Beyond the degree: A mentorship program designed to prepare students for the career of their choice
A partnership with STEMCELL Technologies and Advice to a Scientist.
A partnership with:
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
SBME’S CAREER ACCELERATOR
UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) has partnered with STEMCELL Technologies and Advice to a Scientist to offer Career Accelerator, a new mentorship program for SBME’s graduate students. The program will support students to identify possible career options and learn how to transition into those careers following training.
SBME’s Career Accelerator seeks to support students as they build their professional network, explore career pathways, and develop communication and leadership skills. By providing high-quality mentoring opportunities that are tailored to students’ strengths and career goals, SBME hopes to promote students’ inclusion and equitable participation in their chosen career paths.
TIME COMMITMENT
SBME’S Career Accelerator is open to all graduate students in the School of Biomedical Engineering (e.g., MEng, Master’s, PhD). Students are required to commit to 45-minute meetings every two months, and mentor-mentee pairs are expected to meet quarterly during the program’s cycle (October to April). We encourage virtual meetings to increase accessibility, but pairs are welcome to meet in-person.
MENTORS
STEMCELL mentors from across the organization will participate, including colleagues from: Research & Development, Quality Control & Quality Assurance, Business Operations & Marketing, Education, and Sales.
SBME’s Career Accelerator will ensure mentorship opportunities are equitable for all trainees (regardless of sex, gender, ethnicity) by building a diverse pool of culturally-sensitive mentors and providing equity and mentorship training.
APPLICATION PROCESS
MENTOR MATCHING
SBME’s Career Accelerator uses an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to identify mentors and match students. An IDP is a tool that supports trainees prepare for the career of their choice by establishing career goals and identifying skill gaps.
Through the IDP, mentors will be matched with students whose career goals are a good fit. Students will have the opportunity for self-evaluation and reflection through the IDP, and together with their mentor, they will develop an action plan to track goals and progress. The IDP will also serve as a communication tool, enabling both parties to set expectations and training outcomes.
Students will be asked to submit their IDP as part of the application process. Through the IDP exercise, the program will identify mentors and match students. Only completed IDP’s will be considered for the mentorship program. For more information about IDP’s and resources to help you reflect on your career goals, please visit CIHR’s IDP Resource website.
APPLICATION DEADLINE : SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
PROGRAM TIMELINE
| Timeline | Program Stage |
| Mid-September | Student recruitment |
| Early/Mid-October | Mentor-mentee matched Develop IDP goals and outcomes |
| Late October | Orientation and Program Kick-off event |
| April | Wrap-up event & Mentor feedback Mentee completes self-evaluation and reviews outcomes with mentor |
DURING THE PROGRAM
SETTING GOALS
During your initial meeting, you’ll review your IDP to set goals and develop plans towards your career(s) of choice. Through quarterly check-ins, you’ll be able to assess progress and outcomes and set new goals. At the end of the program, SBME will ask mentors and mentees to reflect on their outcomes and evaluate success based on the goals laid out in the IDP.
EVALUATION & OUTCOMES
With support from Advice to a Scientist (AtaS), students will be asked to write review-style articles that distill and share their experiences in the program. By capturing their experiences, they will be able to share their perspective on topics that are central to career development and mentorship practices. The reviews will capture the collective knowledge of the mentorship program and provide open-access resources on mentorship (e.g., building your network, clarifying educational plans, developing leadership skills, and exploring career pathways) for all students at UBC.
In addition to review-style articles, students will participate in AtaS’s Exploring Science project, which seeks to make a database of scientists and what trajectory they took in their career to get where they are (including any experiences that shaped their path!). Students will collect and build these roadmaps by interviewing their mentors, and will share these experiences through the Exploring Science database.
CAREER ACCELERATOR 2022-2023
Are you part of SBME’s Mentorship program?
If so, click the button below to access all program and cohort information
Have Questions?
Reach out with any questions you have about the program, we’ll be happy to help!