Fulbright Mentorship Program

Are you looking for a boost for your career or inspiration on where to go next? Or are you a seasoned expert and would wish to pass on the knowledge you have collected over your career? If your answer is yes to either of these questions, sign up to the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association Fulbright Mentorship program and become a mentor or a mentee!

What is a mentorship program?

In a mentorship a more experienced mentor passes on silent knowledge and experience based information to the mentee. Mentorship starts from the needs of the mentee; for instance professional and academic growth. In a mentorship program the mentee is not the only one benefitting, also the mentor benefits; opening new points of view, learning new. Mentorship is based on utmost confidentiality.

What is mentoring not?

Mentoring is not “therapy” or consultation on detailed or singular questions eg. applying for grants or scrutinizing job applications. These matters can be discussed during the mentorship, but should not be the sole purpose of participating in the program.

Mentorship programs are becoming more and more popular especially in business life and professional circles. Mentoring also happens in unofficial settings without set structures, eg. when talking to a more experienced colleague or supervisor.

What can the Fulbright Mentorship program offer?

Our program offers:

a multidisciplinary network with a built in international aspect,
possibilities to broaden professional and personal networks with people from similar experiences but from different fields,
opportunities to discuss how to expand on your grant experience and how to move forward.

The program can offer assistance, for instance, in career planning, on learning how to recognize your own strengths and how to use those to your best advantage, and on how to overcome different challenging situations. The program can help you develop your academic and professional skills and offer assistance on how to navigate the academic circles. You can receive advice and share experiences on working and doing research abroad.

Discussion topics might include how to increase your international networks and to keep working and benefiting from the network you already have. Another interesting topic for many might be how to combine ambitious work life with family life. If you are a grantee just returning to Finland, how to combat the challenges when returning to Finland and take best advantage of all the possibilities.

How to apply?

The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association is piloting the Fulbright Mentorship program in 2022 and will start looking for mentors and mentees during the fall 2021!

Tentative timeline
Mentee applications	August-September 2021
Mentor application	October-November 2021
Matched mentors and mentees are contacted	December 2021
Fulbright Mentorship program start event	January 2022
Mid-year meeting	May 2022
End of the program meeting	December 2022

Based on applications the Alumni Association will match the mentors and mentees. The Association will inform the matched mentors and mentees during December 2021.

Eligibility criteria

Mentor - are you a Fulbright Finland alumni? If the answer is yes, then you are eligible to act as a mentor!

Mentee - are you a member of the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association? If yes, then you are eligible to apply to be a mentee. If you are not yet a member, you can sign up by following instructions here and thus become eligible.

The Fulbright Mentorship program has no extra cost for participants, it is a membership benefit for the members of the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association. The number of admitted mentees may be limited, depending on the availability of mentors and the overall arrangements of the mentorship program.