CSC Mentoring Programme
The CSC’s Mentoring Programme connects Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni to support knowledge and skills development and a practical understanding of how these can be implemented post-scholarship to achieve development impact.
The CSC aims to pair current Commonwealth Scholars with an Alumnus working in a related or relevant field to their studies to provide individual advice and guidance during their studies.
Since 2019, over 200 Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni have participated in the programme. Participants have been paired with someone from their home country, home country region, or another Commonwealth country.
Why take part?
As a Mentee, new Commonwealth Scholars will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of how the skills gained during their Commonwealth Scholarship can be implemented to support development impact in their home country, drawing on their Mentor’s experiences and expertise. Mentees can also seek support in adjusting to living and studying in the UK and applying their skills and knowledge in the workplace, or in finding new, relevant employment opportunities.
Mentors will have the opportunity to support a new Scholar in developing the appropriate skills and knowledge to achieve development impact and provide advice on how these skills can applied in their home country or home country region. The programme also provides an opportunity for Mentors to develop their mentoring skills and share their research and knowledge within the CSC community.
Following a successful application, Mentors and Mentees will be hand-paired based on their responses for a one-year cycle running from December to December.
“Being paired with a Mentor from another Commonwealth country made it more exciting because not only did I learn from my Mentor’s personal and academic background, but I also equally got to know more about my Mentor’s country of origin and their core values.”
2020 Mentee
Who can apply?
- Commonwealth Master’s Scholars and Commonwealth PhD Scholars studying in the UK are eligible to apply as a Mentee
- Commonwealth Alumni who have significant professional experience post-Scholarship can apply as a Mentor
“The CSC Mentoring Programme is an excellent platform for engaging, exchanging ideas, and influencing potential leaders, researchers, and career-minded individuals towards achieving further milestones and achievements along their academic journey. It also helps to foster and develop various competencies and skills of participants.”
2021 Mentee
How does the programme work?
Successful applicants are matched in a one-to-one mentoring pairing based on their application responses.
The programme consists of 5 stages, which help guide pairs through important milestones to achieve their goals for the programme.
Mentees and Mentors will have access to programme handbooks, as well as a range of skills development resources. All participants will have the opportunity to attend virtual information sessions at the start of the programme and virtual meet-up sessions to connect with fellow Mentees and Mentors and share best practice throughout the mentoring cycle.
“I try to learn new things from my Mentee through our discussions and reflect on how some of the issues discussed align with my professional interests, for example, how new engineering and behavioural measures could be adopted to reduce water pollution, which fits very well into my current tasks at the UN.”
2021 Mentor
How can I apply?
All eligible Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni will receive full information about the programme and how to apply in September 2022.
If you have any questions about the programme, contact the CSC Alumni Team at alumni@cscuk.org.uk
Previous mentoring participants
You can read about the experiences of previous programme participants in the testimonials below
Advantages of a cross-country pairing
Matia Alinaitwe is a 2020 Scholar from Uganda. He was paired with Commonwealth Alumnus Tricia McLean Rowe from Jamaica. Read about how they used the mentoring opportunity to share knowledge on GIS systems and learn about each other’s culture.
Celebrating the longer-term impact of the programme
Meenakshi Shukla is a 2016 Scholar from India. She was paired with a Commonwealth Scholar from Ghana. Read about how she continues to work with her Mentee through research collaboration.
Learning from the experiences of a home country Mentor
Rajneesh Kumar is a 2020 Scholar from India. He was paired with a Commonwealth Alumnus from his home country. Read about how he utilised the experiences of being paired with a Mentor from the same country to understand the development impact potential of his study.
