All existing Fellows and Senior Fellows of Advance HE are eligible to undertake a short CPD session and become a Mentor under the University of Aberdeen ABDN: PRS Scheme. The ABDN:PRS Scheme is experiencing high demand as more colleagues from across the University realise the benefits of gaining professional recognition with Advance HE and we now require more Mentors to meet this demand.
Mentors play a key role in the Scheme, supporting colleagues from across the University as they in turn put together their applications. Mentoring is also a great way to find out about how teaching and / or learning support operates in different disciplines and fields to your own, opening up new possibilities and opportunities for collaboration under the Interdisciplinary pillar of Aberdeen 2040. It is also a valuable way to remain in good professional standing with Advance HE.
One of our most recent mentors, Julia Leng, shares her thoughts on the process that led to her becoming an AdvanceHE Mentor.
“One week in November 2024 I conducted 50 interviews for the bp Student Tutoring Scheme and was awarded Fellowship of Advance HE. These two things are seemingly unrelated but for me they were undoubtably linked.
In 2018 I was a fourth-year English Language-Linguistics student at the University of Aberdeen with no idea what I wanted to do after graduating. Teaching is often synonymous with English degrees and, realising it wasn’t something I had properly considered, I decided to apply to the bp Student Tutoring Scheme. Through this I was granted the opportunity to tutor at Harlaw Academy across eight weeks in my final semester. The class I chose was not English, it was ‘Skills for Life, Learning and Work’, a new feature on the curriculum.
Over duration of my placement I decided that teaching was not for me. I thought it was back to the drawing board but planned happenstance intervened and I found myself starting a job in the Careers and Employability Service in August 2019. I was a graduate trainee in 2020 and 2021, two years which were mostly spent working in my sitting room and studying towards a postgraduate certificate in Careers Education, Information and Guidance in Higher Education. In 2022 I took on an initial case load of two academic schools which grew to three in October 2023.
The role of the careers adviser involves designing learning activities for curriculum classes and co-curricular programmes, supporting learning and giving feedback on students’ career development. When encouraged to apply for Fellowship with Advance HE I initially thought I wouldn’t be eligible as my work did not constitute teaching as I understood it. Whilst I have never wavered on my belief in education, after my placement at Harlaw Academy I thought I had closed the door on teaching. But it turns out I hadn’t.
Through applying for Fellowship I reflected on my practice over the last three years, on my professional values, core knowledge and areas of activity. Remembering student interactions I’d had, revisiting lectures I’d designed, sourcing references from colleagues and reading feedback from students gave me a new sense of pride in the work I do and the impact it has. Being awarded Fellowship in the busiest week for the bp Student Tutoring Scheme (a programme I now manage) was one of those full-circle moments that you never see coming but which hold such significance you know they’ll stay with you for a long time.
There are over 200,000 Fellows worldwide and I appreciate being part of a community so committed to enhancing teaching and supporting learning in higher education. In 2025 I will become a mentor at the University of Aberdeen and encourage my colleagues to achieve Fellowship through reflecting on their experience, values, knowledge and professional development.”
All Mentors undergo a mandatory two-hour initial training session offered at various times throughout the year by staff from the Centre for Academic Development, with annual refresher training made available in order to remain in good standing as an ABDN:PRS Mentor. Mentors work with no more than two mentees at a time and the feedback that we have received from our existing Mentors is that the workload associated with this role is not excessive.
If you are interested in becoming a Mentor, we would be keen to hear from you.
Please contact cad@abdn.ac.uk for more details and upcoming dates for initial Mentor training sessions.
