Become a mentor
BRIDGE has been extended with a new grant from NNF called BRIDGE III with for more calls for applicants. The first call has deadline 28 February 2024. As a BRIDGE Mentor, you have a unique opportunity to start or consolidate a collaboration between a basic biomedical and a clinical research or life science industry environments. Recruitment of an excellent BRIDGE Fellow allows you to bridge or create a translational environment. A BRIDGE Fellowship covers the salary of a postdoc for two years in addition to an annum of 40.000 DKK to cover publication costs, conference fees, IT equipment etc. The mentor team covers the running costs of the research project.
During the initial dialogue with a postdoc candidate, you should align all parties' expectations concerning availability and support, frequency and format of meetings, and the degree of feedback and support offered. You should also consider how to create an optimistic atmosphere that inspires the fellow, how to celebrate success, guide on career trajectories and utilise the knowledge deriving from the BRIDGE Academic Curriculum.
As a BRIDGE Mentor, you will become part of a translational ecosystem, and expand your network through events like Boot Camp, academic afternoons and BRIDGE Alumni events.
Mentor criteria, qualifications and commitments
Mentor team eligibility criteria
A mentor team consists of minimum two mentors. One mentor must represent a basic biomedical science environment at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH. The other mentor must represent a clinically oriented environment at a hospital in the Capital Region of Denmark or Region Zealand or be from the life science industry. Involvement of extra mentors from either academia, the clinical environments or life science industry environments is indeed possible, if relevant. Each mentor team must present themselves and the scientific framework for a translational research project.
Mentor teams to apply with a predefined candidate (method #1) must provide the following:
- One CV per mentor (please use our template)
CVs should be forwarded to bridge@sund.ku.dk for preapproval of the mentor team. They should also be included in part 3 of the application.
Mentor teams for open mentor teams (method #2) must provide the following:
- One CV per mentor (please use our template)
- Project synopsis (please use our template)
Documents are simply forwarded to bridge@sund.ku.dk. The mentor team will be publish on our website as an open mentor team by 15 December.
Mentor qualifications
See the qualifications for basic, clinical and industry mentors below. A mentor team must consist of minimum a basic mentor and a clinical or industry mentor.
Basic mentor qualifications
It is compulsory to include one mentor from a basic biomedical science environment at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (SUND), UCPH. The mentor must be at the level of Associate Professor or Professor with at least a 50% appointment at SUND. The fellow will be appointed at the department/centre of the main basic mentor. Note that staff from the Department of Clinical Medicine (IKM) are not accepted as basic mentors, but could be clinical mentors. Additional basic mentors from other faculties and universities are welcome to apply and must be at the level of Associate Professor or Professor.
Clinical mentor qualifications
Mentors from a clinical oriented environment must have the following qualifications:
Approved titles
- Clinical Professor (in Danish: Klinisk professor)
- Clinical Research Associate Professor (in Danish: Klinisk forskningslektor)
Conditionally approved titles
- Clinical associate professor (in Danish: Klinisk lektor (A-B-C))
- Postgraduate clinical associate professor (in Danish: Postgraduat klinisk lektor)
- Occupied in a research relevant position in healthcare or life science industry (in Danish: Forskningsrelevant beskæftigelse på hospitaler eller i life science industri)
Industry mentor qualifications
Industry mentors must:
- Hold a PhD or doctorate, or equivalent
- Be research active
- Have a relevant employment
Mentors from Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse), and Steno Diabetes Center are eligible as clinical and/or industry/supplementary mentors.
Mentor commitments
To be eligible as mentor within BRIDGE, you must commit to:
- Availability, commitment and networking:
Being a committed, available and motivated mentor, who strives for developing the fellow’s scientific skills and supporting the career trajectory of the fellow. Networking with scientific peers in the programme during events and within the mentor team. - Courses and teaching obligations:
Allowing the BRIDGE Fellow enough time for attending the comprehensive course programme, the Academic Curriculum, which constitute 20% of their position. The fellow should therefore not be imposed teaching obligation during their fellowship. - Project development:
Co-develop part 1 of the application in collaboration with the candidate. - Running costs:
Provide the running costs for the two-year period of the research project. BRIDGE funds the salary for the fellow and per annum (DKK 40,000 per year). - Parental leave:
The centre or department of the basic mentor must cover expenses in connection to maternity or paternity leave, excluding the Danish parental allowances (barselsdagpenge, refusion) covered by the state. - Self-evaluation:
Complete a self-evaluation of your efforts as a BRIDGE mentor. - Mentor-mentee agreement:
Signing a ‘mentor-mentee agreement’ to secure fruitful mentoring and attend regular mentoring meetings with the fellow. - Participate in the following activities:
If invited, the (1) appointment interview to give a five-minute presentation as a mentor team prior to the candidate’s presentation (mid May), (2) two mentor-mentee meetings with the entire mentor team and the fellow prior to the fellow's submission of the midterm and final reports, (3) the first day of the BRIDGE Boot Camp (mid September), (4) when invited, academic afternoons, and (5) the BRIDGE Graduation Ceremony (late August).
Become a mentor
Method #1: Become a mentor with a predefined postdoc in mind
If you have a postdoc candidate in mind for your future BRIDGE collaboration, focus on developing the BRIDGE application together with your postdoc candidate and submit your application by the application deadline.
Include CVs for all mentors using our templates. As mentors, you will cover the running costs of the project. Please fill out a budget for the project using our template. The budget should be signed by the Head of Department/Centre of all mentors.
Please note, we strongly encourage the mentor teams to get a preapproval of the mentor constellation in due time before call closure. This is to secure that the mentor team will be accepted. Send an email including the mentors' CVs bridge@sund.ku.dk to ask for a preapproval.
Participation of a mentor from the life science industry is highly encouraged, if relevant.
Method #2: Become a mentor without a predefined postdoc in mind
If you do not have a predefined postdoc candidate in mind, you can register your mentor team as an "open mentor team". Your open mentor team and project will be published on our webpage from 15 December to attract candidates for the project. Potential candidates will reach out to you by email and you will apply together before the application deadline 28 February. In case of interest from multiple postdoc candidates, the mentor team decides which candidate to apply with.
To become an open mentor team, you have to register with at least one other mentor and fullfil the requirements for a mentor team (see mentor qualifications above).
To register your open mentor team, fill out a project synopsis and all mentors' CVs using our two templates and submit to bridge@sund.ku.dk by 30 November.
Participation of a mentor from the life science industry is highly encouraged, if relevant.