Introduction to Engineering Research. Wendy C. Crone
and be successful at what they are trying to accomplish. The more everyone understands the goals and motivations at the heart of a mentoring relationship, the more successful the results will be. This relies on communication and working to develop a rapport that will ultimately lead to a productive outcome.
Regardless of the size of the group and who specifically is your research mentor(s), you will need to take an active role in getting the mentoring you need to be successful with your research. Initially, you will be learning the basics of the project and the techniques you will be using, but even at this early stage you need to take ownership of your progress. Let your mentor know what you do know, and what you need help in learning, so that s/he can help you identify the resources that can assist you. As you gain more experience you are likely to be given more independence, both in terms of working more independently on specific tasks but also in carrying forward with the next steps before your next check-in with your mentor.
In the business world the term is called “managing up”—making the management of you as an employee easy for your boss—you can use these same ideas in a mentoring relationship by “mentoring up.” In an article titled “Making the most of mentors: A guide for mentees,” the authors1 suggest that you take responsibility for the mentoring relationship by “guiding and facilitating the mentor’s efforts.” When working with a mentor, you have to figure out what you need from that person in terms of time, energy, and influence, and help that person to help you. Your goal is to ask for the help you need in a way that is easy for that person to give it to you. You may need other things from them—like letters of recommendation for a scholarship/fellowship for instance—and you need to make them aware of these needs as well as make it easy for them to meet your needs. Tell them about your goals, and where you want to go with you career. Tell them what would help you if you know and, if you don’t, ask them what might help you to achieve your goals.
With your research mentor, determine how regularly will you meet—this may be more frequent at first and at critical points in the research or your degree process, so you may need to revisit and renegotiate the frequency of your interactions. If your mentor does not have regular meetings with you, take responsibility for requesting and scheduling these. Go beyond simply following through with the tasks that have been assigned to you and think ahead to what should come next, set goals that you can discuss, generate ideas for overcoming the research obstacles you have run into, and be responsive to the feedback you receive from your mentor. Most importantly, when you have an opportunity to interact with your research mentor, you should strive to be prepared.
• Have a clear plan, at least for the next step of your research.
• Be prepared to discuss what you have accomplished recently and what you plan to do next.
• Have questions to ask based on your research progress and/or your reading of the literature related to your project.
• Listen to your research mentor’s responses, and write them down (either immediately or just after the interaction).
• Act on your plan and the suggestions made to you by your research mentor between now and your next interaction.
Student Perspective
“It was good to realize that the student is in some way expected and encouraged to dictate the schedule and flow of meetings. This made me more confident to meet with my professor and decide what an appropriate pace for my research is.
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