Thesis Mentor HALL OF FAME! by Kay Guccione

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 07:45:26 UTC

Andrew Bull

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 07:58:45 UTC

The mentoring partnership meant a lot to me in terms of support and guidance. It was good that I was partnered with Andrew who had already experienced the writing process. Just answering my questions from his own experience made me feel better and improved my confidence in myself. There are much more things to write about my mentor, Andrew, such as his punctuality, kindness, openness to help and understand people from a different country, and the like. I very much appreciate that I was partnered with Andrew. Thank you.

Ben Gowland

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 07:59:38 UTC

Ben listened to me about my difficulties with thesis or technical content writing and guided me to improve by assigning me tasks with flexible deadlines. He checked in with me and helped me to understand how I could write more effectively. He also suggested ways to tackle the day-to-day challenges as a PhD student. In short, he was there to assist me with the answers to my questions.

Rhys Crilley

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:00:13 UTC

Rhys has been fantastic in offering support. Despite me going through a really difficult time in my PhD journey and having severe delays in my ethics process, Rhys was supportive and kept me writing. It was particularly helpful to have someone to write with, to ensure that I was able to start the day with writing.

Laurie Savage

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:00:55 UTC

Laurie was a very kind and empathetic mentor who was genuinely interested and positive. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions. It was very helpful to have Laurie as a mentor as, despite being from a different discipline entirely, he was very engaged in discussing my research and writing and very helpful at going through the wider aspects of undertaking a PhD. Top guy!

John Cox

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:01:23 UTC

The mentoring relationship I have had with John has been excellent and has been an amazing start to a career in academia for me. John shared his knowledge around writing, research practice, ethical considerations and general wellbeing in navigating the PhD process. He listened to me and provided practical feedback which I know I will be able to take with me on the rest of my PhD journey. I am very thankful to him for his time, knowledge and humour! Speaking with John has made a career in academia seem more possible and renewed my conviction in my abilities to pursue this further. Thank you John!

Mengwei Xu

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:02:30 UTC

The mentoring partnership was an inspiring one in which I could chat with someone who already experienced the journey I am undertaking now. My mentor was very good at listening to my journey until now and my future plans. He was also very good on giving general suggestions on thesis writing as well as specific suggestions for my case which helped me to better understand thesis preparation and writing processes in terms of both academically and mentally.

Julie Duncan-Millar

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:03:09 UTC

My mentor was an excellent listener who I felt really heard and understood what I had to say. She was able to hear things that I was saying that I wasn't even aware that I was expressing. It was beyond helpful to have such positive and supportive chats about me doing research and writing rather than about the research itself.

Adriana Soaita

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:03:50 UTC

In the first few mentoring meetings, Adriana was very patient and supportive regarding figuring out my problems of academic writing. She always encourage me that I do have my own 'voice' in my writing and she showed my how my writing could be restructured to a clearer version, which really inspired me a lot. She is definitely an excellent mentor and I would love to keep in touch with her :)

Paul Barron

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:04:11 UTC

Paul is a great person, kind and good listener. He has great ideas for how to concentrate, overcome procrastination and remain focused on the goal.

Rahul Kumar

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:05:47 UTC

Rahul has been a blessing to me and I have really been happy with the relationship. He is friendly, open, and honest. He treated me much like a colleague which made the experience quite interesting. He complements my fantastic supervisory experience in a far less supervisory-like manner. I always enjoy talking to him about my research. He is a good and attentive listener and a fantastic communicator. I very much enjoy the ways he is able to support my critical thinking about my research without seemingly leading, I am able to make clearer sense of aspects of my work that I struggle with. I wish I had known him earlier.

Mariana Ferreira Silva

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:07:17 UTC

Mariana is one of the most friendly and patient researchers I have met so far. She created a sense of openness to help me communicate my actual problems - some were personal but interfere with my thesis - and made me feel understood in terms of all the struggles I have faced. At the same time, she has good hints for any kind of problem, and gets you back on the side of positivity.

Vincenzo Pusino

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:08:16 UTC

The mentoring partnership has provided me with valuable structure and routine, motivating me to stick to my own deadlines and continuously keep going - perhaps the most important aspect of doing a PhD. My mentor Vincenzo is a good listener, sharing motivating advice and valuable insights while making sure I reflect on my own progress and deadlines. With a mentor from a different school, the mentoring program was a great opportunity to reflect on why things are a certain way at my school.

Sara Restuccia

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:08:54 UTC

It has meant a lot to me because I used to be quite under confident in writing technical reports. I always needed the kind of support she has given me through her expertise and genuine opinions. I loved working under her mentorship not only for academic writing but also for personal development aspects. Thanks again for every bit of the experience I shared with her.

Justine Gagneux

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:09:23 UTC

I feel much more confident about my writing since working with Justine and received positive feedback from my supervisors on my latest chapter. I have learned to take care of myself too, as well as developed a good daily writing routine. I have learned to be prepared, write it down - even in note form, so I don't forget and can come to it at a later date, and not to be scared of mistakes or first drafts!

Matias Perez

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:10:00 UTC

Matias is very nice, warm-hearted and responsible mentor. He taught me how to get into writing rhythm and how to keep writing. When I was in low period, he always encourage me, which let me feel I can achieve my goal. Not only to writing and research, but also in career plan and mental health. He is a good mentor.

Mirjam Allik

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:10:48 UTC

Different PhD stages require different levels of mentoring and having someone walk you through each month has been very helpful. Having a mentor allowed me to be able to talk about the current study stage with an experienced academic, including things outside of your writing like how to manage your supervisors. We finally got to meet in person in the last meeting.

Onur Celik

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:11:58 UTC

Onur is a really good mentor also, now, a friend. He is reliable, responsible and showed me a lot patience in the programme. I had around 7 meeting with him and every time he listened to my problem or frustration patiently, and give me some suggestions. He can understand the problem from my side so is quite thoughtful in his support. I learned some tips which made my writing easier. I think he would be a good lecturer if he has the chance.

Justin Sperling

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:12:15 UTC

Justin was brilliant throughout the length of the programme. He was very understanding, motivating, and patient - especially with my crazy working hours in the tissue culture lab! I left every meeting with notes and pieces of advice and that little bit of extra energy to keep writing. I honestly could not have gotten a better mentor.

Aysin Tulunay Virlan

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:13:00 UTC

Aysin listen to my struggles with thesis writing. She sympathised with me and did not judge me for my shortfalls. She gave me constructive advice about what I could try to make my work manageable. Aysin was very interested in my research topic and was very keen to learn something different from her field of work.

Cecilia Ansalone

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:13:20 UTC

Working with Cecilia hugely increased my confidence in my writing and helped me make great progress in my writing goals over the course of the mentoring programme. She always encouraged me to celebrate achieving my writing goals and helped me to understand how I work best. She was also incredibly kind during a family emergency. It's been a very rewarding experience!

Shirin Akbar

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:14:18 UTC

Shirin was a great mentor and helped me see the advantages of keeping a writing routine.

Craig Lamont

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:14:39 UTC

My mentor, Craig , was amazing! Craig approached mentoring in a very supportive and friendly manner, and spent time getting to know me and my practice, which was certainly appreciated. Through his help, I improved my relationship with writing. Craig was a really empathetic listener and went above and beyond the role of mentor to support me.

Claire Goodfellow

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:15:41 UTC

It was very encouraging to have a person that I could meet with more regularly and with less formal / official pressures than my UofG supervisors. We discussed many things however these mainly did all connect back to the goal of completing the thesis, albeit with some chat about how the PhD process fits into ones wider life and intentions for the future. It was good to get a sense that my balancing my personal family life and other paid employment opportunities with the aim of writing up was a normal situation and I shouldn't feel ashamed. My mentor was at a great stage for me, because my actual supervisors are much further along in their professional academic careers. The closeness that my mentor has to having finished their own PhD was really relevant and helpful.

Cicely Macnamara

kayguccione — 2022-07-21 08:17:50 UTC

Cicely was an empathetic, understanding and excellent listener. She asked questions that helped me work out how I worked best. She taught me that holding myself accountable to unrealistic deadlines wasn't constructive for me. That the writing process can be positive and that positivity was created by setting realistic goals with my mentor and keeping a record of progress so I could see what I had achieved.

Srebrenka Letina

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 17:58:24 UTC

I am so happy I was matched with this mentor. She shared her academic experience and encouraged me regularly, which inspired me deeply and made me more confident in my research and future career. She also introduced many valuable links for academic writing. We updated each other about our lives and discussed various topics, like friends. She fully fulfilled her duties as a thesis mentor and being praised for my work, made me feel much better.

Shona Richardson

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 17:59:51 UTC

She was so supportive and kind. She would always get excited about the things going on in my life whether they were thesis based or not. I looked forward to the meetings, where we could just talk about what I thought was important. Most importantly she always made me feel like I wasn't alone when I was struggling with missing data or failed collaborations. I really gained from the program because of my mentor's kindness and support.

Caroline Haig

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:01:28 UTC

The mentoring relationship filled a missing gap in my PhD study which is a solid third-party support with expertise in good strategies for mental wellbeing and with PhD experience. I developed a habit of doing self check-ins to evaluate my mental state in relation to my work. She supported me with writing progress and understood many important concepts that helped me balance writing and lab life. I would say our mentoring partnership was full of trust, empathy and encouragement which helped me gain confidence in completing my PhD.

Christopher Osborne

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:02:54 UTC

Christopher has been a great pillar to keep my motivation going during the thesis writing period. He demonstrated how he listens attentively and remembers any issues brought up in previous meetings. Sometimes giving advice from his close academic experience, and sometimes giving support to my personal decisions, he made me feel I was on the right track, which I found quite important to my enjoyment of the writing process!

