Our Mentorship Programme is available for free for anyone who meets one of the listed criteria.
Care-Experienced Students
Students who have spent time in the care system
Estranged Students
Students who have no contact with their family due to a breakdown of their relationship
First-Generation Students
Students whose parents did not complete a university degree
Displaced/Forced Migration
Students who have come to the UK for their safety due to a dangerous situation in their home country (including Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
Interested in Mentorship?
Follow this link to access our student registration form (this will be opened in a new tab).
You can also register for our newsletter to learn more about what we do by filling in the form below.
As our mentorship programme is facilitated by volunteers, we are unable to provide mentorship as a paid service at this time. We are able to offer paid coaching as a one-off or multi-session option on our services page.
Our Mentorship Programme
Our Mentorship Programme has been built with the intention to help people from under-represented communities thrive in university - a place that can be hard to understand without any guidance or experience.
To do this My Academic Family mobilises volunteers with university degrees to help students from the four groups that you can see above. We started our work with a focus on first-generation students, who are more likely to come from low-income, care experienced, ethnic minority or refugee/asylum seeking backgrounds.
We want to be a source of support for under-represented students who are working on their university degree, as well as a partner to universities themselves who want to see more successful outcomes for all registered students. We aim to connect first-generation students with mentors who can serve as a source of information, reassurance, and a safe sounding board as students learn about academic culture and the world of opportunities and programmes that university provides.
We want our Mentorship Programme to help first-generation students to close the ‘completion gap’ which exists between them and students who have the support and advice provided by parents who have completed their university degrees. We provide support throughout a student’s time at university, to give them the best chance at not just succeeding at getting a university degree, but thriving while they’re there.
This service is free for the first-generation, care experienced, estranged and refugee/asylum seeking students that we provide it for.
Is Mentorship the right thing for you?
There are many benefits to registering for mentorship with My Academic Family. Students who are part of our Mentorship Programme will have monthly meetings with their mentors, giving them the chance 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 engage with university culture and successfully navigate the university environment.
Mentors can help students figure out things that they never even knew they didn’t know!
Students who register with My Academic Family will also get access to a whole host of different resources and information, as well as access to our Discord Community, where they can talk to other students in the Mentorship Programme!
We also try our best to host both online and in-person events every so often for students and mentors to network, chat and meet the people behind the screens a little bit easier!
We provide one-on-one support, an online academic community and resources for students, so if that all sounds like something you would be interested in, and you are part of one of our core groups, please fill in the form on this page!
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
Interested in becoming a mentor?
If you’re interested in becoming a mentor, you can register your interest by clicking here (this will open in a new tab)
Becoming a mentor is a great opportunity to build new and fulfilling relationships, get experience helping your academic community, and join other like-minded people in helping students do their best at university.
There are plenty of benefits to being a mentor!
The biggest benefit of course is the positive impact that you will have on the lives and educational careers of the students you are matched with. In addition to being a force for good in the lives of individual students, your volunteer work will also benefit the wider community by giving people who might have otherwise been without support at university, the backup they need to succeed! They can then go on and improve their own communities and be a source of inspiration for many.
There are personal benefits to being a mentor too. Volunteering supports good mental health, and provides you with the opportunity to build rewarding relationships with others; especially with people who you might not have otherwise met in your day to day life. Volunteering as a mentor is an exercise in personal growth for mentors. It can lead to better self-understanding and the development of valuable leadership skills that can easily be put to work elsewhere in your life.
My Academic Family has also worked hard to build a community for both mentors and students to find friendship in their peers. You will get access to our exclusive Discord where we encourage you to talk to and interact with your fellow mentors. My Academic Family also holds both in-person and online events throughout the year to give you the chance to meet each other as well as take a look behind the curtain of My Academic Family!
If any of this sounds like something you would be interested in, we would love to have you with us!
I started my journey into research/academia at Abertay University studying Computer Games Technology and attaining a Bachelors Degree with Honours. My video game obsession truly took off from there with my main pass-times involving the playing and development of games, with a focus on the technology involved in their development. I even went as far as to start a university club, and take part in university organised game development events. After university, my Career sped quickly into the realm of technology, focusing on the graphics processing involved in games and applications on mobile phone and embedded devices. I spent 7 years working as an engineer and researcher in the corporate world developing novel algorithms and optimizing games, before eventually being consumed by my video-game development obsession and starting my own games company; “Beans and Mash”
I understand the pressure of beginning studies in computer science-related topics, an industry that is notoriously elitist. I also understand that imposter syndrome, the massive range of what modern software development covers, and the speed with which it all progresses can make students feel a huge amount of pressure. I hope that as a mentor I can alleviate at least a small part of that.
Daniel was a first-generation student himself when he completed his degree in English Language & Literature at the University of Reading back in 2014. After working in various careers-related roles at the University of Reading, Daniel moved to Scotland in 2022 where he worked at Glasgow Kelvin College overseeing key people development initiatives and leading on staff training and development. Daniel has always been passionate about supporting people to be their best, and is now part of the leadership team within Careers, Employability and Opportunity at the University of Glasgow.
I'm Sumeet, the co-founder and lead developer of Education Evolved, an EdTech startup focused on innovative educational solutions. I hold a bachelor's degree in computer science, and my passion lies in creating engaging digital experiences, especially through video game development. I’ve always loved both playing and making games, combining my technical skills with a creative approach to storytelling. Outside of my work, I’m a big fan of basketball and mixed martial arts!
My name is Tuba Kazmi, and I’ve recently completed my MRes in International Relations at the University of Glasgow. Alongside my studies, I worked within Student Services in roles focused on wellbeing, community-building, and supporting students through key transitions. I strive to make the university experience feel less confusing and overwhelming, especially for first-generation or displaced students who are navigating everything on their own. Having faced those same challenges myself, I try to bring a warm, encouraging, and student-led approach to mentoring — creating a space where students feel supported, heard, and confident in finding their path. I’m really looking forward to being a steady, friendly support for the student I’m matched with.
