In the Digital Humanities (DH), career issues arise that are not necessarily relevant in other disciplines and are therefore not covered by traditional mentoring opportunities.

Digital Humanities scholars are often situated both in a discipline and in the Digital Humanities. On the one hand, this opens up career paths outside of the traditional academic fields of work; on the other hand, this interface function poses special challenges to one’s own professional profile. Depending on the individual context, there are specific requirements for consulting services with regard to dealing with digital methods and career opportunities.

This is precisely where the DHd’s mentoring program comes in and aims to support early career scholars both in application-related issues and in the development of individual career strategies. To this end, a two-part program has been developed, consisting of individual formal mentoring on the one hand and low-threshold peer-to-peer mentoring on the other. These formats are also flanked by a supporting program integrated into the DHd Association’s annual conference.

Individual mentoring

In individual mentoring, each mentor accompanies their mentee for a period of 12 months. The content and goals of the mentoring depend on the individual needs of the mentee and are defined in a goal agreement with the mentor at the beginning of the cooperation.

Peer-to-peer mentoring

For peer-to-peer mentoring, the DHd association provides a Mattermost server. This allows mentees to network with each other, share their own experiences and form working groups on various tools or methods.

Supporting program

During the annual conference, mentors, mentees and alumni will get to know each other at a „Meet and Greet“. With an „Ask an Expert“ format, newer community members are made aware of the mentoring program and encouraged to actively participate by asking their questions.

Who is the program aimed at?

The program is particularly aimed at PhD students, but is also open to advanced Master’s students and PostDocs, as well as scholars who do not have an institutional opportunity to participate in appropriate mentoring programs. It is also open to Humanities researchers using digital methods who have not yet been connected to the German-speaking (and international) DH community.

However, we may reject applications when we cannot find a proper match, as this does not usually lead to a beneficial mentoring relationship. This can sometimes happen, for example, when the connection to the DH community is too weak and the mentee’s coaching questions are too vague to make a useful match.

Contact

mentoring@digitalhumanities.de

This mentoring program was piloted in 2023-2024. We would be very happy to receive any feedback on how to improve the program

Framework and recommendations for the mentoring program

Timeframe

The mentoring relationship is organized around the annual DHd meeting. At the conference, personal meetings can take place between the mentees and with their mentors. The programme is officially concluded at the end of the mentoring year when the certificate is awarded. Participation in the DHd conference on the part of both the mentors and the mentees is desirable, but of course not a mandatory requirement: those who do not have the opportunity to participate in the DHd conference accompanying the program are not excluded from the mentoring program as a result. Mentees and mentors are asked to provide feedback on the program to the organizers. They remain part of the mentoring alumni:ae network. Mentors and mentees are free to continue the mentoring relationship on an informal basis if they mutually agree to do so.

In the weeks following the successful application, mentors are sought for the future mentees. Once contact has been established, the mentor and mentee mutually agree on the goals of the mentoring with the help of a goal agreement document. The relationship between mentee and mentor lasts 12 months and consists of at least 4 (online) coaching meetings (recommended duration of 1h each). Further collaborations between meetings and beyond the duration of the official mentoring relationship are optional.

Responsibilities

Both parties bear equal responsibility for a positive mentoring relationship. Mentees are responsible for notifying any need for discussion as well as keeping a rough record of the meetings and sending a brief protocol to the mentors with recommended steps to be taken and a proposal for the next meeting (including goal/mentoring question). Both parties involved make every effort to adhere to the agreed meeting dates, to cancel in good time if necessary, and to contact the project coordination in the event of questions, disagreements, or non-compliance with the agreement.

About mentoring

Effective mentoring consists of sharing individual experiences and tacit knowledge regarding the digital humanities and research community. Mentors can share not only their successes but also their experiences of failure and the associated solution strategies. Feedback in mentoring conversations should be constructive and future-oriented. It is based on mutual respect and support for the positive development of mentees. Information shared during conversations is confidential and will not be shared with people who were not present at the meetings.

Additionally, contact can be practiced through methods such as the following:

• Participation of the mentees in (online) events of the mentors
• Inviting mentees to (online) events such as guest lectures or internal colloquia
• Forwarding interesting resources (e.g., continuing education opportunities, webinars, relevant job postings) to mentees
• Simulating a job interview as a preparatory measure
• Mentor establish contacts with relevant DH individuals from their own network
• Discussion/feedback for scholarly texts written by mentees (thesis chapters, conference and journal papers, etc.), but of course also for code or data models.

Data Processing

Filling out the application form implies consent for us to process this data for the organization of our DHd mentoring program. For more information on this, please see the document „Information on Data Processing and Declaration of Consent“. All information provided is voluntary and is only used by the organizing committee to provide the most targeted support possible. The omission of certain information will not be held against anyone – the information will only help us to identify particularly eligible candidates. Please fill out the forms as you feel comfortable with them.

Application

To apply, please send the completed application form to mentoring@digitalhumanities.de by April 30, 2025. mentoring@digitalhumanities.de .

Please use the forms and information documents provided in the following .zip archive: DHd Mentoring Bewerbungsunterlagen

Please note the form „Information on Data Processing and Declaration of Consent“ as well as the info document „What is Mentoring?“.