Josie Fullerton

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:04:25 UTC

My mentor has shown willingness to help me with a wide variety of problems derived from thesis writing which in turn, has helped me improve my confidence. The feeling of being supported by establishing a relationship that differs from other professional relationships I have built until this point, has been essential. Aside from thesis progress, this has resulted in a boost to my motivation, morale and overall quality of life over the last period of my PhD journey.

Andy Baxter

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:05:37 UTC

I am grateful to Andy for mentoring me. He's an attentive listener. He also motivates and supports me in writing my thesis by sharing his experience and providing information about helpful resources. We had a wonderful time in our mentor sessions, which included walking sessions and coffee breaks. Receiving support from my mentor has been the best approach for me in reducing my stress. Thanks for being my best mentor and for guiding me on the right path!

Cecilia Ansalone

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:06:10 UTC

The mentoring partnership has been invaluable, I can’t express how helpful it has been to me! The main things I’ve taken away are the fact that I’ve developed so much confidence in myself and I know how I work best. I’ve also learned that it’s fine to take breaks and sometimes that’s all you need to get you out of a rut! Even the little things like removing the word count and breaking down chapters into paragraph headings have improved my writing so much!

Erifyli Tsagkari

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:06:59 UTC

Erifyli has been the perfect support I needed at this point of writing my thesis. She is a good listener and made me reflect on my writing process, habits and plans. I honestly wish I had met her earlier. Through a time when I struggled with imposter syndrome, Eri was non-judgemental and helped me challenge it and keep making progress. I am more confident now on how to move forward towards submitting my work. I am so glad that this programme has given me a great mentor, and an honest and candid friend that I will keep beyond the time we participated in this programme.

Sara Restuccia

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:07:59 UTC

Sara has been a huge factor in me finishing my thesis in good time and to a standard I can be proud of. She has always provided very genuine support and helpful advice throughout and given me little deadlines to work towards, which I discovered is the most productive way for me to write. All this while being 8 months pregnant and having her own research to focus on!

Olivia Hamilton

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:09:25 UTC

The mentoring partnership was great in providing provide me with an experienced listener who understood my feelings. My mentor Olivia has shown me that research and writing can be done at ease and in a relaxed, and peaceful, way. This partnership reduced my anxiety by building up my self confidence.

Bastian Struve

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:10:22 UTC

Bastian was an excellent mentor! The mentoring process was full of inspiration and encouragement, which was far beyond my expectations at the beginning. He was always patient in listening to my struggles with thesis writing and the broader issues in my academic life. He shared his valuable experiences and knowledge with me and genuinely helped me overcome my struggles and confusion. Every meeting with him gave me new insights into my research and made me feel more confident in myself. I also appreciated that he responded promptly to any queries when I asked for his help, even though he already had a full workload. I feel very privileged to have had Bastian as my mentor I only wish I had known him earlier. Thank you very much, Bastian.

Shawn Bodden

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:11:02 UTC

I was very lucky to meet Shawn as my mentor! Shawn gave me lots of precious guidance, was empathetic and understanding. I have gained more confidence and made so much more progress on my thesis. Shawn is a brilliant mentor, he listens, inspires and helps you to find the right path no matter how lost you are; he is very intelligent and kind :)

Alejandro Bahena-Rivera

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:11:40 UTC

Alex showed patience, insight, and confidence in me during our mentorship. He took into consideration my position as a part-time student returning to study, and the different employment and health responsibilities I have to juggle alongside my studies. In doing so he gave support and offered tools which were relevant to my situation, and hugely useful to me. I'm extremely grateful for the time and care he took during our mentorship, and after having such a positive experience I would 100% recommend this programme to any fellow PhD's struggling with their writing practice.

Meraj Ahmad

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:16:14 UTC

Weekly mentoring check-ins with Meraj helped me to keep my thesis on track for a difficult deadline. Having someone to hold me accountable and break writing down into achievable weekly tasks helped me keep up motivation, and make progress at a good and mostly consistent rate. I also appreciated the way Meraj took feedback on the mentoring style on board and tailored it accordingly, this openness and flexibility made it easier to share my thoughts.

Zaniah Gonzalez Galfore

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:16:52 UTC

The mentorship programme helped me to work through lots of stress and obstacles which were creating a negative impact on me. Having someone open, who could listen to me vocalise what I needed to address had been a big gap for me. I was overwhelmed, and these sessions were key to me addressing this. The mentoring programme has made me feel much more positive and this reflects on my personal life as well as my thesis.

Laurie Savage

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:17:18 UTC

During the mentoring relationship and for the first time since starting the PhD, I had a great writing month. I know Laurie contributed to that with his calm, reflective listening style and perceptive observations.

Matt Gibbins

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:18:26 UTC

Matt's active listening and positive attitude supported me to understand how to give less importance to things that are objectively less important, or things I cannot control, and to focus on what can be changed.

Matias Perez

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:19:05 UTC

I've found Thesis Mentoring a really useful experience for identifying my own positive and negative writing habits and it's helped me to establish a good writing practice. It's been a pleasure to meet with Matias each week - he was so approachable and helpful. I really appreciated the time he spent with me and can say he has made a really positive impact on my thesis progress.

Milagros Collados Rodriguez

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:20:15 UTC

My mentor is not from the same School as me, but she listened and shared her experiences with me and that really comforted me. I came to understand that other PhD students will more or less share a similar journey with me, which is reassuring.

Andrew Gillen

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:21:02 UTC

My mentor was dedicated and generous through the whole process. It was really helpful that he was a recent PhD graduate as he understood the inherent struggles of a PhD.

Grace Dibben

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:22:00 UTC

Thank you Grace for being a friend and sitting by my side in my chaos. It means a lot to me.

Karen Bellec

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:23:44 UTC

Thanks to Karen for making me feel better about my approach to my writing and to find strategies to improve my progress. I was glad to have an independent listener, out of my group but within my field, who was able to listen and provide support.

Sargam Mulay

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:24:59 UTC

My mentor listened to me carefully and helped me to release the stress of writing. She was very supportive and professional and willing to share what she knows with me, which is always appreciated. Other than my thesis, she has helped me to prepare my manuscript for publication, and she provided me many useful ideas and suggestions. We have also discussed about the demands of a future academic career. I feel no pressure while working with her because she always encourages me.

Gemma Learmonth

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:26:03 UTC

Gemma was an absolutely fabulous mentor. She was kind, compassionate, supportive and encouraging. In a short space of time, she was able to provide so much support in terms of writing progress and developing my skills. I was able to make a huge head start and get so much work done by following her practical tips on scheduling myself and just getting things down on paper. She also suggested some great leadership programs to develop those skills as well.

Jane Cullingworth

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:26:32 UTC

Jane listened to my concerns and provided assurance that I was on the right track. She is very easy to talk to and I enjoyed and appreciate every single insight she has shared with me.

Paul Baity

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:26:54 UTC

Paul was fantastic in keeping me aligned with my thesis writing goals. We set targets frequently and he was always reliable for calls and discussions. He would be empathetic when I was struggling at times and provided great support and encouragement. I made some incredible progress on my thesis during the Thesis Mentoring program and I owe most of it to Paul. Thank you for your time and for helping me along in my journey.

Rahul Kumar

kayguccione — 2023-01-12 18:27:17 UTC

This mentoring partnership has been so helpful to me. Rahul's calm and supportive way of discussing thesis writing has helped me to overcome a lot of the anxiety I had around writing. By helping me to break down my thesis into smaller, achievable writing tasks, he has helped me to see that writing my thesis is possible and doesn't have to involve excessive amounts of stress. It has been really helpful to have someone who isn't my supervisor to check in with every 2 weeks just to make sure I was making progress, and to talk with about problems I was having during writing. Meeting with Rahul has made me feel that I'm not alone during the writing process. Thank you so much!

Neil Findlay

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:46:49 UTC

The PhD process can be very challenging for our mental health. This mentoring partnership helped me to be more confident about myself. I still have a long way to go. In terms of productivity, I am far from where I would like to be, but at least now I believe I can do it and I also know that I did a lot so far as well. I guess my mentor is not only a nice person, but he knows how to speak with you. He gives good advices and always tries to not criticise you. I guess for those who are struggling with lack of confidence this can be very important. Also, he is very responsible. Always on time and always available to help.

Aisling McFall

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:47:37 UTC

Again, weekly meetings with someone as smart and no-nonsense, yet understanding, as Aisling literally helped me complete the creative portion of my degree, within the time that I began the program. I am convinced our meetings are responsible for sudden increase in my productivity.

Lluís Oliver Cervello

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:49:12 UTC

Engaging in the mentoring partnership has proven to be an invaluable experience for me. It has offered crucial guidance, support, and insights that have helped both my thesis writing and professional development. The patience and attentive listening demonstrated by my mentor have fostered a safe and supportive atmosphere for open dialogue. His consistent provision of constructive feedback and encouragement has significantly bolstered my confidence and motivation. While it is not expected that every issue can be solved, my mentor has been there to discuss my queries, offer guidance, and provide valuable resources. I am immensely grateful for his unwavering support throughout this journey.

Marissa Smith

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:49:53 UTC

My mentor has shown me simple ways on how to think about my thesis and how to tackle stressful tasks. She always had an open ear and gave useful advice afterwards. Marissa gave me insights into her thesis writing which helped me find the best ways for my own writing process.

Alejandro Bahena-Rivera

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:50:47 UTC

The mentoring partnership is an invaluable experience for me. My mentor's guidance and suggestions are really helpful for my thesis writing. One of the qualities that has stood out in my mentor is his exceptional listening skills. He actively engaged in our discussions, attentively understanding my concerns, goals, and aspirations. His ability to truly listen has made me feel heard, validated, and supported throughout the process.
I am grateful for his guidance and support.

