Mentor programme

In 2019, the University of Groningen (UG) mentor programme for professional staff was set up by YoungRUG in cooperation with HR. The first five editions proved to be very successful and in September 2024 the sixth edition will start. Mentor-mentee couples follow an inspirational journey of professional development.

In the mentor programme, young professionals, mentees, are matched with senior colleagues, mentors. The goal is to facilitate a mutual learning process where a more senior staff member shares their experience with a more junior staff member.

Testimonials

Swaeske de Vries
For me, the mentorship programme offers my mentee and myself the opportunity for growth. I can use my expertise to guide her, but at the same time I am learning to become and stay her mentor. Instead of giving (unsolicited) advice, I practise listening, asking questions, and asking for clarifications. Being a mentor forces us to (re)discover the side of us we might have lost as we grew older: the part that can sit, listen, observe, and question without judgement.

Niels Rambags
Being a mentor in the YoungRUG mentor-mentee programme for me is a unique way of helping out a university colleague and at the same time to get insight in another department of the university. Besides the nice cross-faculty/department contact, it extends the network of both the mentee as the mentor and best of all, guiding a colleague forces me to reflect on my own behaviour as well. I highly recommend joining as a mentor or mentee!