AIG’s Mentoring Programs began in 2015 as an initiative of the National Graduate Committee to connect undergraduate students, MSc/PhD Candidates and early and career geoscientists with experienced geoscience professionals to seek practical advice, direction and feedback on their future careers.
In 2020 the AIG opened up the program to all members (with a good response) and will now accept mature geoscientists (> 5years) into the program as mentees. These more mature members may be seeking advice from senior geoscience professionals on a range of issues to further their careers, possibly involving a move to management or changing career direction to a different sector.
In 2020 the AIG waived all fees for the program as some elements of the program were compromised by Covid-19 issues. Once again in 2021 all fees have been waived for the programs so participation is free.
Satisfactory completion of the program (attending formal events where possible and regular communication between pairings) will earn each Student Mentee a $50 voucher towards the cost of attending an AIG CPD event (workshop/symposium) of their choice.
Both Mentors and Mentees can claim CPD points for their participation in the programs. Further information on CPD points can be found here.
AIG Mentoring Programs are active in most States including a Distance Mentoring Program for remote and travelling geoscientists. The programs have formal, face-to-face events and allow programs which run over 5-6 months annually. Mentor-mentee contact is through private face to face, telephone or skype meetings as well as programmed formal meetings and social events. This allows time for the development of strong relationships between mentees and mentors and encourages networking with the general geoscience community.
Registration for the AIG Mentoring Programs in 2021 as a Mentee and as a Mentor is now open at https://www.aig.org.au/mentoring-program/
The closing date for registration as mentor or mentee is 31 March 2021 with programs commencing in late April/early May.