Adriana Mihaela Soaita

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:51:42 UTC

Adriana Mihaela Soaita always displays her passion towards research and writing. Even though my PhD topic is not tightly related to her area, she still has the patience and dynamic understanding to create brainstorming and inspiring discussion between us. Her timely, multidimensional, and insightful feedback targets my academic writing and presentation, logic structure, and potential theories behind my arguments.

I learned a lot from her about qualitative research and developed to be confident and optimistic towards my PhD journey. Big thanks to her, and I think Adriana deserves the recognition of this Mentor Hall of Fame.:)

Onur Celik

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:52:28 UTC

This mentoring partnership is almost the most supportive relationship I had in the first year of my PhD life. My mentor was patient, warm, and supportive. He was experienced in the difficulties I faced during the PhD journey, and he generouly shared his feelings and solutions. He encouraged me to share my feelings and articulate my reflections. He was perceptive in understanding my own working habits and patterns. His professional attitude and skills constructed a real mentor image in my mind, and when I am faced with more difficulties in my research, thinking of the mentor image can make me calm and confident.

Diego Cantoni

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:53:04 UTC

Thank you for being an active listener and matching my energy, so I felt very comfortable sharing my thesis writing expectations, issues and general anxieties without judgement. You had great advice and I am very grateful for providing a second opinion when I was unsure of the best way to navigate some difficult situations.

Caroline Haig

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:53:42 UTC

Caroline is a brilliant mentor! I felt she really listened and created space for me to reflect. She has so much insight and wisdom into how thoughts and wellbeing affect our work - which she used to ask enlightening questions, rather than lecture on. I really appreciated her calmness, straight forwardness and sense of humour. Caroline had a quiet confidence in the role that was really reassuring.

Laura Haag

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:54:11 UTC

My mentor is a patient listener, a good communicator and an experienced researcher who is willing to dedicate her time to offering writing suggestions to other people. Her conversations have helped me to be more resilient in dealing with my writing tasks.

Zaniah Gonzalez Galofre

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:55:09 UTC

It was just nice to be able to talk to someone who was familiar with the difficulties and pressures I was going through. She was able to help talk me through stresses of writing pressure, times where it was too hard to work and the unique visa stresses of being an immigrant and a PGR.

Shawn Bodden

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:57:06 UTC

The mentoring helped me to be in touch with the academic process as I was away for my field work. we talked about PhD process and theory and writing style, accommodation and many other different things which helped me to keep track instead of getting lost in the fieldwork process. The mentor showed me to keep it steady which was really helpful in the overwhelming expectance of fieldwork.

Laura Dowsett

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:58:43 UTC

Dear Dr. Laura Dowsett,

It was a good opportunity to share the Mentor partnership program with you. Your guidance was so beneficial to me and aided me to improve my progress.

Your way in dealing and your kindness as well as your support gave me a hand to up-skill my knowledge. And that helped me to improve my confidence and reduce some of the tension that I face in the preparation for my first draft of the literature review. I am still in the start of the journey but the guiding points and advice that you gave will move till the end.

Thank you so much for giving me part of your time, to guide and support during this program. I wish all bests and success in your life.

Marta Campillo Poveda

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 15:59:34 UTC

Marta has been calm, pragmatic, flexible, and supportive. At all times, she kept the focus on me and my needs, drawing on her own experience to offer reassurance and guidance, but never imposing her personal perspective. Despite coming from very different disciplines, she was able to extract universal nuggets of PhD wisdom to help set priorities, manage workload, and focus on the end goal of completion. Her consistent attention to well-being and work-life balance is also very valuable in a work environment that doesn't always take this seriously enough. Marta very generously has offered to continue the mentoring relationship until the end of the year, when I will be submitting my thesis. An all round star!

Divya Baskaran

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:00:12 UTC

Divya was a great mentor; she understood how I felt as a PGR struggling to finalize my first chapter and provided me with the required support.

Justin Sperling

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:00:54 UTC

Across our meetings, I found that Justin and I worked in similar ways. Knowing that he had gone through the same difficulties as I am currently experiencing was very reassuring. We complained about the same issues in academia and shared a common love for knowledge. And even though our fields were drastically different, we could concur on what had driven us to where we were. Justin's kind words of encouragement and advice have helped me regain focus on what truly matters to me and why I started doing my PhD in the first place.

Lamis Abuhaloob

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:02:37 UTC

Courage and calm are what I have learned from Lamis.
Courage to face inner fear is not just a mindset, it should contain practical strategies ready to go; Lamis shared her mindset: never treat any critiques from others as personal, think about it, and see what is really useful for you. Try to bend down and pick it up.

Lamis also shared her strategy for developing the courage to write: treat your writing as the lecture you need to attend, chunk the thesis into several small sections, and complete the section first rather than counting your word count.

I was getting fearful and nervous, and starting to criticize myself when receiving negative feedback from my supervisors. But Lamis taught me how not to treat it as personal, what I need to do is accept supervisors' comments and return it back on time.

I have learned valuable qualities and skills from Lamis, and sincerely think her efforts deserve this nomination, therefore, I nominate her to the Hall of Fame.

Patawee Asamaphan

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:03:09 UTC

Patawee is always patient, nice and clam to answer all of my questions. These questions include but not limited to time management, presentation skills and structure skills. All of these suggestions are helpful.

Janet Bouttell

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:04:05 UTC

She was a well matched mentor in terms of age and experience, very important to me as an older female researcher. I felt I could trust her and that she would understand my difficulties. I found her very helpful in boosting my confidence and sharing experiences.

Erifyli Tsagkari

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:04:35 UTC

The mentoring scheme has made a real difference to me. 2nd year has been a challenging time for various reasons, so the advice, skills and techniques Eri has provided has been great. Most of all, just the reassurance that all my hard work has got me on track and things will work out. Something I needed to hear.

Ana Carracedo

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:06:20 UTC

Ana is a truly wonderful mentor. She is supportive, perceptive and comforting in addressing my concerns regarding my thesis. She is a positive force who motivates me with my writing, and lends a sympathetic ear when things do not go the way I had expected. She has taught me the importance of looking forward, not backwards, and to not let perfection be my stumbling block. She is a credit to the programme and I am eternally grateful for the assistance, kindness and support she has given me.

Sargam Mulay

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:07:15 UTC

The mentoring partnership has helped me realise that I am not in a peculiar situation when it comes to the fear of writing, but that there are strategies and resources that can help me move through the different phases of writing my thesis. My mentor's skills such as active listening, communicating with patience and not dismissing my concerns are great! My mentor made sure I realised that I was the decision maker after every session. The ability to sign post me to resources without making it compulsory for me to use them is an example.

As a way of recognising the impact of the skilled voluntary work that mentors do to support Thesis Writers, we invite mentees to nominate their mentor for the Mentorship Hall of Fame.

researcherdevelopment — 2023-07-31 16:08:40 UTC

Alasdair Whyte

researcherdevelopment — 2024-03-27 17:19:37 UTC

Alasdair Whyte is a fantastic mentor. Highly professional and knowledgeable, empathic, a good listener, supportive and releasing, and full of good ideas. The match with my thesis was excellent and I think we both felt that sense that he was making a tangible difference at this stage of my PhD.

Bodhayan Prasad

researcherdevelopment — 2024-03-27 17:22:01 UTC

The mentoring partnership has been invaluable to me, providing guidance, support, and a unique perspective on my personal and professional development. My mentor has demonstrated exceptional qualities and skills that have made a real difference in my journey.

Amit Meir Ben Efraim

researcherdevelopment — 2024-03-27 17:23:07 UTC

Amit is very passionate about supporting women in academia and especially those from different cultural backgrounds. Her support and knowledge have helped me realise that everyone faces certain difficulties and that these can be addressed and that confidence building takes time. Practical advice was also really useful as to how to approach my writing.

Calum Lindsay

researcherdevelopment — 2024-03-27 17:24:05 UTC

From the outset, Calum made me feel comfortable voicing my struggles with the writing process and was open to sharing his own experiences in the final stages of his research. His encouragement and willingness to listen to my challenges and help me navigate them to find suitable solutions have been constructive in helping me structure my thesis and increase the pace of my writing. Calum has also been forthcoming in his advice on navigating writing to let my voice stand out without drowning within secondary research. Overall, his patience has been the best thing in this mentorship programme, and I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity to be his mentee.

Louise Lawson

researcherdevelopment — 2024-03-27 17:25:09 UTC

Louise is a great listener. I think this is a difficult trait and skill to have and cultivate but also a very important one when you are mentoring. Louise has been very empathetic and accommodating of my circumstances as I am a mother and a student. Louise also the ability to make you feel very comfortable when talking about PhD life (and life in general). I always felt supported by her throughout my time in the programme by her constructive and positive feedback. Louise is very analytical and I remember she asking me questions to have a better understanding of my academic life and progress. I'm very grateful to have met her through this programme as she has encouraged me to take action and think about what I may need to do in order to achieve my aims (more immediate ones) as well as career aspirations, without neglecting my own wellbeing.

Laura Hepburn

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:07:28 UTC

My mentor was great! She really has helped and I can't thank the program enough! The skill that Laura had which blew me away was her ability to listen. I felt seen and heard and supported. That is an amazing thing!

I really benefited from this programme, I felt my struggles at the time were understood by someone for the first time. I think there was a insurmountable problem, I'm not sure what, and so I don't feel like my not completing my PhD should in anyway reflect on this program as a whole. I hope it keeps going as I am sure it will be invaluable to students like myself in the future.

