The Vice-Chancellor’s Mentoring Programme was launched in 2017 as part of the University of Nottingham’s activities to develop an inclusive culture. It signalled a personal commitment from Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West CBE to support senior leaders with protected characteristics more fully.
An annual programme open to senior leaders across all job roles in the university, it combines personal 1:1 mentoring meetings with the Vice-Chancellor; shadowing a minimum of two senior university meetings – one of these being a University Executive Board meeting; Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessments; and connecting together as a mentee group.
Now in its fifth year, 36 individuals have been mentored personally by the Vice-Chancellor. 57 unsuccessful applicants have also been matched to alternative Executive Board and other senior leader mentors, demonstrating the university’s continued commitment to supporting and developing the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda through personal connections.
The programme will be taking a breif hiatus for the 2025/26 academic year, but will be returning in the near future.
The following video showcases the programme, with insights shared by Professor Shearer West and some of her mentees:
Case studies
The following provide a selection of case studies, sharing experiences of just a few of the mentees from the programme:
In addition, the following case studies demonstrate that even those who were unsuccessful in gaining a place on the programme have still benefited from being matched to alternative mentors:
For further information about the University of Nottingham’s Vice-Chancellor’s Mentoring Programme, please contact Cyrielle Mevel, Learning and Development Manager.