eSTEeM Seminar Series: Scholarship Showcase - July 2023

Location: Via MS Teams
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eSTEeM continues its seminar series with presentations from project teams. July's seminar will explore the methodology and findings of the following eSTEeM project.

Designing sustainable peer mentoring at scale – what’s in it for the Buddies?

Julie Robson and Chris Hutton

The benefits of peer mentoring for students studying in Higher Education, which include improved retention, performance, progression and satisfaction, are well established and have been demonstrated in online, blended and hybrid settings. However, best practice in establishing financially sustainable schemes in online settings at a large scale is under researched. In particular, the motivations and barriers for peer mentors to work effectively on a voluntary basis are poorly established. To increase our understanding the project was a longitudinal study on our undergraduate Earth and Environmental Science modules between 2019 – 2021. More students volunteer for peer mentoring than are needed, with many completing more than one round of duty suggesting that the mentoring scheme is financially sustainable. Take up of the scheme and usage of a resource pack across STEM and other Faculties prove the programme is transferable to different areas of curriculum and disciplines. While mentors valued some of their skills development, further work is required to help the volunteers understand the extent of their employability skills development and realise the potential value of this.