Geochemistry Group Mentor Scheme (GGMS)

The objective of the Geochemistry Group Mentor Scheme (GGMS) is to connect early career researchers (ECRs) and PhD students with more established geochemists, people they might not normally have the opportunity to meet, or to hold in-depth discussions with, over an extended time period.

1.    About the scheme

This scheme will involve a time commitment of 4 to 5 meetings between mentors and mentees over the course of an academic year:

  • The Geochemistry Group Mentor Scheme (GGMS 2025) will begin in November 2025 and run until June 2026. Applicants can register their interest in this year’s scheme here.
  • An initial ‘kick-off’ meeting will be held on Zoom for all participants in November, with breakout rooms led by each mentor to facilitate discussions and identify common goals and areas of interest for the coming year. In this meeting, each mentor would be chatting with a small group consisting of the mentees to identify common challenges and goals.
  • A further two or three 1:1 sessions of at least 40 minutes between mentor and mentee will be organised, either in virtual format or in person (e.g., at a workshop or conference such as the Geochemistry Group Research in Progress (GGRiP) meeting). The sessions will discuss ways to achieve the goals identified in the kick-off meeting.
  • There will be a mid scheme catch-up session for mentees and an in-person Lunchtime meeting for mentees and mentors attending GGRIP 2026, Bristol.
  • The scheme will be concluded with a final ‘debrief’ meeting between mentor and mentee in June 2026 to reflect on the year overall.

Applicants to the mentorship scheme will have the opportunity to fill out an expression of interest form, where they can detail what they would like to get out of the GGMS. The Geochemistry Group will use this information to help match mentees with mentors, who will initially be drawn from the Geochemistry Group Committee. All applications to join the program should be made by October 10th 2025 to allow matching and contact between mentees and mentors before the virtual kick-off meeting.

This year, we are looking for  established geochemists who are willing to meet online with one or two mentees 4-5 times over the year. We especially encourage those with industry experience for those ECRs looking for guidance on paths outside of academia. We are also encouraging the participation of an in-person GGMS meeting during the lunchtime break at our annual GGRiP meeting held at the University of Bristol next year, and mentors will be offered a 15% discount on attendance fees for this event.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor with GGMS, please fill out this form. You must be based in the UK and Ireland. 

2.    Eligibility

The GGMS is provided for ECRs and PhD students who are members of the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland, and/or the Geological Society of London. You will be asked to provide your Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland and/or Geological Society of London membership number in the expression of interest form.

The scheme is limited to ECRs and PhD students residing in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), or who have been admitted to, or are already enrolled in, a full-time degree program at accredited UK universities, at the point of application until the completion of the scheme. Priority will be given ECRs and applicants who have not participated in the scheme previously. We define an ECR as anyone who self identifies as an early career researcher, regardless of years post-PhD or job title.

If you are an experienced geochemist who is interested in becoming a mentor with GGMS, please fill out this form. You must be based in the UK and Ireland. 

3.    Key Dates

  • 10th October 2025: Application deadline
  • 17th October 2025: Mentee/Mentor pairing announcement
  • 24th October 2025: Deadline for mentee to accept or decline mentorship offer
  • 3rd November 2025: Commencement of mentorship and attend the GGMS Kick-off meeting (online)
  • February 2026 (tbc): Mid scheme mentee catch-up session.
  • 25th March: Lunchtime meeting at GGRIP 2026, Bristol (in-person).
  • June 2026 (tbc): Attend the wrap-up ‘de-brief’ meeting (online). Mentee to complete a questionnaire to review your experiences. Completion of mentorship.

4.    Your roles

Mentees should be able to do the following:

  • After being matched with a mentor and having accepted the mentorship scheme offer, contact said mentor within a week of offer acceptance
  • Commit to attending 4 to 5 meetings (virtual and/or in-person) with their mentor per year (including the kick-off and de-brief meetings)
  • Identify subjects/topics that they would be interested in discussing with their mentor over the year
  • Be able to engage with the process, identify subjects to discuss and listen to points and suggestions raised by their mentor, while at the same time appreciating that these will reflect the mentor’s own personal perspectives and lived experiences and may not apply to their situation in the same way
  • Complete a questionnaire to review their experiences at the end of the scheme

Mentors should be able to do the following:

  • Respond to their mentee’s email within a week to establish an e-introduction (email exchange or Zoom call) before the kick-off meeting
  • Commit to attending 4 to 5 meetings (virtual and/or in-person) with their mentee per year (including the kick-off and de-brief meetings)
  • Following the kick-off meeting, contact their mentee to arrange the first 1:1 meeting and discuss any objectives of the meeting, for example: career opportunities, networking
  • Be able to listen, offer suggestions and comments on subjects their mentee brings up, while at the same time emphasising that any comments and opinions will reflect their own (mentor’s) personal perspectives and past experiences and will need to be considered by the mentee in that light

5.    Expectations and Code of Conduct

Participating in GGMS will hopefully be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all concerned. Schemes such as this depend on engagement, mutual respect and consideration. To ensure this, it is useful to establish some simple ground rules as well as expectations that both mentees and mentors should have of each other. These include replying to email contact to arrange meetings within a reasonable time frame (~7 working days when not away on vacation/fieldwork/conference), a commitment to at least 4 to 5 meetings per year (mentors and mentees are welcome to set up further meetings should both parties agree) and having reasonable expectations of what can be achieved in the scheme. For example, activities that are considered within the remit of the scheme will include providing suggestions and tips for networking at conferences and working in teams, etc., whereas activities that are beyond the scope of the scheme will include reading and commenting on manuscripts, extended introductions to contacts, etc.

Please be aware that all interactions in this scheme are covered by the Mineralogical Society (to which the Geochemistry Group is affiliated) Code of Conduct (https://www.minersoc.org/code-of-conduct.html), which participants agree to abide by as part of joining the scheme.

6.    Who to contact for advice

The Geochemistry Group committee members can be contacted individually if you have a confidential question. If at any point you feel uncomfortable about your situation, if you have any concerns about any students or do not know how to deal with a situation that arises, then you can contact any of the Geochemistry Group committee members privately by email. Contact detail of the Committee can be found at this website (https://geochemistry.group/the-committee/).