English Summary

StartingDoc is a « group-mentoring » program addressed to women at the very beginning of their academic career. This program concerns beginner PhD thesis students from universities of Lausanne, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and from the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). This program offers to PhD students useful tools to succeed through their academic path. The « group-mentoring » frame facilitates the constitution of networks and the transmission of information between more advanced and novice women.

The beginning of a doctorate is a major stage of the academic career because it has to do with main stakes such as elaboration and achievement of PhD thesis, and academic path. How to manage this stage at best? How not to lose time? How not to give up? Academic careers are punctuated with difficulties, especially for women.

At present, women give up their PhD more often than men. Why? This is due to many causes. But one thing is clear: the present situation is among other things due to a lack of participation of women in networks. But networks are strategic for major aspects of academic career: give and collect information and make oneself known. It means that women need to reinforce this point.

StartingDoc intends to encourage and train beginner PhD students, as they participate to group meetings with an advanced researcher. Those meetings aim to give to beginner PhD students the possibility to develop academic abilities. 

- Tools to manage the specific stages of your academic career
- Building a network that will enable you to achieve your PhD thesis without being isolated and that you will use when the present program will be finish.

This program doesn’t deal with the scientific aspect of your PhD thesis but is focused on the structural aspects that one has to know to achieve a PhD thesis such as :
- Milestones of the academic path
- How universities and faculties get organized
- Researcher rights
- Work management/ balance between teaching and research
- Personal link with PhD thesis subject
- Researcher identity in the scientific field
- Participation in symposiums
- Building networks
- Publications
- Work-life balance

The program works with groups composed of 6 mentees, meeting regularly during 16 months with their mentor. Each group manages the arrangement as well as the content of meetings, according to the participants needs.
At the beginning, at the middle, and at the end of the program, a meeting will be organized with all the participants, at University of Lausanne. 

Knowledge developed during the mentoring will be gathered together at the end of the program in a publication aimed for future PhD students. Interesting information for researchers will be gradually posted on the website as the program takes place.

Application deadline: 31 January 2012

For all participants :
Openingday : 27 Mars 2012
Final symposium: June 2013

For the mentees:
Mentees meeting : the 29th and 30th November 2012

For the mentors:
First workshop : 22 mars 2012 (all day)
Second workshop : the 30th October 2012 (all day)

Next round of the program will begin in 2014.

Transportation refound

Mentoring contract