the-BA : The Role of the Mentor

At Silver and Gold level, practising scientists and engineers from industry and academia mentor CREST projects and students.

What is a mentor?
A mentor is someone from outside the school who has some expertise relevant to the project. For example, it might be someone from a company, or it might be someone who works in Higher or Further Education.

What is the role of the mentor?
They might:
• Act as an “expert witness”, providing information and/or resources
• Be a point of access for specialist equipment or techniques.
• Provide relevant work experience or arrange an industrial visit.
• Help students develop their ideas and guide them as they look at their results.

Mentors should not tell students what to do, but help them develop the project as far as possible.

Mentors usually become involved by talking to students about the context of their work.

The exact role varies depending on individual circumstances.

Example 1: Students met with mentor & were shown around plant. Some information given, ideas about where to look. A couple of emails to ask extra questions, advice given. At the end, presented their data to the company and discussed their ideas.

Example 2: Students spend four weeks working alongside PHD students, learning how to use the equipment and experimental practice. Students must carry out experiments independently at some level.

At gold level, project mentors are compulsory. The mentor should meet regularly with the student during the project to discuss progress. Mentors should also be involved with the final evaluation of the project and the completion of the CREST Profile Form.

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