Partnering with workshop mentors

Requirements and responsibilities of workshop mentors

Workshop mentors are experienced researchers, peer reviewers, and ideally journal editors,  who host workshops and provide guidance for students in finalizing their joint peer review report.

Please refer to this page for more detailed information about the requirements and responsibilities of workshop mentors.

Number of workshop mentors

Before inviting mentors to participate, the course administrator should determine how many mentors will be needed to run the course. This determination is based on the following:

• the number of participants that will take part in the course
• the number of participants that will comprise each workshop group

Workshop groups should each contain 4–6 participants, and the course capacity should be limited to a maximum of 40 participants to keep course administration manageable. Once the total number of groups is confirmed, one workshop mentor should be invited per group.

Invitation

When inviting workshop mentors, include the workshop dates and ask each mentor to confirm their willingness and availability.

Related templates:

• Email: Contacting prospective workshop mentors

If the workshop mentor(s) agree to participate, follow up with calendar invitations for each scheduled workshop session to ensure the times are reserved in their schedules.

Related templates

• Calendar invitation: Workshop mentor calendar block

Workshop Mentor Orientation Meeting

We recommend providing a 60 minute training session for workshop mentors to attend prior to the first workshop date, especially for mentors who are participating for the first time. This training summarizes the content from the lectures, clarifies the expectations for the participants and the mentors, and provides suggestions for possible workshop structures.

The slide deck used for the new workshop mentor orientation meeting in the original Peerspectives course can be found here.

Tips:

1. Workshop dates and times can be adjusted to fit mentors' schedules. However, to reduce administrative effort, it is recommended to schedule all workshop groups at the same date and time, if possible.
2. If you are running many workshop groups in parallel, consider having a mentor on standby in case a scheduled mentor is unable to supervise a workshop group at the last minute.