Our Mentorship Programme
helps students succeed.
Find a Mentor
If you are a first-generation, care-experienced, estranged, or displaced university student, you are eligible for our free Mentorship Programme. Please fill out the form below to start the process of being matched to a mentor.
Our Mentorship Programme
My Academic Family mobilises volunteers with university degrees to help first-generation students achieve higher completion rates in university. First-generation students are more likely to come from low-income, care experienced, ethnic minority, and refugee/asylum seeking backgrounds. It situates itself as a source of support for first-generation students undertaking university education and a partner to universities who themselves want to see more successful outcomes for all registered students. It aims to be in direct contact with first-generation students themselves and to match them with a mentor who can serve as a source of information, reassurance, and a safe sounding board as the student learns about academic culture and how to navigate the university campus and its numerous programmes and opportunities. Through this mentoring programme, My Academic Family intends to help first-generation students close the difference in graduation rates for students whose parents do not hold university degrees and those for whom at least one parent does, known as the ‘completion gap’. This service is free at the point of contact for the beneficiary of the programme, that being the first-generation students.
While Widening Participation programmes are helpful in increasing application and acceptance to universities, they do not currently provide additional support through the university experience. Despite the existence and efforts of Widening Participation programmes, first generation university students are less likely to attend an elite institution and are more likely to drop out than those whose parents graduated. There are increasing numbers of Widening Participation programmes around the country to address the first of those findings, but as of yet there are no formal programmes to address first generation retention and completion rates. First-generation students tend to lack support from a network that understands what the university experience is like and how to navigate successfully within it. This is a cultural difference that must be learned in order to successfully complete a university degree.
My Academic Family intends to fill this cultural and support gap by being cognisant of the gaps in knowledge and cultural understanding that exist for first-generation undergraduate students and utilising mentors with first-hand experience of the university environment to help students learn university culture, identify opportunities and risks, and succeed in attaining their degree.
Topics that mentors and students can expect to cover include:
The ebb and flow of stress/busy-ness throughout the academic year and within a single semester
How to approach staff and faculty to ask questions or raise issues
Deep-dive discussions on the purpose and value of the syllabus as a document
How to make the most out of lecturer office hours
How much time a student is expected to spend weekly on their studies outside of class
What kind of resources exist for different kinds of support needs (mental health, writing skills, etc)
The importance and value of building one’s own support networks (through making friends in class and participating in campus societies)
Living in student accommodations (or away from home more generally) for the first time
Networking and skill-development opportunities available at the university
How to access and engage with research conferences
Benefits to registering as a student
There are multiple benefits to registering with My Academic Family as a student, the biggest of which is our Mentorship Programme. Students matched with a mentor will have monthly meetings with their mentor, which will enable students to discuss any questions, issues, or topics related to their university studies with someone who has successfully completed their own university degree. The goal is to help students understand how to engage with university culture and successfully navigate the university environment. In many cases a mentor can help a student become aware of what they don’t know they don’t know.
In addition to the Mentorship Programme, all students who register with My Academic Family will get access to our Student Moodle Community. The Student Moodle Community contains resources for students to access on their own, such as our University Encyclopaedia, which contains entries on different terms that might be new, along with useful information to help students understand how to interact with new concepts, departments, or situations. The Student Moodle Community is also a way for students to network with other first-generation students, and contains a forum where questions can be asked or answered.
Throughout the year, My Academic Family will also hold events online for its students, sharing information and advice, and giving students opportunities to ask questions of My Academic Family and any university members it arranges attendance with. We plan to have special discussions and information sessions from people across university departments, giving first-generation students a better understanding of different university posts, and what that means for students.
If you’re interested in getting one-on-one support, having access to an online community of fellow first-generation students, and getting resources especially built with you in mind, join us.
Benefits to registering as a mentor
There are multiple benefits to registering with My Academic Family as a mentor, the biggest of which is the positive impact you will have on the lives and educational careers of the students you are matched with. In addition to being a force of good in the lives of individual students, your volunteer work will also benefit wider communities, including the ones each student resides in, and the My Academic Family community, too.
There are personal benefits to being a mentor, too. Volunteering supports good mental health, and provides opportunities for rewarding relationships and experiences with others and especially with those you might not otherwise encounter in your day to day life. Going even further, volunteering as a mentor is an exercise in personal growth in a mentor’s own life, and can lead to better self-understanding and the development of valuable leadership skills that can be put to work elsewhere in a mentor’s personal or professional life.
Becoming a mentor with My Academic Family is also an opportunity to engage with a community of fellow mentors. Mentors will get access to the Mentor Moodle Community, which contains resources for mentors to access on their own, and includes a forum where mentors can ask and answer each other’s questions. Throughout the year, My Academic Family will also hold events online for its mentors, sharing information and advice, and giving mentors opportunities to ask questions of My Academic Family and any university staff that attend such events. We plan to have special discussions and information sessions from people across university departments, giving mentors deeper insight and greater understanding of resources that might help their matched students.
If you’re interested in providing one-on-one mentorship to first-generation students, having access to an online community of fellow mentors, and having a positive effect on the educational experiences of others, join us.
Our Mentors
Our mentors are passionate and dedicated to supporting students in university education. You can read about some of our mentors here.
Become a Mentor
Register your interest in being a volunteer mentor