As part of the College's  £5 million commitment to scholarships  for minority and underrepresented students from the UK, the Presidential Scholarship will support one Master’s and one undergraduate student of Black Heritage (Home fee status) from each Faculty.  The first recipients of the award will be selected in the academic year 2022. As part of this scholarship, wrap- around support will be provided for the students including mentoring advice and guidance. 

In addition, the College has taken action to improve the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education, through its Race Equality Charter Action Plan.  Through the action plan, the College has committed to establishing a cross-departmental mentoring scheme for PhD students from ethnic minorities, (but with a focus on Black students), with any fee status.

Becoming a mentor and completing the dedicated training programme will contribute towards your continuing professional development.  You will be able to:  

• Use evidence from your mentoring experience towards Associate/Fellowship of Advance HE   
• Expand your professional and cultural perspective and professional networks 
• Receive recognition for your involvement in a programme of strategic importance to College 
• PhD students who become mentors will be paid the GTA higher rates of pay for their time 
• Share your experiences with other mentors and mentees through group cohort activities 
• Join part of a community of mentors and mentees who will be part of the programme

• PhD students of Black heritage (with any fee status (Home/EU or Overseas))
• Undergraduate and Master’s level Presidential Scholarship students of Black heritage (Home fee status only).

Our mentors will be able to: 

• Support students to enhance their academic and professional development
• Engage with our training and development programme 
• Participate in our networking, community and development opportunities
• Commit to 6 meetings with their mentee, during a period of about 6 months 

Our Mentors will receive a comprehensive training programme which includes: 

• Mentoring skills and approaches 
• Practicalities of the mentoring role and Activate Mentoring Programme 
• Unconscious bias training  
• Safeguarding training 

Mentoring is a relationship based on trust and mutual regard where one individual uses their expertise and knowledge to support the development of another.  

• As part of the application process, prospective mentors will be invited to describe what they can bring to a mentoring partnership, their experiences and skills. 
• This will be shared with mentees who will then select a mentor who best fulfils their needs. 
• There will also be regular “check-in” meetings with individual mentors and mentees to ensure that both are comfortable with their match and have an opportunity to raise any concerns about their partnership, in confidence.