Become a Mentor

Why mentor?

  • Make progress on your own research questions that you otherwise wouldn’t have capacity to

  • Gain unique expertise on your project, as your mentees may have a background you lack

  • Help ambitious Oxford students gain impactful careers

What’s the background of the mentees?

  • Last round we received 63 applications for 16 places so can afford to be selective based on your preferences.

  • However, typically selected candidates were late undergraduate or masters students, mostly in maths or computer science.

How do you select mentees?

  • We check the background and motivation of candidates through an online application against the criteria you specify. You are welcome to add a longer question specific to your project to check their interest, background and thoughtfulness about the project.

  • We interview shortlisted candidates to cross check their answers and assess their motivation.

  • We will send you a shortlist of candidates for you to select from. You are welcome to take any number of shortlisted candidates (including 0).

What do we ask from you?

  • Write a ~500 word project brief (see the old project briefs for example). This can be any self contained project that you think can be impactful.

  • Attend our in person kick off day in Oxford (travel expenses paid).

  • Roughly 2 hours a week for 8 weeks, comprising roughly 1 hour of meetings and 1 hour of reading student’s updates.

When is it?

  • Our in person kick off day on Sunday 25th October 2026, 1-6pm with travel and food paid for

  • Then the programme runs for 8 weeks, starting Monday 26th October (although mentors have often worked with their teams for longer.

What does the mentor application process look like?

  • Application (requiring brief outline of project)- due 20th September

  • Interview w/c 21st September to ensure it’s a good fit on both sides

  • Send us your final 500 word project proposal

  • Offer

What do our past projects look like?

Apply here