Mentorship can shape the academic and professional journeys of early-career researchers. Beyond providing advice and guidance, effective mentorship can help PhD candidates navigate the often complex academic environment, and find support when facing challenges or barriers in their research careers.
The EELISA Mentorship Programme was launched in February 2026 as an initiative to strengthen equity, diversity and inclusion across the EELISA Alliance. Open to PhD candidates from all disciplines and EELISA institutions, the programme combines one-to-one mentoring with senior researchers and training activities. It seeks to support PhD candidates in navigating academic careers, address systemic barriers affecting underrepresented groups, and contribute to a long-term, cross-institutional mentoring community across EELISA universities.
This roundtable brings together mentors of the EELISA Mentorship Programme and other stakeholders to reflect on their experiences and explore the broader role and value of mentorship in research and higher education.
The discussion will consider the role of mentorship in education, research and academic careers, how mentoring relationships can contribute to more inclusive and supportive research environments, and what mentors themselves learn through the process. It will also explore the conditions that make mentorship meaningful and effective, the challenges mentors may encounter, and how mentoring initiatives can evolve to create lasting impact beyond individual mentoring relationships.
Drawing on the experiences and perspectives of mentors across the EELISA Alliance, the conversation will also look towards the future: how can mentoring complement existing forms of supervision and how can cross-institutional mentoring communities contribute to positive change in academia?
The roundtable will offer a space for open exchange, shared learning and critical reflection, with the aim of identifying practices and perspectives that can inform mentoring initiatives more broadly.
WHEN: 2 November, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
WHERE: ONLINE AND ONSITE at Mines Paris PSL
REGISTER HERE
The Panelists
Manuela Roxana Dijmărescu
Associate Professor in the Department of Manufacturing Engineering at POLITEHNICA Bucharest. Her teaching and research interests include computer-aided design, manufacturing technologies, digitalization, smart and sustainable production, and engineering education. She serves as POLITEHNICA Bucharest’s Gender & Diversity Representative within the EELISA European University Alliance, contributing to initiatives that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education. As a mentor in the 2026 EELISA Mentorship Programme, she has also been involved in supporting early-career researchers and fostering an inclusive and collaborative academic environment.
Antonio Emidio Fortunato
Completed his university studies in Palermo, Italy, focusing on Developmental Biology and working on the Mediterranean sea urchin. During the PhD in Naples, Italy, he worked at the marine station Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, to understand the role of a heme-binding protein family during vertebrate development. At the institute, he discovered topics in Marine Biology, microalgae, Ecology, and Evolution, and forthe post-doc, moved to Paris to work on marine diatom photoreceptors and circadian rhythms regulation. After the post-doc, he joined a start-up to work on plant and microalgal EVs and their use as RNA delivery system for plant protection. Since 2024, he is the Chief Scientific Officer at ENgreen, continuing to develop vectorisation technologies for plant and animal protection from pathogens.
Jose Bernal
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Jose Bernal is a Colombian W1 Professor of Medical Image Analysis at FAU, with interdisciplinary expertise in machine learning, computer vision, and neuroradiology. He is also an Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Research, Co-Chair of the Vascular Special Interest Group within the DEMON (Deep Dementia Phenotyping) Network, and, recently, a member of FAU’s Women’s Representatives. His research focuses on cerebral small vessel disease, a major cause of stroke and dementia worldwide.
Minna Maria Koponen
Holds a PhD in Education and an MSc degree in Behavioural Sciences. She is an educational designer and MOOC project manager at the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). She has over 20 years of international experience in higher education and specializes in educational innovation, digital pedagogy, intercultural collaboration, mentoring, and coaching. As part of the EELISA university collaboration network, she promotes international educational cooperation and develops the mentoring program for the EELISA doctoral program.
Moderators
Anca Mihalache
She holds a PhD in Philosophy, obtained at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris, and an MA obtained at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS Ulm). She is currently a lecturer at the Paris-Saclay university and Gustave Eiffel university. At the PSL university, she works on gender equality and inclusion within the EELISA Alliance. Her broader interests focus on the role of education and research in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Prof. Dr. hab. Ewa Lechman
She is a distinguished Polish economist and professor affiliated with Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech). In addition to her research and teaching work at the Faculty of Management and Economics, she serves as Deputy Director for Development and Internationalization of the institution’s Doctoral School.
Within the context of the ENHANCE Alliance (the prestigious network of European universities of technology of which Gdańsk Tech is a member), Professor Lechman plays an active and leading role in international research and academic development.
