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Mentoring

Mentoring in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine

Mentoring is widely recognised as a powerful way of supporting people with their personal and professional development, and in exploring their career potential at UCD.

Mentoring can be defined as 'a positive developmental partnership, which is driven primarily by the mentee. It offers a reflective space where the mentee can take responsibility for and discuss their development and challenges they may be facing. Its primary aim is to build capability and self-reliance in the mentee.'

There are many benefits of mentoring for both mentee and mentor.  For the mentee it provides a safe environment to reflect and question the direction in which they wish to develop, whilst supporting them in the pursuit of these goals. For the mentor, there is personal and professional satisfaction in helping their mentees build on their abilities and achieve personal growth. Mentoring can be particularly powerful during periods of transition and change.

If you are interested in taking part in any of the mentoring programmes, booking mentee and mentor training is recommended. Once training is completed, the mentoring partnerships begin. The duration of the mentoring partnership is usually 12 months, but this can vary.

Links to further information on mentoring, benefits and contacts are listed below:

Staff Mentoring Opportunities

For staff, we have three mentoring pathways available to support different cohorts - please see details below.

Training is provided centrally by UCD People and Organisation Development, bookable here

Launched in November 2019, our Mentorship Programme for Faculty is targeted at lecturers/assistant professors who are matched with more senior School of Veterinary Medicine faculty.

Feedback from the Faculty Mentoring survey and the feedback session in December 2021 has been overwhelmingly positive:

'Very good programme. I wish It had been available earlier in my career.'

'I felt supported and received sound advice and guidance.'

'Mentor was great!'

The new Mentoring cycle is recommencing in early 2023, with mentoring training taking place in February and March. Check out the UCD People and Organisation Development website: www.ucd.ie/peopledevelopment/ourservices/mentoring/

Staff yet to declare an interest in being a mentor or a mentee should contact vetedias@ucd.ie

An Individual Mentoring Pathway is open to all staff in UCD and includes professional, technical, support, clinical vet nursing and postdoctoral staff. 

The new Mentoring cycle is recommencing in early 2023, with mentoring training taking place in February and March. Check out the UCD People and Organisation Development website: www.ucd.ie/peopledevelopment/ourservices/mentoring/ 

Staff yet to declare an interest in being a mentor or a mentee should contact vetedias@ucd.ie

The Structured Mentoring Pathway is organised by UCD centrally with a limited number of places and their application process is outside of the School of Veterinary Medicine. The Aurora pathway is for all female staff and the NAAP (Newly Appointed Associate Professor) is for Associate Professors.  Any interested parties should contact peopledevelopment@ucd.ie

Student & Graduate Mentoring Opportunities

As mentoring is particularly helpful in times of change, the School is also involved in further mentoring programmes. For example, Peer Mentoring for students where mentors, who are currently students of UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, help new undergraduate and postgraduate students settle into the School over the course of their first year.  The School is also involved in mentoring for newly graduated veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses as they transition into their professional working lives.

Every first year undergraduate student is assigned a Peer Mentor in advance of UCD Orientation. Peer Mentors are current undergraduate students of the School of Veterinary Medicine who help new students in a number of ways including:

  • supporting students during Orientation
  • sharing their own experiences, challenges and insights
  • supporting new students to settle into their programme
  • organising activities to help students make friends
  • encouraging students to get involved in the various UCD clubs and societies
  • helping students to understand and navigate their way around UCD
  • helping students to familiarise themselves with UCD supports

For more information or support, contact your Student Adviser, Dr Niamh Nestor

Every first year graduate entry student is assigned a Big Sibling during the summer months in advance of starting their new programme.  They are also assigned a Peer Mentor in advance of Orientation (see section above on Peer Mentoring.)

The Big Sibling Programme runs in conjunction with the Peer Mentoring programme, but specifically supports incoming graduate entry students, many of whom may be coming from other countries. Big Siblings are current graduate-entry students of the School of Veterinary Medicine who help new students in a number of ways, including:

  • supporting students in the months before starting their programme
  • sharing their own experiences, challenges and insights (if applicable, of having moved to Ireland to begin their programme)
  • supporting new students to settle into their programme
  • organising activities to help students make friends
  • helping students to understand and navigate their way around UCD
  • helping students to familiarise themselves with UCD supports

For more information or support, contact your Student Adviser, Dr Niamh Nestor

Contact the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine

UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 6100 | Location Map