Choosing your Project Mentor

Project Mentor selection

It is your responsibility to find someone to act as your Project Mentor and to arrange three meetings with him or her. It is not possible for Oxford Brookes University to provide a Project Mentor for you but Oxford Brookes University has identified three categories of individuals from which you should choose your Project Mentor.

The person you choose should be one of the following:

• Your tutor at College or University
• A senior colleague at work e.g. your line manager
• A qualified Chartered Certified Accountant

If you identify somebody as a potential Project Mentor who does not fall into any of these three categories, then you should contact the ACCA office at Oxford Brookes University and provide a copy of your suggested Project Mentor’s CV for approval.

If the proposed Project Mentor is a member of a recognised professional body or institute and / or holds a recognised degree equivalent qualification then it is likely that approval will be given.

Project Mentor qualities

Oxford Brookes University has identified the following characteristics of an effective Project Mentor. You may wish to reflect on this list of attributes when making your own choice of Project Mentor:

• Is approachable and has genuine interest in helping student to succeed
• Listens and actively questions
• Respects confidentiality and is trustworthy
• Acts as a sounding board to explore ideas and issues arising from research
• Provides positive and constructive feedback on research being carried out
• Challenges and discusses effective communication
• Offers support and encouragement
• Helps the student meet their objectives
• Helps the student ask the right questions, to think systematically, to learn to apply appropriate evaluation techniques and to analyse and interpret the findings
• Remains neutral and not judgemental
• Provides subtle guidance but ensures student makes the decisions
• Is knowledgeable and competent
• Grasps the essence of the technicalities without becoming a subject matter expert.