UEW Research Mentoring invests in research quality and a culture of collaboration

15 completed mentoring processes, an international pool of experts, interdisciplinary community-building activities 

At the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business (WUEB), the first strategic project titled “Research Mentoring” has been completed – an initiative launched in 2022 under the priority “Recognised Practice-Inspired Research.” It was one of the university’s first strategic projects to be implemented and successfully concluded. The programme was designed to strengthen research skills and to foster a culture of academic collaboration. 

The “master–apprentice” relationship without pathos – as a practice of a modern university 

The project was delivered through two complementary formats: individual mentoring processes (mentor–mentee), focused on specific professional development goals of WUEB staff – also in an international perspective – and interdisciplinary mentoring seminars and workshops supporting the individual development of mentees and advancing the academic community.  This required deliberately building research capacity across the university: sharing experience, strengthening research skills, and driving continuous quality improvement. Three development tracks: publications, methods, internationalisation. 

The project was implemented in three areas: 

• Academic Writing – developing skills in preparing scientific publications and/or grant proposals, 
• Research Skills – improving methodology and research competencies, including advanced methods of qualitative and quantitative data analysis as well as programming, 
• International Team-Working – collaboration in international research teams, joint publications and project applications, as well as thinking about the practical use of research results. 

A complementary component of the programme consisted of community-building activities: 7 interdisciplinary research seminars and 3 mentoring workshops in Scientific Awareness, dedicated to research staff and doctoral candidates. 

The project also had an international dimension. The mentors included scholars from European academic centres: 

• University of Exeter Business School, 
• Mendel University in Brno, 
• Università degli Studi di Torino. 

Scale and growing interest 

Interest in the programme increased from one edition to the next. In total, four editions and 15 mentoring processes were carried. The most popular area was Research Skills – particularly strengthening hard skills in data analysis and programming. This is a clear signal: the academic community is increasingly seeking support not only in choosing research topics, but above all in the quality of the process – from methods and work organisation to conducting research in a consistent way and resilient to risks. 

“Recognised Practice-Inspired Research” 

Research mentoring at WUEB was designed as part of a long-term infrastructure for research quality. The programme supported methodological development, team-based research organisation, publication competencies, and preparation for applying to national and international competitions. The outcomes included, among others, publications in peer-reviewed journals, participation in projects (including Horizon Europe), obtaining external funding (NCN Miniatura 8), and expanding inter-university research collaboration. 

This approach strengthens the elements that are crucial for collaboration in science: the quality of research design, coherence of argumentation, methodological discipline, and mature teamwork. These are precisely the features that determine whether joint scientific and developmental initiatives are predictable, credible, and scalable. 

In this sense, the “Research Mentoring” project was more than a closed development cycle. It is a message about standards: WUEB invests in research quality at the level of craft and work culture, not only in individual, one-off activities. Such investment is not always spectacular at first glance, but over time it becomes visible in the coherence of achievements, the stability of collaboration, and the institution’s reputation. 

badania.uew.pl/en – because the world needs competent voices when responsibility for words and methods matters. 

Author: Justyna Morawska-Płoskonka