Musings on mentorship

Mentorship has always been a key component of postgraduate student education, and it is becoming increasingly important in the academic environment. Strong mentorship is widely recognised as a key aspect of professional development and career success. Our view is that mentorship is a lifelong proces...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African Journal of Science 2023-03, Vol.119 (3-4), p.8-9
Main Authors: Wingfield, Michael J., Wingfield, Brenda D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
career development
Careers
College students
Colleges & universities
Friendship
Graduate students
Mentee
Mentor
Mentors
Professional development
Protege
protégé
Role model
Role models
School environment
Success
Teaching
Work environment
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Mentorship has always been a key component of postgraduate student education, and it is becoming increasingly important in the academic environment. Strong mentorship is widely recognised as a key aspect of professional development and career success. Our view is that mentorship is a lifelong process extending beyond just teaching, and encompasses a wide range of aspects of the relationship between someone who is more experienced and someone who is less experienced people. We see this as a two-way process, where both mentee and mentor benefit. It is ideally a personal relationship in which mentors are well respected in their fields, earning the respect of their mentees, who benefit from the ideas, insights and skills of their mentors. We argue that the lives and careers of both students and academics would benefit from universities establishing formal, non-bureaucratic structures to promote positive mentorship.
ISSN:0038-2353
1996-7489
DOI:10.17159/sajs.2023/15483