Student Life
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Student Life
The Student Life portfolio consists of the Melbourne Peer Mentor Program and Academic Advising at Melbourne. These initiatives give our commencing students access to social and academic connections, to ease the transition to University life and provide guidance and support in your journey at the University of Melbourne.
Professor Shitij Kapur, Dean of our Faculty, talks with one of our Peer Mentors and Senior Academic Advisers to discuss the Melbourne Peer Mentoring Program and Academic Advising at Melbourne.
Peer Mentoring
What is it?
The Melbourne Peer Mentor Program connects commencing undergraduates with an instant network of familiar faces to help make the transition to university life easy and enjoyable. This includes meeting your mentor group at the start of the semester so you are connected from the beginning and engaging in regular sessions throughout the semester to build those connections.
The Melbourne Peer Mentor Program, in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, is available to first year students in the Bachelor of Biomedicine and Bachelor of Oral Health.
Mentors and Mentees should download the my.uniLife app as this will be the platform that holds information about your session times, dates, location and group members.
Want to know more about how the thrive in your first semester of University and hear from this years Mentors? Then check out this podcast made by our Peer Leaders, Dan and Andy.
Mentors
Being a Mentor gives you the chance to support first year students with the transition to University life. This volunteer role will give you valuable skills in facilitation, communication, and engagement. There will also be opportunities throughout your mentor journey for professional development.
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Why be a Mentor?
Develop your skills:
- Gain leadership training and experience.
- Develop your interpersonal, communication and group facilitation skills.
- Build your professional network within the University community.
Make a difference:
- Help new students succeed in their first year by sharing your experience.
- Develop a sense of belonging with students and the University.
- Gain a deeper understanding of cultural differences and diversity.
- Make new friends and meet new people.
Be rewarded:
- Demonstrate your participation to employers with your co-curricular record.
- Contribute your participation to the Leaders in Communities Award (LiCA).
- Receive an exclusive mentor hoodie!
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How do I become a Mentor?
Mentors should be in their 2nd or 3rd year (preferred) of their degree, with 2 semesters of study left before completing their degree.
The recruitment process:
- Submitting an application
- Participation in an assessment centre
- Advised of outcome
- Attend mandatory training
- Allocated to a group of up to 10 first year students (if your timetable does not allow you to be matched, you will be placed in the stand-by pool)
Recruitment for becoming a mentor opens a couple of months prior to the commencement of the next semester. You can find information about lodging an application for becoming a mentor here.
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What do I need to do as a mentor?
Being a Mentor should be a rewarding experience for you. We want to make sure that you understand what we expect of you in relation to the role. The expectations include, but are not limited to:
- Attend all training to prepare you for your role
- Behave respectfully towards others and provide an inclusive environment for all
- Provide friendly and informative guidance, and support mentees with identifying resources, programs, services and connecting with people
- Model help-seeking behaviours and support mentees to solve problems or hurdles they encounter
- Use/share your personal experience and knowledge to meet the needs of the mentees
- Be a point of contact for the mentees
- Hold a valid Working with Children Check
- Abide by the Code of Conduct
- Refer any issues or unresolved conflicts to the Melbourne Peer Mentoring Staff
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What support will I receive?
We have a range of supports in place to help you throughout your Mentoring experience.
Peer Leaders
Our Peer Leaders are students employed to work with us to assist in delivering the Melbourne Peer Mentoring Program. They will check on you throughout the semester, be there for you to ask questions to, and be able to point you in the right direction with anything that needs to be referred on to another team.Student Life team
The Student Life team are the professional staff delivering this program. They can assist with any questions you might have, organise training and workshops for your professional development, and handle the day-to-day operation of the Melbourne Peer Mentoring Program. Find out how to contact us. -
I want some more information
More information is available here for current peer mentors or students wishing to become mentors. This includes useful session guides, resources, the application portal and more information about the structure of the program.