Angie Sin

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:08:03 UTC

Thank you so much Angie! I am truly grateful for the time and effort you invested in mentoring me, offering constructive feedback, and boosting my confidence. It is always nice talking to you. Hope to see you again sometimes.

Chris Davis

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:08:40 UTC

I feel like my mentor helped me gain confidence about my progress with writing the thesis. The meetings also really helped with reminding me that having a near-perfect draft was not the goal. Our chats were guided by what I wanted to discuss, so we always talked about what was relevant to me. It was great to talk to someone who not only went through the whole PhD writing period, but also happily shared insights and managed to relate to my experience and worries. Bonus for me - we both like coffee so we always met in nice cafes, which definitely made the day better!

Sargam Mulay

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:09:13 UTC

I feel that my match was perfect!
My mentor understood all my needs, my concerns and all my fears from day one. She gave me examples of her thesis writing and made me feel that I can do it. She explained what should be included in the thesis and what is expected from myself.
I couldn't be more grateful to Sargam!

Connor Blair

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:11:01 UTC

Connor has been super easy and fun to talk and has increased my energy and motivation during the writing process. It's been great to have someone to relate to who has seen the end of the tunnel and whilst knows the struggles, has the ability to lift the mood. Thank you so much, you've helped a lot!

Jane Munday

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:11:27 UTC

It was great. She was very understanding and could empathise with me. She is a great listener and helped me to set short-term goals. I am very thankful for dedicating time to me over these past few months.

Megan Griffiths

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:12:02 UTC

I appreciated all the meetings and chats with my mentor. It was quite useful to get some advice from a successful PhD graduates when I faced some challenges. Though we have chances to chat with PhD peers in office time, suggestions from those PhD graduates could give us more confidence in knowing that those are some challenges that all PhD students would experience. I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and motivation my mentor showed to help other PhD peers, she was willing to help me with anything and share her experience with me as much as she could, we sometimes had to reschedule our availability but she showed much support and she gave me time management skills, tips of facing stress and getting myself refreshed!

Roland Pevsner

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:13:38 UTC

I would like to say thank you to my mentor. He improved my positivity to finish my thesis and helped with the planning and management of thesis writing.

Jessica Perochon

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:15:02 UTC

I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude to my mentor, Jessica. She is very nice and professional. Although our fields are totally different, she gave me lots of advice on writing skills, thesis planning, time management, and even career. She support me on the side of mine. I just felt confident, and stress relaxed after meeting her. I had a good idea of how to write my thesis. I wish her all the best.

Neil Findlay

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:16:20 UTC

Neil has a rare and fantastic way of combining compassion, kindness, humour, and empathy with insightful and gentle advice. I was really nervous of discussing my work with people and Neil talked through it with a supportive lens and provided encouraging feedback in a way that meant a lot to me! Thanks Neil!

Diego Cantoni

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:16:55 UTC

Although we were from completely different subjects, Dr Diego has helped me during my writing process, shared from his experiences, and gave great recommendations through out the program. His recommendations made things simpler and clearer for me, especially while dealing with multifaceted discussions and structuring chapters. It was great meeting him and I wish him all the best!

James Allen

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:17:43 UTC

James is an excellent mentor - he helped me navigate through my thoughts. His way of mentoring and asking questions sort of make me think clearly and understand my situation. At first, I thought I won't get used to his asking but his way of asking questions made me feel less intimidated of being asked. He provides his own experience that alleviates the feeling of insecurity, moreover, validates that there are really things beyond our control. It really made a difference on my thought process.

Fernanda Lima Silva Alvim

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:18:06 UTC

Fernanda has been such a brilliant mentor. She has been supportive and encouraging. Her practical advice about writing the thesis and looking after myself has been invaluable. Fernanda has also been generous in sharing her experiences as well as her time. I have learned a lot and am very grateful.

Andrew Gillen

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:18:41 UTC

Andrew has patiently listened to all my insecurities related to the quality of my work, if I will ever finish and if my progress was good enough, and always reassured me that I have nothing to worry about and that feelings like this are normal. He also assisted me in preparing for my first-ever job interview which landed me my post-PhD position, which I am super grateful for!

Jana Ovciarikova

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:19:21 UTC

Jana was very kind and said to reach out to her if I had any questions even after the program ends.

Ankita Das

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:19:42 UTC

Its been immeasurably helpful to talk to Ankita, we had very relaxed conversations which removed the fear around writing, talked tips and tricks and I feel like I'm approaching it from a new perspective.

Heather McClelland

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:20:38 UTC

The mentoring partnership has been transformative for me, significantly reshaping my PhD journey. Heather's empathy and approachability created a supportive environment from the outset. Her patient listening and willingness to share personal experiences from her own PhD enriched our discussions. Heather's mentorship proved invaluable, offering insights that extended beyond the academic realm. The connection with her has not only positively impacted my research but also fostered personal growth. I am grateful for the guidance received and the genuine camaraderie that defines our mentor-mentee relationship. Heather's qualities of empathy, openness, and shared experiences have made a profound difference.

Anna Gatskeva

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:27:13 UTC

Anna was always very positive with me. Even if things felt challenging in the context of difficult feedback, for example, I could become quite self-critical of my writing. Anna would consistently offer me a positive or practical based perspective, e.g., how do we solve this problem, and couch it in the principles of the scientific method, rather than me focusing on my writing as being an 'undergraduate' and going in endless circles worrying about this. She helped me to depersonalize feedback in essence, which was a key concept for me to base my feedback and progress on, rather than personalising feedback. I also learned how to better manage adversarial interactions and how to negotiate better on this basis. Anna was also very kind and understanding about my difficulties, and she also offered me a space to reflect on the pandemic and how it had impacted my research and academic relationships. It also gave me the confidence to conduct challenging conversations appropriately. I would highly recommend thesis mentoring to others. Particularly to those that have had their research/PhDs impacted by the pandemic, I would recommend. And of course, to anyone struggling generally... As... I... am finally ready to submit!

Emily Oxley

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:27:56 UTC

Emily helped me to gain immense confidence in my writing, and encouraged me so well throughout our time together. No longer do I have a negative relationship with my writing, but I actually enjoy it and see it as an enjoyable and challenging thing that will get finished. Her joy and support in a semi casual but professional setting allowed me to have further support beyond my supervisor that was so extremely helpful, I am so grateful for our time together. Emily is the absolute best!

Fernanda Alvim

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:28:31 UTC

Fernanda was the best thesis mentor that I could have asked for. She was encouraging, insightful and generous with her time. Fernanda shared her own experience which was really valuable. She also listened and helped me understand the ways I work best. Fernanda not only met with me but also suggested that I email updates to help with accountability in meeting writing targets. Equally importantly, Fernanda helped me focus on my health and wellbeing. I met my draft thesis deadline and got great feedback from my supervisors. Fernanda played a huge role in that!

Jane Cullingworth

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:28:55 UTC

Jane is an experienced listener, she brings realism and compassion to this mentoring relationship

Anastasiia Klimash

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-02 15:29:23 UTC

She is amazing, and very helpful. She helped me to work out finding the best way that can keep me writing. Also, overcome the fear of not being 'perfect'.

Brianna Robertson-Kirkland

researcherdevelopment — 2024-04-05 09:03:09 UTC

Brianna was great and I feel like we got along. She shared experience particularly in the area of time and project management and writing skills. We had good conversations about relationship with supervisor, managing supervisors, and managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders, as I work on a collaborative doctoral award. Overall, I had a good experience and thought she was supportive and understanding. I think she was great and a had a good approach to a mentee.

Marissa Smith

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 10:55:20 UTC

Before the programme ended, I had a troubling time in my personal life and had to end the meetings earlier because I took a break from my studies. I can say the most helpful meeting was that last one. Marissa helped me to accept that it is ok to feel how I do, how much pressure I am dealing with and that my life is not an obstacle to my work. I felt relieved and seen after the meeting.

Grace Brown

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 10:57:55 UTC

Grace is excellent at guiding people through their confusion with simple and thoughtful questions. She could deeply show both her profession and her passion for listening and caring. I sincerely appreciate having her as my mentor. Anyone who may have her as a mentor later will be impressed. Thank you, Grace! You are amazing!

Aurelien Nioche

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 10:58:50 UTC

I felt that Aurelien was a super mentor as he assured me that the problems l was facing were the common problems faced by students at this stage Also, l felt he had faced the problems personally and therefore was able to present ideas for overcoming obstacles.
It has made a real difference to me as l am now very confident that l will finish my thesis in time and feel proud of the work that l have published.

Stuart Sullivan

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:00:04 UTC

Undertaking mentoring with Stuart was always a highlight of the day and has really helped me on many levels. I think that throughout the process, I felt validated in my efforts to improve writing, give structure to ideas and see the thesis as something I can actually achieve to write. Stuart was very good at offering a listening ear and helping to formulate me my thoughts both at the level of smaller editing and overall planning of the overall goal which we set at the beginning. He was also very good at pointing me to other resources that could help me and showed great emotional intelligence and understanding when linking up loose thoughts that I would at times throw at him.
Overall, I believe my thesis is closer to completion thanks to the partnership and I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone who was struggling with the problems I was at the start.

Linda Thomas

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:00:36 UTC

The mentor is always the first person I want to turn to for help at some key stages of my PhD. In the autumn semester, I felt uncomfortable with my research topic and wanted to change it. Then my mentor told me her stories of managing academic pressure and interacting with her PhD supervisors. Then in May when I was too nervous about my annual progress review, I went to ask for her help again. She thought of any questions that might be asked, pointed to the errors in my thesis and mocked the review process with me. This made me feel so much relieved.

