Aufwind mit Mentoring

The BMBF-funded project ‘Aufwind mit Mentoring’ (Ascent through Mentoring) analyses the effectiveness of mentoring programmes in science and closes the gap in research on the topic of mentoring. To achieve this, nine mentoring programmes aimed at furthering the careers of female academics were evaluated.
The results of the study show that mentoring is a highly flexible and successful tool in fostering and promoting researchers early on in their careers, which can be used to fulfil a number of different goals. This can be evidenced by the high levels of satisfaction with the programmes among the participants. Mentoring provides individual support to participants, helping them achieve ‘scientific excellence’ and prepares them to take on leadership positions with the responsibility they entail. It can also affect the structure of an institution. The comparisons between the mentoring programmes identify aspects of successful mentoring relationships and provide optimal examples of them in practice.