A helping hand
Initial head-to-head meeting of EURETINA mentors and mentees to take place in Hamburg
Officially launched last year, the EURETINA mentorship programme is now hitting its stride with the Hamburg Congress providing a welcome opportunity for the first face-to-face meeting between the six designated retinal specialists and their respective mentors.
Overseen by Executive Board members Anat Loewenstein and Ramin Tadayoni, the idea is for mentors to support participants through virtual monthly sessions, networking opportunities and guidance on their retina careers. The one-year programme runs from the time of the annual EURETINA Congress to the following year’s meeting.
“The basic concept is to assist and nurture the career development of up-and-coming retinal specialists from all over the world,” said Anat Loewenstein. “We want to identify and provide them with support and guidance early in their career when we often look and need mentors to help us develop professionally.”
Over the course of the one-year programme, the mentor and mentee meet virtually and in person to discuss priorities and set goals.
“We have an excellent panel of mentors in place, who are renowned experts in their field and who are eager to share their knowledge and experience to help their younger colleagues navigate the paths of career development,” said Dr Loewenstein.
The mentor will be on hand to assist the young retina specialist to orient their choices and assist with a broad range of career-related issues such as CV preparation, job applications and interview techniques to setting research goals, organizational skills and personal development.
In addition to individual meetings between mentors and mentees, the programme will also organize a meeting of the whole group in Hamburg during the Congress.
“This will provide the opportunity for networking and interaction and sharing of best-practices. We also plan to include a keynote lecture from an invited speaker relating to the themes of personal and professional development,” said Dr Loewenstein.
| A unique opportunity to receive guidance
Andrea Montesel, a clinical and research fellow in the Medical Retina department at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK, is one of the six retinal specialists participating in the mentorship programme for 2022-2023. The other mentees are Elon Van Dijk (Netherlands), I-Hsin Ma (Taiwan), Karolina Motloch (Austria), Omer Trivizki (Israel) and Rossella D’Aloisio (Italy) “I applied for the EURETINA mentorship because I am facing crucial career and personal crossroads, and I see this mentorship as a unique opportunity to get guidance that I might not get elsewhere. I feel I would benefit from the point of view and experience of a mentor to gain new perspectives on my life and career goals. I expect my mentor to give me impartial and honest feedback, offering me unbiased advice on personal and professional development. Furthermore, I believe a mentoring relationship could provide useful networking opportunities, opening doors to new work opportunities and human relationships. In return, I believe that the mentor would expect me to show enthusiasm, a desire to learn, commitment and perseverance. I am grateful to EURETINA for offering me this great opportunity, and thrilled to start the mentorship programme.”
|
Further information on the EURETINA mentorship programme is available at HERE.