Kevin Leomo

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:01:02 UTC

Kevin has been incredibly supportive as a mentor, trying to understand where I was coming from and working towards constructive solutions. He offered help wherever he could, both with a view to my writing and with a view to thinking about life after the PhD. Thank you!

Anisha Netto

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:01:32 UTC

Anisha was so amazing as a mentor and as a person! I liked how she effortlessly transfers her positivity to me during my "low" writing moments. I don't tell her but she can somehow feel it, and surprisingly says the right words always at the right time! I also like how she balances the mentoring process, between being an actual mentor and a friend, not overdoing one or the other. She really has made my writing experience very positive - and I wanted keep this outlook until I finally submit!

Louise Lawson

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:01:53 UTC

I want to thank Louise for sharing her experience and reading and writing habits, for encouraging me, and for keeping me accountable for completing the writing goal I set for myself during our mentoring.

Patrizia Di Campli San Vito

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:02:17 UTC

My mentor was very patient, kind, compassionate and supportive. She eased my anxiety and offered valuable tips and recommendations to help with my writing, research practice and my relationship with my supervisory team. I liked that we are both immigrants and bilingual which curated a level of understanding and solidarity. I'm extremely thankful to my mentor for being reliable and trustworthy and overall very generous in spirit and held the space with care and a sense of safety.

Michalis Georgiou

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:02:54 UTC

The first time I met Michalis, I was late, but he didn't show any negativity. Instead, he gave me further options. When I met him again, he told me not to be nervous and reassured me that it was okay. At that moment, I knew he would be a good Mentor. We met almost every week, and I would prepare my questions, which he would patiently answer based on his experience. His answers were always unreserved, providing me with the information I needed most straight away, which saved me a lot of trial and error. He also gave me advice based on my performance over certain periods, allowing me to reflect on my efforts and understand where I stood. After each meeting, I felt more confident in my writing. Michalis definitely deserves to be recognized in the Mentorship Hall of Fame!

Madeleine Beveridge

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:10:51 UTC

Madeleine has truly been an exceptional mentor, providing me with a warm welcome and demonstrating genuine interest in both my thesis and my overall well-being. Our discussions spanned supervisory dynamics, writing patterns, and the challenges that would arise post-thesis submission. She consistently offered care, valuable information, and additional resources when needed. I greatly benefited from her insights in problem-solving and navigating the intricacies of the University of Glasgow, which helped me gain confidence in the final stages of my academic journey. I cannot emphasise enough how grateful I am.

Carla Comadran Casas

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:11:16 UTC

Carla was a thoughtful, understanding, and flexible mentor, who allowed me to openly share my struggles and progress with thesis writing.

Rita Claudia Cardoso Ribeiro

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:11:45 UTC

The mentoring partnership has been incredibly meaningful, greatly enhancing my academic and personal development. Rita is an outstanding mentor, and I genuinely enjoy our meetings and conversations. Her empathetic listening and deep understanding of my challenges have provided invaluable support. As an exceptional researcher, Rita generously shares her insights and experiences, which have significantly impacted my progress. She has shown me how to break down complex tasks into manageable steps, keeping me motivated and focused. Her tailored advice on writing and maintaining a productive life, specifically addressing my concerns and needs, has been transformative. This partnership has not only honed my research and writing skills but also enriched my overall experience as a PGR, making me feel supported and empowered to reach my ultimate goals.

Daria Ukhova

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:12:14 UTC

My mentor is empathetic, kind, professional, and experienced in both academic and non-academic sectors. She is an expert in my field of interest. We both specialize in feminist/gender-related topics in post-socialist countries. Personally and politically, I feel a strong connection. She has significantly eased my final thesis stage, helped me gain better self-knowledge, and given me the courage to pursue post-PhD interests.

Chien-Wen Kuo

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:12:48 UTC

Throughout the mentorship programme, I had the privilege of being guided by an exceptional mentor. Her expertise in task prioritization was instrumental in streamlining my workflow, thereby enhancing my productivity. She provided a comprehensive plan for my thesis writing, which served as a robust framework for my research.

Her innovative strategies for stress management transformed my approach towards task completion, making it more efficient and less daunting. Her unwavering support and encouragement served as a constant source of motivation.

Her mentorship was not confined to academics but extended to personal growth. I am profoundly grateful for her guidance, which has been pivotal in my journey. Her mentorship is a testament to her professional excellence and her remarkable character.

Laura Haag

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:13:19 UTC

The mentoring partnership means a lot to me, especially it helps me relieve my anxiety on writing and doing fieldwork. Laura is a very thoughtful and talented friend. The way in which she asked questions and the strategies and solutions she provided all encouraged me to continue to do research and write up my ideas despite many difficulties during the fieldwork. I think Laura is very good at asking questions and getting you to reflect and recognise your own issues. I am very grateful that I could have chance to know and talk with Laura about my research, especially during the difficult times of doing fieldwork alone and writing up thesis.

Aikaterini Miari

researcherdevelopment — 2024-09-03 11:13:45 UTC

From the first 5 minutes of meeting Katie, I immediately knew that we have been matched perfectly. Katie offered me a safe space to share my thoughts and anxiety surrounding the thesis writing process. She met all my worries with kindness, support and understanding. Katie helped me identify things that motivate me to write and things that do not. She also helped me navigate how and when I worked best and she encouraged me to set up a healthy writing habit while prioritising my mental wellbeing. I am glad that I signed up for the Thesis Mentoring Programme and I am lucky to have been paired with Katie!

Robert Richardson (Thesis Mentor) and Monica Reves (JMS Programme Mentor)

researcherdevelopment — 2024-11-27 16:40:26 UTC

"It is with great honor and profound respect that I nominate Monica and Robert for the Hall of Fame. Over the course of our relationship, Monica and Robert has demonstrated unparalleled dedication, exceptional expertise, and an unwavering commitment to fostering growth and excellence in me.

From the very beginning, Monica and Robert stood out as a beacon of knowledge and inspiration. Their ability to convey complex concepts with clarity and patience has not only enriched my understanding but has also profoundly influenced my approach to both personal and professional challenges. They possess an innate ability to identify potential and cultivate it, they guided me towards achieving my fullest potential.

What truly sets Monica and Robert apart is their exceptional character. They lead by example, consistently demonstrating integrity, humility, and a genuine passion for the field. Monica and Robert are not just a mentor in the traditional sense but role models who exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct.

Monica was able to build a quick and passionate relationship with me. One of her exceptional performance during the program was when she travelled all the way from Manchester for the JMS conference which relaxed my anxiety during my presentation. This was amazing and it gave me a sense of belonging and hope to complete my thesis with the right support.

They both willing to continue the relationship"

kayguccione — 2025-07-01 09:04:07 UTC

Baptiste A.J. Poursat

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:26:29 UTC

My mentor provided great assistance with my thesis schedule, helping me manage deadlines effectively. He offered detailed guidance on writing and structuring my thesis, which improved the overall quality of my work. His patience and careful listening made me feel supported throughout the process, and his practical, actionable advice was instrumental in solving the issues. This support not only enhanced my academic performance but also built my confidence in handling complex tasks. I’m deeply grateful for his dedicated involvement and the positive impact it has had on my thesis and personal growth.

Rachel Chin

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:27:01 UTC

Rachel was an excellent mentor who was very encouraging and offered a lot of insights into ways of organising my thesis and how to approach the writing in order to make consistent progress. She helped me see my research through the lens of related disciplines and helped me prioritise what to write and where it might fit in the text. It was also really helpful to have someone to speak with who could demystify the various stages of a PhD that wasn't my direct supervisor.

Jenna-Marie Lundy

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:28:04 UTC

My mentor was quite passionate in providing assistance/support. Despite her busy schedule, she used to arrange a regular meeting and was really prompt in checking my progress. I joined this mentoring program for the sake of my mental well-being. Prior to joining the program I was in a state of being doomed and overwhelmed.

Jana Anderson

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:30:03 UTC

Jana was a fantastic mentor, who was enthusiastic and keen to meet regularly, encouraging me along the way to work in small sections and send them to my supervisors. She provided advice on working through any periods of problematic communication with my supervisor and was a great support to me during a challenging period of my thesis writing.

Rhona Brown

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:30:44 UTC

My mentoring experience with Rhona was very valuable. From the beginning, she was always friendly, easy to approach, and made me feel comfortable and supported. We discussed short and mid-term goals for the mentoring period, which helped me keep on track with things. She often shared personal examples of how I could develop my own writing style and, shared related work samples for references. I wish to sincerely appreciate her constructive feedback and warm approach towards me.

Tara Jonell

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:31:44 UTC

Tara is a very good mentor to me because she can put her feet in my shoes. She understands my situation without me trying hard to tell her. Tara was there to give me a logical explanation that made me feel better and more confident. Tara also shared her experience and how she managed the challenges. I can say that I am improving and even after the programme, I am still maintaining my writing and remembering all the tips that Tara gave me. It gives me less stress and try to enjoy riding the waves instead of against the waves. Thank you, Tara.

Neil Findlay

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:33:23 UTC

My mentoring partnership with Neil Findlay has been truly transformative. Neil has an exceptional ability to listen attentively, ensuring I feel heard and understood. His thoughtful advice has consistently helped me navigate challenges with clarity and confidence. He has a remarkable knack for breaking down overwhelming tasks into manageable steps, which has made a significant difference in how I approach my goals.

Beyond his practical guidance, Neil's genuine care and kindness have stood out. He doesn’t just offer support; he invests in building a connection that goes beyond the mentorship itself.

