Mentoring during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from graduate students in biomedical science studies in India

Mentorship transforms careers. Yet, a lack of awareness of the need for a mentor is ironically, a pandemic. The pandemic has brought a host of challenges for the academic researcher. As bench work has come to a standstill, there is not just reduced productivity, but a significant increase in fear, anxiety, and depression amongst students. Our survey of -150 graduate students of Life Sciences courses confirmed the anecdotal observation that > 75% did not have a mentor other than their academic guide. Over the past six months, we have been exploring the requirements of mentee-mentor relationships during both normal times and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Written primarily from the mentee perspective, we have described the (i) criteria and roles of an ideal mentor and mentee, (ii) the problems faced by the mentee, and (iii) the solutions to address these challenges. We have described the experience of 10 mentees with a mentor during these challenging times, in which we discussed scientific, psychological, and practical support for each other. We provide some recommendations based on previous work in mentor–mentee interactions and explore the critical nature of this delicate relationship for a successful career.