GLBRC/WEI Mentorship Program

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC)/Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI) Mentorship Program provides an opportunity for GLBRC and WEI faculty, staff, postdocs, and students to connect, generate new friendships and networks, and share experiences and thoughts in a supportive environment. The goal of this program is to create a meaningful connection between mentor and mentee that focuses on career and professional development, personal growth, and well-being.

To effectively support your mentor/mentee relationships within this program and outside of the program, we also share valuable mentorship training opportunities and resources for all our participants to benefit from.

Participation in the program is voluntary.

The Mentorship Program Steering Committee will pair mentors and mentees together based on several factors, including their previous professional experiences, their expectations from this mentorship relationship, and the goals they want to achieve.

We recognize that some of the best pairings occur in the most “unlikely” pairs – those with different experiences and perspectives. The mentee will be paired with a mentor from a different division/research team/lab and the mentor will have no direct influence on the mentee’s performance review or career path within or outside of GLBRC/WEI.

Participation in the program as both a mentor and a mentee is allowed. Most people have career insights and perspectives that would be valuable to share as a mentor, while benefiting from someone else’s experiences as a mentee.

• The mentor/mentee pair will meet 3 to 6 times for one hour for the duration of the program (October through April). The mentor and mentee will decide on the format of these meetings (in-person or virtual) to fit their schedules and align with their personal preferences.
• Conversations are confidential unless it is agreed upon by both parties to share them with external parties/individuals.
• Mentors and mentees are expected to be respectful of each other.
• Mentors are willing to share their work and life experiences, listen, give counsel, and provide network connections to support the mentee’s goals. Mentors should bring their positive energy and supportive mind to each meeting.
• Mentees are expected to be proactive by bringing up questions and/or discussion topics to their mentors. Mentees are willing to openly discuss their professional goals, challenges they may face, and/or opportunities for growth they want to take advantage of.
• Participants are encouraged to attend events, such as our kick-off meeting, virtual networking hour, or mentorship discussions.
• Participants are expected to answer our evaluation surveys to provide feedback on the Mentorship Program and recommendations for improvement as needed.

• Wisconsin Energy Institute
• UW–Madison Department of Medical Physics
• UW–Madison Department of Biological Systems Engineering