Neil’s approachable and supportive nature, combined with his skillful advice, has made a lasting impact on me. I’m deeply grateful for his mentorship and for the positive perspective he brings to every conversation.

Carla Comadran Casas

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:33:59 UTC

This mentoring partnership has been a great learning experience for me. Carla has been an amazing mentor, always supportive and approachable. She has shared her knowledge and experiences in a way that is easy to understand and apply.

Carla’s productive work habits have inspired me to manage my time better and stay focused on my goals. She has shown me how to break tasks into smaller steps and finish them efficiently. Her approach to balancing work and personal life has been a great example for me to follow.

Carla has also shared valuable tips from her own experiences, which have helped me overcome challenges in my studies and career planning. Her practical advice on communication and teamwork has made a real difference in how I approach problems.

We have even talked about collaborating in the future, which is exciting and motivating. I’m grateful for Carla’s guidance, which has helped me grow both personally and professionally.

Amanda Gillooly

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:34:51 UTC

Amanda is a very kind and patient mentor.

She always helps me in a well-organized way, preparing specific themes for each meeting, such as writing, finding academic conferences, and offering support for both my academic work and personal life. Her ability to anticipate and respond to my concerns shows not only her professionalism but also her genuine care for my growth and well-being. Compared to my previously isolated PhD journey, I have now received much more encouragement and support. She makes me feel like there is someone I can rely on. Her deep humanity and patience mean a lot to me, and I am truly grateful for her guidance.

Cicely Macnamara

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:35:31 UTC

Cicely was excellent. She is a great listener and showed lots of empathy. She allowed me to determine what I wanted from the program (which was accountability). Knowing that I was meeting Cicely each Tuesday to report on the week's progress prevented me from letting it slide as it could easily have done. She was never judgmental and totally understanding of my situation. But rather dwell on the difficulties helped to see beyond them so that they could be overcome. I found Cicely support invaluable this semester. Thank you!

Souleymane Yameogo

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:36:39 UTC

My mentor, Dr. Souleymane Yameogo, has been incredibly supportive. He shared his experiences of learning languages from 0 to 1 through multimodal resources such as videos and audiobooks. His insights on visualising the language inspired me to think critically about the rationale, the purpose and the goals of my own research.

Dr. Yameogo also challenged my assumptions by describing how he connected with lecturers and academic staff beyond his supervisors, and how he invites people for a coffee chat to ask for help on research. This broadened my perspective on networking within academia and motivated me to step out of my comfort zone and reach out to individuals who might contribute to my project.

Moreover, he provided detailed and thoughtful feedback on my research design. Drawing on his multilingual and multicultural background, he acted as a participant of my mock-interview and offered so much invaluable advice to refine my interview questions.

Once again, Dr. Souleymane Yameogo, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an exceptional mentor! I am grateful for the guidance you provide. Wish you all the best in your Postdoc journey.

I wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Souleymane Yameogo for recognition in the Mentorship Hall of Fame.

Joe Waldron

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:36:59 UTC

Joe was a real support at the beginning of my PhD journey and has given me the confidence and motivation to take forward my thesis writing.

Olivia Hamilton

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:38:00 UTC

This mentoring partnership has been invaluable in maintaining my focus and motivation as my research group has disbanded. Liv is very considerate and thoughtful and worked with me to find solutions to problems ranging from organising my thesis plan and approaches to writing to communication and trying to find funding sources. She's an excellent listener and very skilfully drew on her own knowledge and experience when relevant in a way that aided us to find solutions that may work for me. Our sessions flew by with a lot of ground covered even when initially it felt like there may be little to discuss. She invested her time and was fully available and engaged, ensuring that my mentoring needs were met as we progressed through our block. I feel much better resourced to continue with my thesis writing now and have a much better understanding of how I work and how best to improve my productivity, which is something I may not have dedicated my time to had it not been for these sessions and hope to keep in touch. Thanks Liv!

Joana Carvalheiro

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:38:38 UTC

This mentoring partnership has been invaluable in giving me space to think through and plan my thesis-writing as a process, without the additional focus on the content that my supervisors also bring. Joana was fantastic as a mentor, taking the time to actively listen and making notes so that each meeting I was held accountable for the plan we had made the previous meeting; however, this accountability never came across in a judgemental way, and Joana was really encouraging in highlighting areas where I had achieved something. This combination of active listening and non-judgemental accountability made Joana an ideal mentor.

Tara Jonell

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:39:02 UTC

Before I began mentoring, I struggled with demotivation in many aspects of my life, particularly during low moments. However, my mentor played a pivotal role in reigniting my motivation, especially when it came to writing. She shared invaluable tips and strategies that greatly enhanced my approach. Additionally, her insights and guidance were incredibly helpful in preparing for my conference, providing me with the confidence and clarity I needed.

Matthew Swayne

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:39:57 UTC

Being mentored by Dr. Matthew Swayne has been an incredibly meaningful and transformative experience for me. His support, encouragement, and practical advice have made such a difference in my thesis-writing journey. From helping me set realistic goals to suggesting new work environments that boosted my focus, his insights were always thoughtful and tailored to my needs. He never made the challenges feel overwhelming but instead broke them down into manageable steps, making the process far less daunting.
What stood out the most was his approachable and empathetic nature. I always felt heard and understood, which made it easy to share my struggles and progress openly. His belief in my abilities gave me the confidence to tackle my thesis with clarity and purpose. This mentorship has not only strengthened my academic skills but also shown me the value of kindness and genuine care in a mentor. I’m truly grateful for his guidance.

Philip Robinson

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:40:44 UTC

Philip was an excellent mentor. He was encouraging, positive and thoughtful. When I began this process I felt a bit lost with my thesis direction and I was not confident about my writing skills. I have come out of it with confidence and a real plan moving forward. Philip listened to all my concerns and offered support and guidance without directing me as to what I should do or making me feel like there was a right or wrong answer. I always left our meetings feeling encouraged and with ideas about my work. I would recommend thesis mentoring to everyone, and cannot thank Philip enough for the support.

Patricia Centeno

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:41:09 UTC

I signed up to the mentorship scheme at a point in my PhD where I felt like I was lacking structure. My mentor was always honest, knew when to challenge the routines I had set for myself and the bad habits I had developed, and was always ready with good, actionable advice.

Lauren Black

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:42:08 UTC

My mentor was quite accommodating. Even though we had very little in common she gave her best to guide and comfort me.

Magdalena Redondo Canales

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:42:45 UTC

The mentoring built different views on me when I was just thinking about writing the thesis but the mentoring sessions with my mentor offered beyond of that. I crafted my goals on thesis and skills upon PhD completion in the future. It build the insights about determining skills needed to survive in PhD and after PhD.

Anisha Netto

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:43:05 UTC

The process has instilled a sense of confidence in me and has made the initially daunting prospect feel far more manageable. My mentor has helped me with a very practical plan, and explained to me how best to approach the particular challenges that might arise while I write.

Linda Thomas

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:43:43 UTC

Working with Linda as my mentor has been an invaluable experience. Her empathetic and approachable nature created a safe space for open and honest discussions about my thesis journey. Linda’s ability to listen deeply and tailor her advice to my specific challenges has made a real difference. Her structured approach to problem-solving helped me break down overwhelming tasks into manageable steps, which was critical during stressful periods.

Linda’s encouragement and practical strategies have significantly boosted my confidence and motivation. She also provided insight into effective time management and stress reduction techniques, which have had a lasting impact on my productivity and wellbeing. Her commitment to my growth and her genuine interest in my progress made me feel supported and understood. This partnership has been transformative, giving me both the tools and the confidence to navigate the challenges of thesis writing with a more positive outlook.

Madeleine Beveridge

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:44:37 UTC

When it all first started, I was quite stressed about the meeting, because my meeting with my supervisor had always been intense. But the meeting with Madeleine is really chill. She really listens, really! It is chill but still keep the progress going. It is most often not just about my thesis but all aspects and problems I have in my final year of PhD. The few weeks were not very thesis-focused because my thesis due to be submitted in December 2025, and by the time programme start, I was not in a fully writing mode (and also being very lost for the whole thesis process). After these weeks, I have a better idea of the process and also learned those subtle but important details that can help me go smooth through my journey. But more than that, I think Madeleine was not just helping in thesis, but more in general, as a friend, and yes, as a mentor, really listening to me, being sympathetic, creating a comfort environment that was not judgy and made me wanted to keep talking. The hour meeting always went very fast!
So yeah, a big shout out to Madeleine!

Rachael Colley

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:45:34 UTC

Rachael was relatable, supportive, and listened well as well as supported me by asking questions of me that helped open up my line of thinking. In a way, what she did was help me help myself by supporting my skillset development without necessarily telling me how to get things done. I also learned more about how academia works in terms of gaining the confidence to be in the environment (deal with imposter syndrome) because we were in different disciplines, which opened up my worldview about how to set up goals for myself and think about my work in a new way -- we are in quite different disciplines (mine is more creative and less technical and she comes from the sciences) and that was really, really useful, as I think in my particular discipline it's harder to get that kind of perspective from peers/supervisors -- learning a bit about that helped me think and set goals more efficiently because I could see how the skillset is transferable and therefore that means it's something that can be learned and developed rather than based on the idea of writing being "innate" or based on "talent." Also, Rachael just seemed to show genuine interest and was really flexible with me!

Eleonore Duvelle

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:46:26 UTC

The mentoring partnership with Eleonore has been a deeply enriching experience, particularly given that we come from different academic fields. Her ability to ask insightful questions, challenge assumptions, and offer guidance beyond subject-specific boundaries made a real difference to my development. I appreciated her openness, patience, and genuine willingness to engage with unfamiliar content, demonstrating exceptional mentoring skills. Our conversations often helped me clarify my ideas, approach problems from new angles, and improve how I communicate complex concepts. I am truly grateful to Eleonore for her encouragement, her time, and the respect she showed throughout this journey. It has been an inspiring and meaningful mentoring experience. We agreed to keep in touch in future.

