Mentoring program

EARLI SIG15 mentoring program is designed to support early-stage doctoral researchers and new SIG15 JURE members in connecting with the SIG15 community and fostering their interest in SIG15’s research. The mentoring program provides guidance for attending a first international conference and helps participants integrate into the global research network.  

Through this initiative, doctoral researchers gain valuable opportunities to exchange ideas about their dissertation projects and conference presentations with peers and experienced researchers. By promoting collaboration and dialogue, the mentoring program aims to strengthen participants’ academic development and sense of belonging within SIG15. 

The mentoring program is primarily intended for early-stage doctoral students who have no prior experience with international conferences. Application for the program is via poster presentation and motivational statement. More detailed instructions can be found below. Through joint discussion with peers and advisors, participants practice articulating their own research while developing scientific thinking and presentation skills. 

The main objective is to support young researchers in joining the SIG15 JURE community and also develop a network with senior SIG15 members. 

• Connect with peers and exchange thoughts and goals regarding their first attendance at the (SIG15) conference.
• Provide a supportive environment for participants throughout the conference to enhance their experience with other participants, mentors, and organizers.
• Offer a setting to share ideas and receive feedback and guidance on current research and/or conference presentation skills.
• Create a forum for discussing research issues central to the SIG15 field, including education and inclusion of individuals with special educational needs (SEN) of all ages. 

• Online meeting a week before the conference to discuss the aims and aspirations for the mentoring program.
• Mentoring sessions occur before the conference on Monday morning (17^th of Aug) and after the conference on Wednesday afternoon (19^th of Aug).
• Poster presentation is held on Tuesday evening.
• The participants are also encouraged to attend the joint lunch(es) during the conference. 

The SIG15 Mentoring Program is open to doctoral students who are most likely to benefit from its goals through collaboration. The eligibility requirements are as follows: 

• The applicant must be a doctoral researcher (or equivalent) working on a doctoral project related to SIG15 research areas.
• The applicant and/or their supervisor(s) must register as a SIG15 JURE or regular member.
• Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously attended an international conference. 

If accepted, the participation fee will be covered for the doctoral researchers in the program. Supervisors of accepted participants are encouraged to attend the SIG15 conference as well. 

For more information about the program, please email   

Eligible students must first submit an abstract for a poster presentation and indicate their willingness to participate in the mentoring program in the submission system. Once the abstract is accepted, the applicant has two weeks to submit an application to the mentoring program via the system. Applications will be reviewed by at least two international experts in the field and the final decisions will be announced at 31^st April. 

The doctoral mentoring participants will be selected based on the following factors: 

• academic quality of the application
• relevance and suitability of the research to the SIG15 theme
• letter of recommendation from the dissertation or thesis supervisor 

Each proposal must include the following information in a single document in the following order and must be submitted through the conference system (by 15^th of April 2026): 

1. Cover page containing:

• Doctoral researcher’s name, email address, educational institution, and mailing address
• Link to the student's personal website (optional)
• Title of the research or dissertation project
• Name, educational institution, and email address of the doctoral researcher’s dissertation or thesis main supervisor

2. A 1-2 page motivational statement containing:

• A summary of the current state of the student's dissertation research and studies in general
• A reflection of the expected benefits of participating in the mentoring program for the student

3. An abstract of the poster presentation prepared according to the general guidelines.
4. A letter of recommendation from the student's dissertation or thesis supervisor (max 1 page)