Mentorship Programme
About the EAN Mentorship Programme
The EAN Mentorship Programme enables early-career neurologists to connect with Europe’s leading clinicians, educators, and scientists in the field. It empowers neurologists in training or at the start of their clinical/academic careers, i.e., mentees, to determine or strengthen their focus and develop their full potential. Simultaneously, it allows mentors to reflect upon and strengthen their mentoring skills, as well as make a valuable contribution toward bringing neurology forward.
What to expect
Potential mentees can apply to be matched with an experienced mentor for a 1-year mentorship. The annual submission deadline is September 15. Each mentee application is reviewed by the Mentorship Task Force which then assesses the mentoring need and mentors availability to determine if a suitable match can be made. Once matched, mentor and mentee agree on common goals and commit to the mentorship relationship for one year. The main goal is for Mentees to benefit from career advice provided by a person who can pass on knowledge and experience in specific areas of need.
Areas of mentoring include, but are not limited to:
- career advice
- developing clinical and research interests
- advice on designing a successful research project
- advice and support in publishing research
- skills development (execution and performance in certain areas)
- establishing a healthy work-life balance
- Other issues (e.g., equality, diversity, burnout and more)
Become a Mentee
The following section refers to mentees. If you're looking to apply as a mentor, please use the 'Become a Mentor' option in the menu to navigate to the appropriate page.
Although applicants with all kinds of special interest are welcome, we would like to particularly encourage applications from mentees with a special interest in general neurology.
Additional benefits for mentees
- Public acknowledgement (eanNews)
- Each matched mentee will get a free congress registration to the EAN congress in the year of their mentorship match (the 3-month assessment is mandatory).
- Certificate of participation (please note that filling out the 1-year evaluation is required in order to receive your certificate)
Matching process
After the application deadline (15 September of every year) the Task Force reviews each mentee application, scanning for a clearly defined mentoring need. They will then discuss potential mentors and decide on suitable matches. The number of annual matches also depends on the number of available mentors.
| July-September | Application is open |
| September 15 | Application deadline |
| September-November | Application review and matching process. |
| Beginning of November | Matched pairs are informed, the 1-year programme officially starts. |
| Mid-November | Seperate Welcome webinars for all matched mentors and matched mentees. |
| November-December | The first online meeting and set up of annual plan takes place. |
| December-February | Online meetings |
| February | 3-month assessment is sent to all matched pairs to make sure everything is going well |
| February-June | Online meetings |
| June/July | Mentorship workshop at the EAN Congress takes place. |
| July-November | Online meetings |
| Beginning of November | 1-year programme officially ends and end of programme evaluation is sent out |
Eligibility
- Active EAN membership: Individual Member or RRFS member and either coming from an EAN member country or working within Europe.
- Neurology resident or neurologist within the first 5 years of national board certification (junior consultant), PhD student, PhD graduate (graduated no more than 5 years ago), or post-doc (no more than 5 years into your post-doc position).
- Willing to actively commit to a one-year programme.
- Fluent in written and spoken English.
Please note that, when entering the programme, applicants need to be:
- ready to take the initiative and define concrete career goals
- willing to learn and interested in professional development
- prepared to share your learning and new perspectives with your mentor and
- able to declare an unmet mentoring need.
Application
Before starting with your online application, we recommend reading the Top 10 Mentee Application Questions to help ensure clear and well-prepared needs and goals.
The application consists of two steps:
Fill out the online application form.
As there is no option to save parts and return later without a Gmail account, you can download the pdf-version of the online application form to support the preparation process.- Send your up-to-date English CV to mentorship(at)ean.org.
Applications completed between July and 15 September will enter the matching process. Applications that are incomplete or submitted after 15 September will not be considered. However, a re-submission for the next call is possible. Participation in the programme is intended to be a one-time event; in the event of a repeat application, a decision will be made based on clear mentoring need.
Our mentors are well chosen and represent a diverse group of experienced neurologists from over 25 countries. A total of 31 neurological sub-specialties are represented by our current mentors.
Please do not contact our mentors by yourself and don’t expect to be matched with a specific mentor. If you are matched, we will connect you with your mentor.
Welcome Webinar
At the beginning of each mentorship round, a 'Welcome Webinar' will be offered to all matched mentees mid-November. The exact date will be sent out along with the matching email.
Documents
We offer our mentees 2 kinds of documents to use during their mentorship year.
- Roadmap for Mentees
This document contains important information, a timeline for the 1-year programme including information on training opportunities as well as tips to prepare for a successful mentorship relationship. - Meeting Tracker
The meeting tracker is a tool that shall help mentees to structure their mentorship year. It includes concrete suggestions and ideas for the first and last meetings as well as 5 meetings in between. It can be used and customized as desired.
Webcast: Developmental Mentoring
A webcast on “developmental mentoring” was conducted by the professional expert Alexis Hutson (Leister, UK), and is split into 2 sections:
- How do you:
a) know what great mentoring looks and feel like,
b) manage the expectations of both people involved and
c) ensure you get the most from your mentoring sessions?
- Areas and methods:
a) review of the developmental model of mentoring and its benefit,
b) understanding the roles and responsibilities of the mentor and mentee and
c) tips for planning your first mentoring session
Mentorship Workshop @ EAN Congress
Annual in-person event aiming to raise awareness of the importance of utilising mentoring skills and the benefits gained through being in a mentoring relationship. Participants will learn the difference between mentoring and tutoring, gain views on first-hand experience by mentors and mentees of the programme and can actively participate in the panel discussions.
An additional benefit is to give all mentees and mentors the chance to network with each other in a comforting environment.