Aizhan Kyzayeva

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:46:49 UTC

Aizhan boosted my confidence in my capabilities to complete this huge task of writing up my thesis. I'm very grateful to her for listening to my stories and for sharing her own. The most impactful thing she did was to remind me that I am making progress, and she did that every time we met.

Ragy Tadrous

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:48:29 UTC

I would like to express my gratitude for the support and guidance provided by my mentor. He was consistently supportive and attentive, offering valuable insights and practical advice at key stages of the process. One of the aspects I appreciated most was his encouragement to communicate clearly and confidently with my supervisor, which helped me to stay focused and better articulate my ideas. He also highlighted important issues in my work that I needed to be aware of, which improved the overall structure and clarity of my thesis. In addition, his advice to begin formatting early and not to leave it until the final stages helped me manage my time and reduce stress as deadlines approached. Mentoring was consistently helpful and reliable. His guidance played an important role in keeping me on track and building my confidence during the research and writing process. Overall, I am thankful for his support and would recommend him as a thoughtful and encouraging mentor.

Kat Fradera

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:49:13 UTC

I was already highly motivated to complete my PhD, the only question for me was in relation to the quality of finished product that I want to achieve. I think that due to my mentor's own wide-ranging academic, work and life experiences, she was able to home-in on things that mattered to me and identify aspects that perhaps I need self-clarification of. She was able to softly challenge my thought processes and without giving me answers, encourage me to think about alternatives. My mentor provided me with the 'icing on the cake', on top of the support that I get from my supervisors.

Jayakrishnan Madathil

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:49:38 UTC

This partnership encourages me to reflect on my progress, my thesis and my experience on a weekly basis. It pushes me to think of what I have done and what I have struggled with. Then my mentor would go through my doubts and break them down into smaller targets, making them feel more achievable. These skills are crucial to me because it is not only practical but also essential to build my confidence.

Rosalia Cuahtecontzi Delint

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:50:03 UTC

I sincerely appreciated our talks as it reminded me to believe in myself no matter what I’m going through. As I was pretty anxious about writeup, I realised how I’m progressing after each meeting. She was approachable and very patient to listen to my worries and concerns. Also I heard so many useful advice, which proved to be useful in practice. Many many thanks Rosalia!

Evelyn Uribe Navarrete

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:50:33 UTC

Evelyn is a fabulous mentor! She is good at listening my writing challenges and offer practical tips that I can practice without frustration. It is so much hard for me to export my ideas from my mother tongue and my practice experiences on the fieldwork. She always can have positive feedback and help me reflect on my original intention of doing research. During the mentoring process, I learned from her to keep my genuine voice with academic formats, and find a balance between my cultural identity and the academic English writing 🙂 It's a very pleasant and supportive mentoring relationship with Evelyn!

Rhona McGonigal

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:51:06 UTC

This was a truly transformative experience. Rhona's kindness, generosity, flexibility, knowledgeability, and dedication have made a huge difference to my progress and wellbeing. I have received excellent advice, highly useful and relevant feedback, and nothing but support and encouragement. She not only helped me navigate specific challenges at this stage in my PhD, but also helped me see things more clearly, feel more motivated and positive, and have a better sense of the relevance of my work and my potential place in the field. If I could change one thing about this relationship - I would have it start much sooner!

Yuri Jeon

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:51:31 UTC

The mentoring partnership was incredibly helpful. My mentor was sweet, thoughtful, and always encouraging. She motivated me by setting small, achievable goals that kept me on track and focused. Her support made the thesis process feel manageable and less stressful.

Pavel Shlykov

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:51:53 UTC

Good listener, considerate, and insightful. He helped me identify my blind spots and introduced techniques to approach writing effectively. He also went the extra mile to guide me in approaching my conference poster. He was available throughout the program and enthusiastic about supporting me. He became a friend of mine.

Fred Paxton

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:52:41 UTC

The mentoring partnership has helped me demystify and clarify many concerns and questions I had about writing. We exchanged opinions on both fundamental and crucial topics, such as GPT, the writing process, writing habits, and software tools. These discussions greatly helped me understand the broader landscape of writing and laid the foundation for developing my own writing process. Through our conversations, I gradually built a clearer approach to writing. I feel much more confident about getting started, and I have a clearer mindset when it comes to writing. This experience has made writing feel less intimidating and more manageable, and I’m truly grateful for the support and guidance I received.

Beth Strellis

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 15:59:55 UTC

Beth is a great listener. She let me waffle on about the challenges I was facing and always gave very helpful and encouraging feedback in a friendly, open and honest manner attentive to my challenges and helpful about relating to them from her own experiences. She was always flexible and accommodating in setting up the Mentoring Sessions or making changes which my schedule might have required. She was willing to share tips about organising her time, her data, dealing with her supervisors and getting the thesis over the line – all incredibly useful and relatable for me. She was patient and genuinely interested in my challenges and my progress. A natural mentor!

Kostas Gkikas

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:01:31 UTC

Kostas has been an absolutely brilliant mentor for me this semester. When I started the programme, I was feeling a bit overloaded with juggling writing alongside parenting, teaching, and a conference submission. Kostas made me realise through his questions that I had unrealistic expectations of myself, and was perhaps not taking stock of what I have already achieved and being confident in my abilities. I started keeping a reflective writing journal on his advice - which I still do today - reflecting on my successes rather than seeing the PhD as a rod to beat myself with. I began to see the PhD more as an opportunity to show off the cool stuff I had found out in my research, instead of this idea I had of it being this quite boring book of rigorous theory about absolutely everything in my field. I also stopped feeling guilty about time away from the PhD. All of this meant that I was able to write a chapter relatively quickly and quite enjoyed it, and I presented my findings at conference much more enthusiastically than I would have otherwise. Not only would I have been a massive ball of stress for 4 months without Kostas, but I'd also not have produced as good work and potentially started disliking my PhD. He was also an excellent listener, and knew intuitively when I wanted him to chip in with some suggestions and when I just wanted to vent. And little things like remembering what we had talked about each meeting and what I was up to made such a difference. All in all, Kostas has been a transformative mentor! Thank you!

Mayukh Devadas

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:01:54 UTC

I very much appreciate the conversations I have had with Mayukh. He has been available and always had good advice.

Michaela McAssey

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:02:26 UTC

My thesis mentor has been absolutely incredible, and I genuinely believe I wouldn’t be where I am (working with a full draft of my thesis) without her support. At a point when I was close to giving up, she helped pull me back with such care, encouragement, and practical guidance. Her belief in me, even when I struggled to believe in myself, made a huge difference. She has a real gift for listening without judgement, helping me untangle my thoughts, and reminding me of the value in my work. Her kindness, patience, and deep understanding of the academic process have helped me feel less alone and more capable. What’s been most important is that she never tried to 'fix' things for me, she empowered me to find my own way through. This partnership has meant more than I can say, and I’ll carry the impact of her mentorship with me well beyond this thesis.

Melinda Boyers

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:02:42 UTC

She was very kind and nice, always listened, and gave me good advice. Thanks.

Cole Collins

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:06:58 UTC

Conversations with Cole have been like a magical compass - amidst the evolving demands of life and the thesis, they are an invaluable place to find centre, gain clarity and to stimulate new ideas and directions. From feeling overwhelmed by the research amidst a swirl of freelance work, family care, I began to see the thesis as a project that with some strategic tweaks, could be made into a manageable, even enjoyable, process with an end point. Cole instantly attuned to both where I was at as a researcher and the research itself. He could see the project's needs in a way I couldn't yet perceive, and listened with empathy to where I was at. His questions helped me find pragmatic solutions, and insights, gained from having been through the process himself, helped me find a new way of relating to the work. A sense of excitement and confidence returned.

Rhoda Stefanatos

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:07:24 UTC

When I joined the programme, it was out of desperation. I was in such an anxious and confused state that I was unable to string together sentences coherently on the page, let alone work on the thesis. Working with Rhoda has helped get me to a place where I can see my way back to enjoying writing, and the thesis feels possible in the way it hasn't for almost two years. I would like to thank her for that.

Stephen Currie

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:07:56 UTC

Through this mentoring programme, I have received many practical and valuable suggestions on academic writing, which I will continue to apply in my future thesis. Moreover, through our conversations, my perspective on doing a PhD has gradually shifted—I now feel more open to trying activities I once felt hesitant about. This experience has also helped me gain greater clarity about my future goals. One of the most impactful qualities my mentor has shown is the ability to identify key issues even from my vague descriptions. He is sincere and encouraging, which has motivated me to face challenges more positively. Additionally, he has taken everything I shared—whether spoken or written—seriously, always providing thoughtful and constructive feedback. His support has truly made a difference to my confidence and development.

Jenna-Marie Lundy

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:08:43 UTC

Jenna-Marie is a person who goes above and beyond as a mentor. She is willing to be flexible, kind and patient, always with a good word. She is highly organized, proactive and knowledgeable. She has a great sense of humour and uses this to be compassionate and understanding in her approach to the mentorship. I felt from the start that I was lucky to have someone next to me that as willing to pivot with challenges that I have endured and help me find solutions. I wholeheartedly nominate Jenna-Marie Lundy for the Mentor Hall of Fame.

