National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan recently challenged students to pursue an ambitious goal—not one for their own success but one focused on the success of others.

“Each of you should vow that you are going to mentor, inspire, motivate, and make opportunities for at least 25 people in your lifetime,” Panchanathan said. “If you’re done, go to 50. Look what a wonderful place you would create in this nation and across the globe.”

At the University of Notre Dame, the Center for Broader Impacts (CBI) has embraced this vision, launching new programming to equip researchers with essential mentorship skills and to help enhance the art of mentorship at the University.

Currently, CBI’s efforts are focused on helping graduate students develop mentorship capabilities as part of their training. CBI faculty director Gina Svarovsky explained, “Graduate students are at an important stage of their professional trajectory. They are being mentored by their advisors, but they are also becoming leaders. They have the chance to mentor others and help others become impactful researchers.”

Over the summer, CBI hosted a workshop to help graduate students make the transition from being mentees to becoming effective mentors. Catherine Wagner, CBI’s education and workforce development program director, led sessions that encouraged students to draw from their own best mentorship experiences to create a toolkit of ideas and best practices.

“Graduate students are at an important stage of their professional trajectory. They are being mentored by their advisors, but they are also becoming leaders."

Together, students identified key mentorship elements like balancing support with challenge, providing structure without stifling creativity, and fostering resilience by normalizing failure.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to mentorship,” Wagner said. “It’s about tailoring the experience to each person’s unique background, experience, and needs.”

In the workshop, students were grouped by the type of mentee they would guide. Some participants would be mentoring undergraduates while others would be mentoring high school students in the Research Cures Cancer Corps (RC3) program offered by Notre Dame’s Harper Cancer Research Institute.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to mentorship.”

Some participants would be mentoring teachers as part of a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program or the CBI’s STEM Teacher Residency program. Beyond practical mentorship strategies, participants also reviewed university guidelines and resources to support them through their mentorship roles.

The workshop had both immediate and lasting goals, according to Svarovsky. “In the short term, the workshop helped new mentors create transformative research experiences. But over the long term, we hope that participants contribute to a culture of mentorship—both at Notre Dame and beyond.”

The inaugural summer 2024 workshop hosted 14 graduate students and one faculty member. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive: 100% of respondents agreed that the workshop prepared them to be better mentors and enhanced their professional development. The program will now be offered annually across campus and on request to specific departments.

A follow-up survey highlighted the workshop's impact on mentors’ communication skills and relationship-building. One participant shared, “I’ve gained confidence in explaining my research to a general audience—a skill that will benefit me long-term.” Another appreciated the community the workshop fostered, saying, “Meeting mentors with similar perspectives strengthened my confidence.”

To learn more about the workshop or request one for your research team, contact cbi@nd.edu or visit the Workshop Programs page on the CBI website.

Contact:

Brett Beasley / Writer and Editorial Program Manager
Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame
bbeasle1@nd.edu / +1 574-631-8183
research.nd.edu / @UNDResearch

About Notre Dame Research:

The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in South Bend, Indiana, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world. For more information, please see research.nd.edu or @UNDResearch.

Originally published by Brett Beasley at cbi.nd.edu on November 04, 2024.