ECR Mentorship Program - helping early career researchers achieve success

Dr Aimee Dordevic and Dr Xin Du
with their mentors

In 2013, the School of Clinical Sciences established the Early Career Researcher Mentorship Program to provide a support framework for ECR's as they progress in their research and teaching careers. The program, which is currently taking applications for 2019-20, pairs mentees with senior academics, providing them with confidential advice and guidance with career planning.

Dr Aimee Dordevic, a lecturer in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, first signed up to the program a few years ago at a point where she felt she needed some help to progress her research. Despite having great mentorship within her own department, she says information was limited particularly around grant writing and obtaining funding. In her first meeting with her mentor, Aimee was unsure of what she wanted help with, or what types of things she could ask for - so she did not initiate any further meetings.

However, a year later she had found her feet as a researcher and had more of a sense of how her career was unfolding. She found a new mentor who had similar career experiences and was able to provide valuable advice as to how she could progress her research.

"My mentor gave me some great, practical advice about how to generate funding for my research, despite the fact that he was not in my research field. I have learned tips on how to navigate some of the systems within SCS, and Monash University, and have learned skills on how to communicate better, promote my research, and plan for career progression," Aimee says.

In 2017, Dr Xin Du, a NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, was assigned a mentor after moving to Monash University the previous year. After hearing mostly positive feedback from other ECR's about the program, and being new to Monash, Xin knew that having a mentor would provide him with someone he could turn to for advice on the practical workings of the institute.

"It was great to be set up with my mentor, which broke the ice. Subsequently it became very easy to approach him for advice, ask for help or simply to have a chat about mutual hobbies. He gave me very helpful tips on how to navigate the SCS system and also, by outlining his career, highlighted areas of my own that I should apply more attention," Xin said.

Despite his seniority and experience, Xin says his mentor’s humility and commitment to the mentorship was reassuring to someone relatively junior.

Aimee and Xin both agree the program has been very valuable and would highly recommend it to other ECR's who might be needing that extra guidance.

"The senior researchers at SCS are world-leaders and we are lucky to have an opportunity to learn from them. I cannot speak highly enough of the value that I receive from this program," says Aimee. "If your first experience with your mentor does not work out, try again. Find a mentor that suits your needs and can help you fill in the gaps of your career."


Applications for 2019-20 ECR Mentorship Program are now open. To apply, please complete the application form. For enquiries, please contact Dr Aimee Dordevic at aimee.dordevic@monash.edu or Dr Xin Du at xin.du@monash.edu