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- UROP Mentorship Tips & Resources, Part 2: An Approach to UROP Mentoring — Advice from Prof. Jeffrey Karp
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UROP Mentorship Tips & Resources- Part 2: An Approach to UROP Mentoring — Advice from Prof. Jeffrey Karp
Facilitating Effective Research (FER) is a multi-faceted program hosted in collaboration with Dr. Janet Rankin, Associate Director of MIT’s Teaching and Learning Laboratory that is designed to assist graduate students (and others who mentor UROP students) become more effective research mentors.
In the last issue of this newsletter, we shared some tips and resources that were compiled in AY07-08 based on UROP staff experiences and discussions during our Facilitating Effective Research (FER) series.
While the tips and resources featured in that issue were by no means exhaustive, we are featuring additional and suggestions that HST Affiliate Faculty member, Prof. Jeffrey Karp, presented to Fall FER participants. We hope that you will find Prof. Karp's advice helpful in your work with UROP students.
We will continue to augment the mentorship tips and resources provided in this newsletter based on subsequent discussions from future FER sessions. so be sure to keep an eye out for updates in upcoming issues. We also welcome any additional tips or feedback that you might have to help us make these resources more accessible to others who serve as research mentors.
FER sessions are offered on a quarterly basis and the next offering will be held on Tuesday, January 13 and Thursday, January 15 from 3:00 - 4:30 pm each day. Please contact UROP's Program Coordinator, Melissa Martin-Greene, if you are interested in attending.
According to Prof. Karp, "as a mentor, you have the opportunity to promote GREATNESS in others...All of us have opportunities to change the world. BUT: with that comes very goal oriented mind set."
What follows are some key mentorship tips and suggestions excerpted from Prof. Karp's presentation to participants in the fall 2008 session of Facilitating Effective Research. To view the complete PDF version of Prof. Karp's presentation, which includes additional advice, you are welcome to download the entire presentation in PDF format.
Key Mentoring Tips and Strategies
- Provide an environment to enhance scientific confidence.
- All students want to work on something meaningful, but you may need to connect the dots for them (i.e. ‘if we can generate this data...it will lead to…and here is an example’)
- Discuss/Observe Up Front
- Do they want to discover something new or build/create something new?
- Are they creative? Detail focused? Good organizational skills?
Then, align them with the ‘right’ project – and be mindful it may not be the best fit
- Give UROPS a task where steps are already perfected
- This is most productive for the mentor, a good learning opportunity for UROP in beginning, and the UROP student will feel part of something, (though remember that students can sometimes lose sight/interest).
- Give UROPs an idea and let them create:
- With guidance this can be one of the best ways to enhance scientific confidence
- Though, it can take more mentor time, it can be more rewarding
There is nothing better than being partly responsible for someone’s successful career trajectory.
- Have UROPs present - hold mini meetings
- you can help them improve their presentation skills
- you can use the slides they create
- best to have meetings at 8am as typically most students can make it then.
- Show the UROPs respect
- Respond to their emails as fast as you respond to others (and demand the same from them)
- Make lots of mistakes
- Just like your mentees need to make mistakes to learn, you will likely become a much better mentor by trying new things - many may not work - You need to develop your own philosophy and approach.
- Aim to get UROPs working on projects that can lead to publications with them as co-authors.
- Try giving them different tasks (i.e. Have them write a review article.)
- People are self-driven – but often you need to align projects based on their interest.
- I try to show them what is possible if you work hard. i.e. I speak about my interactions with companies, patents we are filing, technologies companies license, big discoveries
- Never discourage students — probably the worst thing any mentor can do.
- Provide constructive criticisms – keep it professional
- Establish and Implement Your Philosophy-it will transcend generations
- Every student is different and will challenge you in new ways - there is no recipe that works for everyone.
- Not all mentor/mentee matches were meant to be and not all mentor/mentee matches are meant to last to eternity.
- With mentorship comes great responsibility — you should be willing to write letters for the students and aid in their professional development even after they move on.
Download the complete PDF version of Prof. Karp's presentation, for additional advice.
For part 1 of our series of mentorship tips and resources, please visit our July 2008 archive issue.
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