Ewan Parry

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:09:24 UTC

The mentoring partnership has been a deeply meaningful part of my PhD journey. I joined the programme hoping for both emotional support and help thinking through some general academic questions. Dr Ewan's calm, thoughtful presence and genuine kindness created a space where I could speak openly about challenges without fear of judgment. I’m sincerely grateful for Dr Ewan’s generosity and grounded guidance throughout this experience.

Alexandre Trubert

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:09:43 UTC

Alexandre is an excellent mentor. He is patient and gives great feedback. I always took something new and informative out of each meeting. He really helped me gain more confidence in the writing process. I am very grateful for the time he took to meet. He definitely deserves to be recognised.

Katherine Baxter

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:10:16 UTC

Katherine is an excellent mentor. She met me at a time when my life beyond the PhD was incredibly stressful and was preventing me from making progress. Even when I was upset and overwhelmed, she responded calmly and practically, sharing her own experiences and perspectives while respecting my boundaries and privacy. She made me appreciate that there are different ways of approaching work and that it's OK to ask for the accommodations you need. I feel better able to appreciate my successes along the way to (hopefully!) completing my thesis now and this has helped me to feel more engaged and motivated.

Tabitha Green

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:11:37 UTC

The mentoring partnership has reshaped my academic practice by instilling disciplined organisation and a sustainable writing rhythm. Tabitha’s practical approach to project planning, daily/weekly goal-setting and periodic “review and reset” sessions, has sharpened my prioritisation and workload forecasting, mitigating the fragmentation of effort experienced thus far. Equally impactful has been the recommendation of a protected daily writing slot and the use of output-oriented logs, echoing evidence that small, regular increments outperform sporadic marathons. The understanding that imperfect drafts normalised iterative refinement and reduced perfectionist paralysis, while the empathetic accountability cultivated self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. By modelling transparency about their writing pipeline and sharing practical advice, they transformed abstract principles into reproducible routines. Consequently, I now navigate complex research tasks with greater clarity and maintain a dependable writing habit that steadily converts ideas into peer-reviewed contributions.

Celeste Felion

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:12:28 UTC

This mentorship has meant so much to me. Celeste didn’t just guide me—she walked me through her own journey with such patience, making everything feel less overwhelming. What really stood out: 1. She was always reliable: Quick replies, super flexible, and gave me weeks' notice if she was busy. Never left me hanging. 2. Truly listened: Never pushed advice, but when I asked about her experiences? She’d light up sharing. And she’d genuinely celebrate my little wins—like, properly happy for me. 3. Quietly inspired me: Watching her organize everything (color-coded plans included!) made me want to step up my own game. She didn’t just talk the talk—she showed me how to do this with heart. I’ll carry that forward.

Matthew Swayne

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:12:58 UTC

Matthew was an amazing mentor who really encouraged and motivated me to finally get started with the writing of my thesis. I learned from him that it is often the initial step that one needs to make in order to kick off a regular writing process and to get things going. He always encouraged me to discover my own solutions and find out what works best for me, often by suggesting me to test alternative approaches and then decide which of them to follow. By now, I definitely feel much more confident in my writing thanks to him! I very much enjoyed the regular meetings with Matthew and would certainly recommend him for the Mentor Hall of Fame!

Mahnoor Mahmood

researcherdevelopment — 2025-10-02 16:13:28 UTC

The mentoring partnership has been a valuable and reassuring experience for me. As a PhD student navigating the challenges of thesis writing, having someone who could genuinely relate to my journey made a real difference. My mentor was warm, encouraging, and non-judgemental. Her ability to listen, empathise, and offer practical advice helped me feel more confident and less isolated. It was especially meaningful to be matched with someone of a similar background, as we could easily connect on both an academic and cultural level. Her approachability, calm nature, and ability to normalise struggles I was facing gave me the motivation to keep going. She shared tips on managing workload, staying motivated, and setting realistic goals—all of which I found incredibly helpful. This partnership reminded me of the power of community and the importance of having someone in your corner who believes in your potential.

Aisling McFall

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:06:14 UTC

Super friendly and supportive and gave me really invaluable advice!

Aline Meyer Oliveira

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:06:50 UTC

It is hard to lay yourself bare and explain where your failings are. Aline made that very easy. Never judgemental, always supportive. Every call gave me something to think about and carry forward. I also had the confidence to ask Aline any daft question about different writing and impact. She was incredibly patient and flexible. Thank you!

Silvia Behrens

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:07:24 UTC

Entering the second year of my PhD I knew I needed support with my methodology. The thesis mentoring process provided the space, time, accountability and expert support to focus in on developing this section of my thesis. My mentor has great listening and questioning skills, but was also warm, curious and affirming. This has made a significant difference to my confidence and development as an academic.

Nathan Loustalot

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:08:11 UTC

M mentor is wonderful. All the time since the beginning till now, we organise the weekly meeting. the meeting always talks about the thesis. Each meeting not talk to only general topic but we discuss specific to 1-2 on going work. The mentor both reflect and mention what I said, what was I being working on, what the scope. When I describe, I never know what I am doing on, I meant what the process I am done or doing, but the mentor conclude to me or they talk oh you did this that, this can help me to know what process I was done. It is like helping me to think systematic or scientific than just do without understanding. This can help us not only thesis writing, task management but give us confidence on thesis process and essence.

Sarah Henry

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:09:03 UTC

Sarah had a very positive attitude. What really made the difference was her encouraging me to focus on daily progress rather than concentrating on the whole thesis at once. I also really appreciated that she shared some of her personal experiences and engaged in lighter conversations, which helped make the interactions feel supportive and relaxed while still being professional, but never distant, rigid, or too formal. The idiom she shared with me: "eat an elephant one bite at a time" enlightened me.

Lisa Chamberlain

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:09:39 UTC

Lisa has a very calmly nature about her. She listened carefully to what you are saying, at times being able to verbalise what I struggled to say. She shared her experiences and made helpful suggestions about how to improve my thesis writing. It was lovely to have someone external to chat issues through while helping me move forward with my writing.

Wenguang Tang

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:11:20 UTC

My mentor has been helpful towards my final stages of writing as it managed to reshape parts of my strategy to academic discourse and structure. He was helpful in many ways. His actions showed his dedication and generosity in helping me with my academic writing, given his background. He demonstrated a professional ability to mentor me and my writing which is outside his expertise. Even without specific background in qualitative studies, he consistently guided me to the essence and core structures of academic writing. He managed to break complex requirements into clear, manageable strategies easier for a writer to manage. He further provided links to tips and documents on how to improvise on writing. Despite the formal writing guidance, his motivation and endless encouragement was beyond the support for the thesis, but I know it will be necessary for my academic lifelong success. I value the time spent with my mentor and this cross-disciplinary guidance sets him to be an exemplary mentor.

Samantha Ofili

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:12:14 UTC

I am so incredibly pleased and grateful that I was matched with Samantha as my Mentor. She is so patient, kind, open, friendly and generous with her time, her knowledge and experience. Sam was able to help me to overcome something that I was really stuck with - my Literature Review, and during the course of our mentoring partnership there was a profound change for me in this area. I'm now up and running with the Literature Review, much more confident and excited to be writing more. Sam also offered her knowledge and experience of working towards thesis submission and of the Viva, which has helped me to keep a focus on that spot on the horizon - the thing I'm working towards will come! I loved meeting with Sam and always learned from her and valued her perspectives, her questions and her listening (and she was SO patient when I sometimes talked and talked and talked non-stop!) Sam has a real gift as a Mentor, and I am lucky to be a recipient of this gift.

Neil McIntyre

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:12:50 UTC

I’ve greatly appreciated my chats with Neil; never content with simple encouragement, he always made sure I had some realistic and practical suggestions to experiment with. Somewhere in my ramblings, he helped me realise what was stressing me and why with both the thesis itself (who knew it was as mundane as my document not having any page breaks!) and with longer-term career concerns. I have come away with plenty of techniques for the thesis and plans for the future – one that doesn’t sound half so scary now thanks to his rare job market optimism. Thanks Neil!

Celeste Felion

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:13:15 UTC

Celeste was a great mentor; she is patient and positive, and full of practical advice. I appreciate all your time and effort, and feel much more prepared for thesis writing armed with the tools that we talked about. Thank you!

Patrizia Di Campli San Vito

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:13:50 UTC

It has been really great, she has been kind, funny, patient and help me so much to build my self esteem by sharing some of her journey with me. Her input and guidance was invaluable . I feel that I have found a friend for life. I have learnt so much from her.

Mhairi Mackenzie

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:15:03 UTC

Mhairi met me at a difficult time. . . she helped me make an informed choice about my suspension. She helped ease my anxiety. Thank you!

Joulie Axelithioti

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:17:27 UTC

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis mentor, Joulie Axelithioti, for her continuous support and guidance throughout the thesis writing process. Her constructive feedback, encouragement, and willingness to share her expertise greatly contributed to the development of my work. I am truly grateful for her time, and support.

Jenna-Marie Lundy

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:17:51 UTC

Jenna-Marie's warm personality made building rapport and developing a valuable mentoring relationship really easy, and allowed us to have frank and open conversations which were immensely helpful to me - both around the thesis process and sharing experiences of motherhood in academia and work. I found her generosity with time and feedback really useful in helping me plan the direction of my thesis and work towards achieving it. Not least, she made me feel like getting to the end was possible!

Graham Andrews

researcherdevelopment — 2026-05-21 15:18:16 UTC

Graham was approachable and easy to talk to, which made me feel comfortable with asking him questions and discuss my work. His PhD background and experience seemed fairly close to my own, so he was able to understand and offer advice related to my particular field. I think this was the most useful aspect of the mentoring. He was also well organised and helped set up our online meetings, which I was grateful for. I appreciate all the advice he shared with me.