Our Specialist Mentors support university (both undergraduate and postgraduate level) and college students with a range of different issues they may experience throughout the course of their studies, including:

• academic matters (navigating university and study support)
• helping with social and communication skills
• assisting students in accessing and participating in clubs or societies
• support in developing study and independence skills (such as time management and organisation skills)
• signposting students to other support services within their university 
• assisting with communication with academic and other support staff

What do mentoring sessions look like?

The format of the mentoring sessions is entirely flexible. Students may prefer sessions which follow a more consistent structure or that are un-structured and flexible, or a combination of both.

Sometimes, the mentoring session just provides a ‘space to talk’ and the focus of this varies widely, from exploring something that has caused anxiety over the preceding week, to chatting about special interests or giving an update on recent social activities. 

Mentors often meet with a student when they have just arrived at the university as a first year, and they may well remain together until the student graduates four or more years later.

This consistency is something our student support service prioritises in its delivery of support.

In-person and online options

Mentoring takes place in-person, unless the student requests online meetings. If a student is studying at an institution where no mentors are located, online mentoring is offered.