Generosity, a sense of satisfaction and mutual value delivered by our e-mentoring program

April 13, 2021

Late last year we announced our first group of e-mentors and e-mentees as part of our new E-mentoring Program. This program was launched to ensure that, despite COVID-19 and its travel and life restrictions, we could continue to help develop the technical and organisational skills and expertise of agricultural researchers, scientists and policy makers in developing countries.

This program builds on the success of our long term existing Mentoring Program, which has seen face-to-face interaction in overseas countries, backed up by electronic contact, and our conference scholar mentoring program, matching young NextGen researchers with experienced Australians who attend our conference.

We hope that these e-connections not only deliver positive and targeted skill-sharing outcomes, but also enduring connections between the Crawford Fund, the volunteering mentors and their mentees, and the institutions and countries involved.

We now present our latest e-mentoring pair reflecting on their experience, Mark Peoples, formerly Research Director, CSIRO Agriculture & Food and his e-mentee Abigail May Retuta, a Science Research Specialist, at the Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).

E-MENTOR/E-MENTEE PAIRING
Mark Peoples (Australia) and Abigail May Retuta (Philippines)

MENTOR
Mark Peoples – Formerly Research Director CSIRO
CSIRO Agriculture and Food

What motivated you to be a mentor?
I was engaged in ACIAR projects between 1985-2000, and I have mentored post-graduate students and early-to-mid career scientists both within and outside CSIRO, in Australia and internationally for much of my career at CSIRO. It has been one of the activities I have always enjoyed and something I wish to continue into my retirement.

What are the main goals you are focusing on from your agreed mentoring plan?

• To improve Abi’s skills in delivering messages in a clear, concise way
• To build confidence in handling and managing a unit/section
• To share key learnings from past leadership training
• How to better manage people
• Time management
• Work-life balance

What are the various ways you are communicating and what combination are you finding most useful?
Monthly Zoom meetings, followed-up with sharing of notes as a record of our discussions and to set either tasks to be achieved or agenda items for next meeting, complemented with e-mail of documentation about topics raised for further reading.

The monthly virtual face-to-face discussions are most useful.

What are you getting out of our e-mentoring program?
A sense of satisfaction from assisting the career and personal development of a young international scientist.

I have also valued the additional training to improve my mentoring skills as I have never formally received any such guidance before. 

Any lessons you could share with the other e-mentors?
The regular notes circulated after each meeting as a record of our discussions and to set either tasks to be achieved or agenda items for next meeting has been particularly valuable.

A review of past leadership training resource materials and the sharing of specific pertinent things I have found has proven to be useful for the mentee to support some of our Zoom discussions. 

MENTEE
Abigail May Retuta – Science Research Specialist
Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD)

What motivated you to nominate to be a mentee?
The opportunity to be nominated and to participate in the e-mentoring program to enhance research, technical, and/or organizational skills and expertise.

What are the main goals you are focusing on from your agreed mentoring plan?
To acquire: a) leadership skills b) time management c) better speech communication

How is the e-mentoring helping your development?
The e-mentoring program, through my mentor, allows me to express myself more as my mentor and I discuss freely on the topics that I seek to have more experience and exposure. Dr Peoples is also very generous in sharing his experiences, expertise, and reading materials.

Any lessons you could share with the other e-mentees?
Nothing much yet but to maximize this opportunity given to us to be e-mentored.