What is Mentorship?

Mentorship is a process involving communication between an advisor and a student. The advisor – a scientist, teacher, parent, or other individual– may provide guidance and advice in their area of expertise. A mentoring relationship may be informal (for example, if you already know someone with expertise in your area of interest) or may be formalized as part of a mentorship program. Mentors may make suggestions and help point students in useful directions, but cannot (a) come up with the project idea themselves, or (b) do the project themselves. Sometimes mentors provide equipment or laboratory space.

A Caution

Remember, a project is not necessarily more successful because it makes use of sophisticated lab equipment. Projects are judged based on many factors including the student’s knowledge and resourcefulness in using tools available to them. Fancier tools do not make for a better project – even if it appears to be graduate student-level work.