Join the Alumni Network Mentorship Programme

Your chance to get involved

HDR UK is opening applications to it’s mentoring programme for members of its fast-growing alumni network – and this is your chance to get involved.

The initiative follows a successful pilot programme which demonstrated the value the scheme could offer for mentees and mentors alike.

The idea is simple and effective – health data scientists share their skills and experience to enable people at an earlier stage in their careers to fulfil their potential.

Mentoring has been identified as a highly effective way for people to gain the insights and knowledge to progress in their careers.

• If you are interested in being a mentor click here.
• If you would like to be a mentee, click here

Closing date: Applications are currently closed.

Please note both mentors and mentees are required to attend a 2 hour live training session prior to being beginning mentoring.

Who it’s for

Mentorships can be valuable for people at every stage of their career. For students it can help having someone who fully understands what’s involved in deciding the best direction to take, how to put together a sparkling application and what it takes to excel in interviews.

Early career researchers may value support in getting their career off to a good start, developing their networks, thriving in their workplace, developing their research and thinking about their next steps.

Established researchers can benefit just as much from having someone to talk to who brings a fresh perspective to the professional challenges they face and the opportunities that are available.

In other words, mentorship can benefit everyone.

What a mentor can help with

Having a mentor means you have someone further along the career path who is independent, but who understands your situation, to talk to in confidence, about professional matters.

They can help with a whole range of issues such as:

• Career planning
• Professional and interpersonal skills
• Building confidence
• Goal setting
• Improved self-awareness
• Interviews and applications
• Preparing research for publication
• Conference presentations
• Workplace issues and relationships
• Building networks.

Another major benefit is that mentors and mentees have an ongoing relationship that can build over time, meaning you can have continuing support from someone who appreciates your ambitions and abilities.

“Mentors can make all the difference as you chart the way forward in your career and deal with the multitude of issues thrown up by professional life.” HDR UK Alumni Network joint co-ordinator, Phinehas Arkorful.

The Rewards of Being a Mentor

Being a mentor can be a hugely rewarding experience. It can also bring CPD accreditation and give you valuable additional experience.

We are looking for people from all health data science backgrounds willing to give a little of their time each month to help.

Eligibility and commitment

• You must be a member of the HDR UK Alumni Network and working in Health Data Science or Research
• The expected time commitment for training and pre-work is a total of two hours.
• Training is mandatory and will be taking place online at 2pm on 29th October 2025
• The expected commitment for ongoing mentoring is around one hour a month.
• You are expected to attend a short training session and engage with learning materials and abide by our safeguarding policies.
• We are prioritising mentorship to those who have completed a HDR UK funded training programme, members of the HDR UK Community and alumni of the HDR UK Community, in that order.

Find out more by downloading the full Mentor Volunteer Role Description.

“The HDR UK research community is remarkable – with so many people of immense knowledge and experience – we want to provide more of them with the opportunity to guide the next generation of data scientists who will play such an important role in the world’s future,” Sarah Cadman, Programme Director – Capacity Building

• Find out more about what the HDR UK Alumni Network offers here.