Tag Archives: education

Maartje, Education, Teaching and Research

Education Teaching and Research, History, , ,

Coming from a History degree, Maartje applied for the Career Mentor Scheme in his second year. Interested in the Education, Teaching and Research sector he was matched with a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter for a period of six months.

This mentor’s main area of research is in the history of the body, with particular interests in gender, sex and reproduction, sexuality, ageing, body size, shape and management, health and medicine in early modern England. Her responsibilities at the time were to supervise doctoral theses on the following topics: facial disfigurement in early modern England; the material culture of health in Victorian England; birth, death and illegitimacy in eighteenth-century Wales; and appearance and the interpretation of character in early modern England.

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Maartje shared some insights about the ways in which the scheme was beneficial to her:

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

The highlights were the face to face meetings as I felt such a personal approach, which really motivated me to improve my work: my mentor’s advice and encouragement thus ensured I put in every effort in achieving my goals.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

The gained insight into my chosen profession is very useful indeed. I had a vague plan of becoming a lecturer but had no idea how to get there and how to ‘prepare’ for such a career. I now understand the path in front of me more, what I need to work on to achieve this and what to prioritise.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Absolutely apply. Having a mentor is tremendously helpful as his/her guidance will allow you a more focused and goal-orientated university experience. Essays and presentations thus become opportunities to achieving that ultimate career goal instead of ‘homework’ .

Wing, Education, Teaching, Research

Education Teaching and Research, Psychology, , ,

Wing, completing a Psychology degree was looking to go into Education, Teaching, Research. During her second year she was accepted to participate in the Career Mentor Scheme and matched with an Associate Research Fellow at the University.

An experienced professional, this mentor’s previous experience includes being a Research Assistant in Psychology at the University of Manchester, Transcriber at Max Planck Institute and Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Manchester.

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Wing had some really positive feedback to share about the scheme!

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

When I went to the memory clinic to do a job shadowing and chatted with an assistant psychologist.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

I found the insight into my chosen sector and the advice in job hunting most helpful.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

It is an opportunity to learn more about of a sector that you couldn’t learn about in lectures. A mentor would give you a lot of advice from job hunting to CV proof reading.

Alice, Education, Teaching and Research

Classics and Ancient History, Education Teaching and Research, ,

Alice, a third year Classics student, was interested in going into the Education, Teaching and Research sector and applied for a mentor in this industry. She was matched with Head of Classics at Exeter College.

This mentor graduated with a Humanities degree in 2000 and then accomplished a MA and a PhD in Classics. Between 2007 and 2014 he was an Associate Lecturer in Classics at Exeter College to then became Head of Classics. Since 2008 he has also been a Teacher in Ancient Greek at the University. Furthermore, between 2010 and 2014 he was an associate lecturer in Classical Studies at the Open University.

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Alice gave us an insight of the benefits of the scheme to her career development.

Alice explained she found the work experience most useful. She pointed out that finding out about both the good and bad aspects of the profession was really beneficial as well. Apart from achieving all set objectives, such as widening her contacts, receiving work experience and improving her interview techniques, Alice also learned about training schemes (i.e. PGCE), how to apply to them and how to navigate the NQT year.

What was the highlight of the scheme for you?

Getting to observe my mentor in his workplace as this was valuable in helping me apply to teacher training courses.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

The scheme gives an excellent insight into your chosen profession that you couldn’t get anywhere else. I gained lots of experience and information from the scheme that has been extremely important in applying and gaining a place on my chosen training course.