Information for Mentors

Who can become a mentor?
Mentors should have a contract at the University of Vienna for the duration of the REWIRE fellowship (36 months). They must provide infrastructure (e.g. desk space and/or lab space) for the fellow at their Department. Mentors should have experience in recruiting and selecting postdocs, as well as supporting them in their successful careers.

Do I have to formally register as a mentor?
You do not have to formally register as a mentor but you should inform the Head of your Department that you want to apply for planning and infrastructure (desk/lab space) purposes. You may also want to consider adding your information to our List of Mentors page to increase your visibility, especially if you don’t have an applicant in mind. Mentors can request their information to be published on this list by sending an email to rewire@univie.ac.at with their contact details, webpage link, and a brief description of their research topics.

How do I find a fellow?
It is highly recommended to reach out into your own networks to look for a REWIRE applicant. Should you have questions on eligibility then either see the criteria here or contact us directly.

Applicants may also contact you directly after having found you either on the List of Mentors or through their own research. Please ensure that their research fits well with yours, and that their CV is highly internationally competitive in your field of research. We ask that you be diligent when issuing letters of support and that you explicitly state why you are convinced that this candidate is excellent. We are looking for high-potential fellows who, after the REWIRE fellowship, would be serious candidates for prestigious investigator grants such as the ERC Starting Grant or the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) START Prize.

What are the roles of a mentor?
Mentors should support the fellow throughout the 36-months of the fellowship with both the fellow’s career development and their individual research project. This includes, but is not limited to, integrating the fellow in the research group, meeting with the fellow on a regular basis to discuss the research project and the fellow’s Career Development Plan, and committing to promoting the career of the fellow (through opening up networks, conferences, scientific skills and transferable skills training and workshops etc.).  

What should I write in the Letter of Support?
The Letters of Support for Call 2 should be a recommendation of why you believe that this researcher is a serious candidate for a prestigious REWIRE Fellowship, including how you see the career trajectory of the fellow during and after the REWIRE fellowship. The letters will be carefully looked at by the Selection Committee in the final evaluation stages.