meetings will be up to the circle participants to agree).
If you are unable to make a meeting, one of the circle leaders should be notified as soon as
possible.
Respectfully listen to others in the circle and try not to dominate discussions
Be realistic about how much knowledge and experience your mentors will have
Be prepared for your ideas to be challenged
Be open to listen to other’s people’s opinions and experiences
When appropriate provide practical relevant advice/suggestions
Provide a supportive and positive atmosphere that encourages individuals to share personal
and honest stories and advice
Remember you drive this activity, it’s about your issues, and your questions
Provide feedback on the scheme at the end of the year.
What happens in mentoring circle sessions?
Mentors will adopt their own method to running and facilitating their circles. Circles are a space for
everyone to speak. At times they will act as facilitator for discussion and response from other
mentees.
As the scheme aims for a more informal approach, mentors will provide a loose plan for running the
sessions. This is likely to 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 (established in the first circle meeting)
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.
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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.