About the programme

The mentoring programme for talented scientists will start again at the end of October 2026 with separate workshops for mentors and mentees. Following the workshop, individual intake interviews are held with the mentees. 

Mentors and mentees rated the programme (2025-2026) with 4.2 and 4.0 respectively on a five-point scale.  A summary of the evaluation can be found here.

Quotes by mentees:

• "My mentor has helped me to become proactive and to think about what I want in my career. He has helped me to become more confident by making a plan together with concrete steps. I have made considerable progress in one year of mentoring and I now feel so much more empowered."
• "Help with sculpting a narrative cv for applications and tips for prioritizing multiple work engagements, without threatening work/life balance."

Quotes by mentors:

• "I could help a younger colleague on a temporary contract, originating from outside The Netherlands with getting to understand Dutch academic culture. What is done and what is not done."
• "Overcoming career obstacles depends on more than just formal requirements. There is an important component that has to do with confidence, experience, and overcoming psychological challenges, that is best approached through individual coaching."

Topics of discussion 

Each mentee will have approx. 5 discussions with his/her mentor. In these discussions, mentee and mentor will cover various topics related to organizing the scientific career of the mentee. For example:

• Visibility in the academic world and networking
• Strategic choices
• Acquisition of external funding for your research
• Prioritizing (research, education and management)
• How to control your career
• Work/life balance

For whom? 

The programme is intended for Dutch and English-speaking assistant professors and postdocs. Depending on their specific questions and needs, they will be matched with an excellent experienced scientist (professor or associate professor) of another faculty. Thus, the match between mentor and mentee will in principle cross the boundaries of faculties. In a period of about 10 months, mentor and mentee will have approx. 5 discussions. You as a mentee are motivated and have a clear development question. For the mentor, seniority, motivation and coaching skills are important.

Planning 

• Workshop mentees: Tuesday 27 October 2026, 11.15 am-1 pm (language of communication: English)
• Workshop mentors (from faculties and divisions):
  • 12.30-14.45 pm intervision for experienced mentors
  • 15.00-18.00 pm workshop for new and experienced mentors
• Intake interviews mentees: Monday 2-Tuesday 10 November 2026

The workshop for mentors will be given by Erik de Haan, director of the Ashridge's Center for Coaching and professor of Organisation Development at VU Amsterdam. This workshop - for new and experienced mentors - covers the mentor-mentee relationship, expectations, and mentor roles. Experienced mentors may participate in an intervision group (subject to sufficient registrations), where practical cases are discussed. Both components are conducted in English.

For mentees, the workshop is given by Karin Wiegman, HR Advisor Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities.

The workshops and intake interviews with the mentees will be held by Karin Wiegman and Liselotte de Back (HR Advisors SBE). In the workshop, mentees receive an explanation about the programme, roles, and possible discussion topics, and they formulate their learning objectives.

During the intake interviews, further acquaintance is made with the mentee and their development question is explored in more detail, so that an appropriate match can subsequently be made with a suitable mentor.

Practical information 

If you are interested in participating as a mentee, please contact the HR Advisor of your faculty or the head of your department. The faculty is responsible for the ultimate selection of the mentees. Mentors will be approached by on or behalf of the dean of their faculty.

The time investment is approx. 10 hours (participation workshop, intake (mentee) and five 1.5 hour meetings. This does not include preparation for the 5 meetings).

Registration for the program is open until Monday, 14 September 2026 to the HR advisor of your unit. 

Costs  

As a compensation for programme costs, we ask the mentees for a contribution of € 30. This contribution is automatically charged to your department.

Contact 

Would you like to learn more about the mentoring programme for talented scientists? Please contact the HR Advisor of your faculty or Karin Wiegman/Liselotte de Back.