If you have worked as a postdoc at UW–Madison or an affiliated institute for over 1 year, the UW–Madison Postdoctoral Association (UWPA) would like to invite you to be a mentor in the second iteration of the Postdoctoral Peer-Mentoring program, Badger Buddies.
This initiative will allow new postdocs at UW–Madison to connect with senior postdocs and discuss various topics related to the postdoctoral experience, such as the transition from graduate school to postdoctoral research, living in Madison, moving to a new country, or any other aspects related to the postdoc experience. The goal of this program is to help newer postdocs with the transition into this career stage. It was also designed to streamline the mentor-mentee pairing process as mentees themselves will select the mentors they wish to meet from a pool of volunteer mentors.
Senior postdocs who are interested in mentoring, developing transferable mentoring skills, or who would simply enjoy helping new postdocs should sign up for the Badger Buddies program. Fill out the brief application here to sign up; there you will also find a more detailed description of the program. The time commitment on your part would be minimal; we expect you to hold at least one meeting every three months, to one meeting per month at the most. The meetings are meant to be informal and as a mentor, you have the flexibility to decide when and where you will meet with your mentees, even at locations outside of campus.
If you decide to participate and have more questions about the program and its implementation, the UWPA will be holding an initial informational session on Wednesday 4/10 4-5 pm in room 6201 of the Microbial Sciences Building. Questions? Contact Hector Burgos-Robles (hburgos@wisc.edu).