FAQs (CheMento)
Below you will find the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about CheMento, the GDCh mentoring programme.
Is your question not included? Then send us a message at mentoring@gdch.de
Mentoring is a proven tool for the advancement of young talent and staff development in companies, universities and other organisations. The term mentoring describes the personal relationship between an experienced individual (mentor) and a less experienced person (mentee) to support personal and professional development. CheMento is designed as one-to-one mentoring, i.e. one mentor supports one mentee.
A mentor is a person with professional experience who offers support with questions relating to personal and professional development. CheMento mentors are experienced chemists (with at least 3 years’ professional experience) who work in industry, academia or public administration.
A mentee is a person with little professional experience who receives support in their personal and professional development. At CheMento, they are students and doctoral researchers who are shortly before entering the world of work, as well as young graduates from all areas of chemistry.
A tandem refers to the pairing of mentor and mentee following a matching process. CheMento is generally carried out with a maximum of 30 tandems.
Important criteria for the selection process are academic and professional orientation, personal development, and the geographical distance between places of residence. However, the personal interests and experiences of the mentees, mentors and female mentors also play an important role.
The aim of the matching process is to assign suitable mentors to all mentees selected for the programme. This means that tandem partners who are a good match for the mentees are selected from a pool of potential mentors. Therefore, it will not be possible to assign a mentee to everyone who has registered as a mentor.
Yes, that is possible. In the registration form, mentees should address, among other things, their expectations and wishes regarding their mentor. However, it is not possible to specify a preferred mentor.
The registration deadline (mentors) and application deadline (mentees) was 15 October 2025. As the programme includes three joint events for participants, CheMento is designed to start jointly for all participants. It is therefore not possible to join the programme on an ongoing basis.
Applications for mentees are expected to open again in autumn 2027. Mentors can register throughout the year.
Your data will be treated confidentially and only for the administration of the mentoring programme. Apart from the GDCh Career Service, no other GDCh employees have access to the data.
At the end of the matching phase, participants’ contact details will be provided to the respective tandem partner (mentee and mentor) so that the mentee can make contact.
The review of the documents and the matching process will take place from mid-October to the end of November of the respective application year. The advisory board will then make the official decision on the applicants’ participation. All prospective mentees and mentors will be notified by early December.
Initially, we unfortunately only have 30 tandem places. This means that not all applicants can take part.
Based on the wishes and expectations stated in the mentee applications in the registration form, we try to find a suitable mentor or mentee. Unfortunately, this does not always work. This means that there is not a suitable mentor or mentee for every mentee candidate.
Selection is therefore based neither on special qualifications nor on “cases of particular hardship”.
Based on the wishes and expectations expressed in the mentee application form, we try to find a suitable mentor for these mentees. This means that not every mentor will be assigned a mentee. Not being selected is therefore not an assessment of the mentor’s qualifications.
No, participation in CheMento is free of charge. Travel expenses and, where applicable, accommodation costs must be covered by all active participants (mentees and mentors) themselves.
Although the mentors work on a voluntary basis, the programme incurs costs. These include, for example, personnel costs for the staff involved in organising it at the office, costs for materials (flyers, information for participants, etc.) and events (venues, catering).
These costs are covered by the GDCh and therefore by its members. As the vast majority of members support the programme without benefiting from it, we believe it is appropriate that those who actually benefit from it should also contribute their own share towards CheMento.
Travel costs can be kept low by car sharing, ride-sharing agencies, long-distance coaches and discounted rail fares, and although personal contact is very important, some meetings can also be held via Skype. In our view, this means that mentees are not placed under an excessive financial burden.
The advisory board reviews and ensures that the implementation of CheMento meets the expectations and objectives of the GDCh Board. It has the final decision on the composition of the tandems (matching).
The following GDCh structures each delegate one member to the advisory board:
Chair of the advisory board is Dr. Hildegard Nimmesgern (AKCC).
CheMento is based at the GDCh Office within the career service. The contact person is Yasmin Yasin, mentoring@gdch.de, telephone 069 7917-665.