Promoting Research Improvement through Mentorship Education (PRIME) the Pack
Overview
PRIME the Pack is an interactive training series that guides current and aspiring undergraduate research mentors through best practices in mentorship. All members of the NC State community are welcome to participate.
Benefits
- Improve/Develop mentoring skills for undergraduate mentees in any field.
- Includes: developing a mentoring philosophy; aligning expectations; promoting belonging and ethics; fostering independence; and other key elements of effective mentorship.
- Skills readily translate to mentoring graduate students and postdocs and to mentoring relationships outside of research.
- Earn an Entering Mentoring Certificate of Completion.
- Earn credit towards the Graduate School’s Teaching Certificate (if applicable).
Participants
- Anyone is welcome to sign up for PRIME the Pack—graduate students*, postdocs*, faculty, staff, even friends of NC State!
- Participants do not need prior mentorship experience and do not need to be mentoring at the time of the program.
- Participants in all fields are welcome.
- *Postdocs and graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply PRIME the Pack towards completion of the Graduate School’s Teaching Certificate program.
- To do so, participants must successfully complete the PRIME the Pack series, followed by one semester of mentoring an undergraduate with guidance from the Office of Undergraduate. This must occur within a year of finishing PRIME the Pack.
- Successful completion of the PRIME the Pack is defined as completing all assignments and missing no more than one in-person discussion.
Special Note:
Format
- 8 in-person sessions (1.5 hr. each) adapted from the well-studied Entering Mentoring curriculum offered by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).
- Director Goins is a trained facilitator of CIMER’s Entering Mentoring and Entering Research curricula.
- Sessions entail discussions on one or more key aspects of mentorship.
- Participants will be asked to complete short reading and writing assignments in-between sessions to prepare for discussions.
Schedule
Register
To sign up for PRIME the Pack, please fill out the PRIME the Pack Registration Form. Forms for Fall Registration will be open November 5-January 9. You will be asked to provide the following information:
- Participant Information (name, email, ID, phone number, department, and faculty mentor, if applicable)
- Brief description of mentoring experience (past/current experience is not required).
FAQs
I can’t make the sessions in person, is there a remote or hybrid option?
At this point in time, all instances of PRIME the Pack are in person, however a remote option may be offered in the future. A key element of the training is engaging with your peers which is best facilitated in an in-person setting.
I’m interested in PRIME the Pack, but am not in a position that mentors undergraduates in research, can I still participate?
Yes, absolutely! The lessons from PRIME the Pack are readily translatable to other types of mentor-mentee relationships and even to more regular workplace supervisor-supervisee relationships. We also welcome you bringing you unique perspectives and experiences to the group discussion!
Is PRIME the Pack just for STEM research fields?
No, PRIME the Pack applies to research in all fields, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, management, etc. Our non-STEM research colleagues are especially encouraged to participate and share their experiences too!
I’m in the Graduate School’s Teaching Certificate Program and am ready to follow PRIME the Pack with a semester of mentoring an undergraduate. How do I get credit for that and what does guidance from the Office of Undergraduate Research look like?
After successfully completing PRIME the Pack training, participants in the Graduate School’s Teaching Certificate Program who are ready to mentor an undergraduate for program credit, should start by reaching out to the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Throughout the semester of mentorship (beginning, middle, and end) the mentor-mentee pair will be required to complete check-in surveys along with follow-up conversations. Additionally, the mentor will need to meet with the Office of Undergraduate Research, at least once in the middle of the term, to discuss their experience and any challenges. The Office of Undergraduate Research is always available for more consultations at the request of the mentor. Lastly, the mentor will need to submit a short reflection (250-500 words) at the end of the term describing what they learned from the experience and any changes they plan to make in the future.
If you have questions please contact the OUR at undergraduate-research@ncsu.edu.