We are pleased to announce the new CSMB Early Career Researcher (ECR) Mentorship Program. This Program aims to connect ECRs from institutions across Canada with an established Canadian researcher mentor.
This ECR Mentorship Program will formally cover a 1-year period; we recognize that a successful mentoring relationship may extend beyond this but would not be part of the commitment for this Program. During the time of the CSMB ECR Mentorship Program, mentors and mentees will engage to allow the mentee to obtain:
- advice about funding applications and strategy
- advice and support for mentee to engage with strategic collaborations
- support for the mentee to engage with opportunities for invited seminars and/or other opportunities for increasing the menteeās visibility
- general advice and support for mentee to engage with professional development opportunities, including journal review/editorial positions, conference organization, grant panel membership, outreach activities, etc
- advice on navigating interpersonal matters (within menteeās team or within institution)
The structure of the CSMB mentorship program will include the following:
- Mentee application and selection (February 2025)
- Program kick off meeting (virtual) for all mentees and mentors, ~March 2025
- Mentor-Mentee matching and official start of mentorship period (March-April 2025), as of which mentor and mentee arrange for regular meetings.
- Networking opportunity of mentees and mentors at the CSMB Annual Meeting (May 2025)
- Mid-way program assessment form completed by mentor and mentees (Nov 2025)
- Completion of program assessment form by mentor and mentees (March 2026)
We are committed to ensuring that this program aligns with best practices in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA), including in being deliberate for recruitment of diverse mentors and mentees, and ensuring equitable access to mentors and support for ECRs within the Canadian research community.
Eligibility
Mentees must hold an independent academic appointment at a Canadian institution and must have started their first independent position no more than 5 years ago. At their time of application for the Mentorship program, mentees must be active CSMB members. Application to the CSMB Mentorship program does not guarantee access to this program (please see below).
Selection of mentees
The number of mentees admitted into the program each year will depend on the number of mentors recruited into the program. If the number of mentees exceeds the number of available mentors, factors such as existing access to mentors as defined within the menteeās application will be taken into consideration to determine the mentees selected for the program.
