Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education

Community Mentoring Program

The ASCILITE Community Mentoring Program (CMP) seeks to involve participants in a professional mentoring relationship built between learners (the mentees) and experienced practitioners (the mentors). Whilst the new learners may be experienced in some areas of educational technologies, the ASCILITE CMP is a vehicle for enhancement of specific knowledge, skills or capacities in an area of developing expertise. This arrangement is formalised through a Mentoring Agreement.

From 2023 we are introducing a new component to the CMP – Women in Professional Leadership program WiPLP.

The aim of WiPL is to provide opportunities for women in learning design, educational technology and similar roles at HEW 7 or above to receive mentoring and support in developing relevant leadership skills and confidence to support them to further their careers. Mentors in this program will be drawn from staff in professional roles at HEW 8 and above and industry partners/consultants with sustained experience in these types of roles.

We define mentoring as collaboration between ASCILITE members for the purpose of achieving an agreed goal through dialogue, action and reflection. The focus of these collaborations can be across a number of areas which can include:

  • Practices in academia
  • Early career academics/professionals
  • Educational innovations
  • Leadership development skills (WiPL)

The Community Mentoring Program offers two partnering alternatives:

  • For a mentee to work individually with a mentor on a project
  • For several mentees to work collaboratively with a pair of mentors on projects related to a negotiated overall theme

CMP Information Session webinar

An information session webinar was conducted on 3 February 2022 for those interested in learning more about the Community Mentoring Program. The session was chaired by the 2022 CMP coordinators Dr Kwong Nui Sim and Dr Hazel Jones and participants also heard from several past mentors and mentees.  The 50 min video recording is available below and in addition to that recording, a mentor (Michael Sankey) and a mentee (Ger Post) have shared their experience of the program in their own videos.

Partnering Commitments

Mentoring partners agree on a common goal or goals that are achievable over six months and also agree to regular contact, at least once a month for six months. They formally participate in an evaluation of the program, their project and their outcomes; which also may then be disseminated through conferences/journal articles. if possible, mentoring partners also participate in a CMP Symposium at the annual ASCILITE Conference.

Please note: Participation in the CMP does not guarantee specific outcomes e.g.  promotion.

Benefits of Participation

The benefits of participation in the program include:

  • expansion of skills, knowledge and experience in a chosen field;
  • development of communication and leadership skills;
  • opportunity for networking and to create contacts outside of the individual’s own workplace;
  • enhancement of confidence to actively participate in the ascilite community.

Application Process

Expressions of Interest are now invited from ASCILITE members who wish to be a mentee or a mentor for 2023. This is a competitive process and successful mentees are matched with mentors who have expertise in applicable areas. Potential WiPLP mentors do not have to be current ASCILITE members, otherwise all applicants must be current ASCILITE members to be eligible to apply.

Both mentees and mentors, if current ASCILITE members, are eligible for a 50% discount on their ASCILITE conference registration at the end of their mentoring year if the aims of their respective mentoring agreement have been achieved by that time.

Mentees may participate only once in the CMP unless their project is incomplete at the end of the year, in which case they may continue as a mentee the following year.  Mentees may wish to apply as a mentor following the completion of their time as a mentee.

Timeline Estimates

  • December – Call for expressions of interest
  • Mid February – Closing date for applications
  • February – Successful applicants are contacted
  • February – Mentor Agreements are signed
  • November – End of year reports are due
  • December – ASCILITE conference

Applications

Applications have now closed. Many thanks to all those who applied. The CMP-WiPL coordinators will be in touch in early March 2023.

Further Information

Kwong Nui is the CMP Chair and the main point of contact for the program. If you wish to know more about the Community Mentoring Program, please email Kwong Nui below.

Dr Kwong Nui Sim

Institutional Members