Pennie White (Deakin University), Kwong Nui Sim (Central Queensland University), and Lisa Bugden (University of New England) 

ASCILITE’s Community Mentoring Program (CMP) began in 2003 with great benefit to over 300 members taken part to date. This flagship program is recognised by members for its value in peer-mentoring and networking for both mentors and mentees. It provides opportunities across a number of fields including educational technology, academic development, learning design, faculty education, early career research and other tailored support.

A Q1 journal article on the experiences and impact of ASCILITE Mentoring Programs has hit the press. A chain of 5 mentee/mentors from the ASCILITE’s CMP and Women in Academic Leadership (WiAL) Programs reflected on their experiences of the programs using arts-based reflective practice to explore the impact of mentorship on women in higher education. This research by White, Ba Akhlagh, Fanshawe, Charteris, & Gregory has now been published in the journal Reflective Practice.

This year (2025) there will also be an opportunity to join a new stream of the CMP Program – the Research Mentorship Program for Third Space in partnership with the Learning Design SIG. It is aimed at third space professionals wanting to get started with research. In addition to personalised monthly mentorship, the program will feature a series of expert-led online mini hourly workshops, each focused on a key area of professional research development. This initiative will accommodate up to 10 participants, with mentorship provided by Learning Design SIG Leaders and up to 4 mentors.

EOI Application and relevant details can be found on ASCILITE website at Community Mentoring Program « ASCILITE. A CMP Introductory webinar that will be informative and provide an opportunity for Q&A will be held at 1pm (Sydney time) on 13th February 2025 (Thursday) via Zoom (please refer to the website for registration). Anyone interested in the CMP is welcome to attend this information session in order to learn about the programme and what it means to become a mentor or a mentee. The session will be presented by past CMP members and chaired by the CMP coordinators Associate Professor Kwong Nui Sim, Lisa Bugden and Dr Pennie White. If you can’t make it to the info session, you can still find out about the program on the ASCILITE website and apply to be nominated as a mentor or mentee in the program.

Successful applicants for CMP will be matched with a mentor or mentee in the week of 3rd March 2025. ASCILITE looks forward to welcoming you to the programme.

Reference

White, P., Ba Akhlagh, S., Fanshawe, M., Charteris, J., & Gregory, S. (2025). Pivotal moments in mentorship: using arts-based reflective practice to explore the impact of mentorship on women in higher education. Reflective Practice, https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2024.2426278