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Join a virtual ECR speed mentoring session this October
By: Katy Stoddard
Last updated: Thursday, 3 September 2026
Have you ever wished you could get 15 minutes with a senior colleague to ask for advice? Or wondered how others approach challenging problems? This is your chance to find out!
We’re co-hosting another Cross-Institutional Speed Mentoring event for early career researchers on Thursday 22 October, 1-3pm.
The online session will offer ECRs short, focused career conversations with more senior academics from some of the participating universities – Bath, Cambridge, Manchester Met, Oxford, Oxford Brookes and Kings College London.
Why take part?
- Gain perspectives on specific career development challenges
- Consider new approaches in a space away from your normal working environment
- Increase your confidence
- Identify the missing piece from your CV and develop your professional profile, to put towards ADRs and promotion applications
- Build a support network outside your own team to draw on in the future
This event provides development for early career researchers. Mentees should be on a research contract – that includes research assistants, postdocs, research fellows and senior research fellows.
You will be paired with mentors in mid-level positions, largely from other institutions, and from a variety of disciplines. The focus is on general career development advice, providing different views from outside your work bubble.
One of our previous mentees called it ‘an incredibly valuable session. It was great to have the time and space to really think about what I wanted/needed to gather input on, and to hear a range of perspectives from different mentors.’
Register today
See the SRS speed mentoring webpage to find out more, and fill out this short online form to sign up. Applications close on 24 September at 2.00pm.
If you’re keen on mentoring as a mid-career or senior academic, fill out this expression of interest form to join a pool of mentors that organisers will draw on for this and future events.
Please note spaces are limited and will be distributed between participating institutions; registering does not guarantee a place. We’ll let you know if you’ve been selected or you’re on the waiting list once the deadline has passed.
Further information: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/internal/sussex-researcher-school/early-career-researchers/ecr-development/traininganddevelopment/mentoring/academic_speedmentoring