If you still have some unanswered questions, please feel free to contact us.

"I am stoked to have been able to help make my peer group's transition to uni life a smooth and enjoyable one. I wish I had had the opportunity to engage in this sort of program when I was in their position."
Sarah, Bachelor of Biomedicine

"Being a peer mentor for the first year Bachelor of Oral Health students has made me proud of my journey as a student. Overtime, I could see that my mentees became really well acquainted and that the mentoring sessions felt natural, introspective and enjoyable."
Linna, Bachelor of Oral Health
Mentees
The Melbourne Peer Mentoring Program is designed to match you with a group of commencing undergraduate students and a Mentor from your course. This allows you to build relationships and be connected with the University of Melbourne from day one. We hope some, if not all, of these connections continue through your degree, increases your social interactions with your peers and gives you a wider network of people within the University community.
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How does it work?
You will be notified of your group and prompted to download the my.uniLife app. The app hosts information about when your scheduled sessions are, who is in your group and you can access Chatter - the apps group messaging function.
There will be 5 sessions across the year, 4 in your first Semester and 1 in the next semester to re-connect with your group. The sessions are themed around key stages in the semester such as getting to know the University and services available in your first session all the way through to preparing for exams!
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How do I become a Mentee?
You don't need to do anything! As long as you are a first time commencing undergraduate student, you will automatically be placed in a mentoring group. If you have not heard anything by Orientation week, please get in touch with us so we can make sure you are not missing out.
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Benefits of being a mentee
- Opportunity to meet new students and make some friends
- Opportunity to find out more information about student engagement programs, workshops and events to get involved in
- Opportunity to find out more information on available student support services to help with questions and concerns
- Opportunity to build relationships and feel more supported by, and connected to, the University
- Platform to reduce potential feelings of isolation by providing a key person of contact and a support network of peers in the first few months of University
- Positively assist with the transition into life at University
- Opportunity to “find your people” or your place at University
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Expectations
As a Mentee, we have expectations that you should be meeting to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. They include, but are not limited to:
- Actively engage with your group, sessions, and activities
- Behave respectfully towards others and provide an inclusive environment for all
- Go to your mentor for support and guidance - in some cases they may refer you to different services to get specialised support or assistance
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I want some more information
You can find more information about being a mentee here. This page has details about the structure of the program and some useful FAQ's.
If you still have some unanswered questions, please feel free to contact us.
Academic Advising
Our senior academics reflect on how their involvement in advising has been an essential part of their career progression and share their greatest pieces of advice for current and future students regarding career choices and personal development.
What is it?
Academic Advising at Melbourne has been developed to provide personalised academic guidance to expand understanding of the curriculum choices and pathway options available to achieve your emerging aspirations. These sessions provide a space to think, share ideas, talk about your goals and explore opportunities with an academic member of our (University) community.
Academic Advising at Melbourne, in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, is available to first year students in the Bachelor of Biomedicine and Bachelor of Oral Health.
Want some direct insights into the experiences of our Academics? Our Peer Leaders, Dan and Andy, have been interviewing some of our Senior Academic Advisers for their podcast and you can access them below:
- Dr. Snezana Kusljic - Neuropsychopharmacologist and Senior Lecturer for the Department of Nursing
- Dr. Jemma Skeat - Speech Pathologist and Senior Lecturer
- Dr. Phyllis Lau - Senior Research Fellow at the Department of General Practice
Want to know what motivated our academics to be a part of Academic Advising at Melbourne? What their personal experiences with mentoring are? Who were their mentors? Found out below!
Being an Advisee
Being an advisee gives you a new level of unique access to the highly experienced academics at the University of Melbourne. This opportunity is something that should be used to help you connect, discover and learn about everything you can to set you on the path to success!
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How does it work?
You will be matched with an academic adviser and will be able to see their details via the my.uniLife app. The structure of the sessions is as follows:
- Year 1 - Second Semester: Group meeting with academic adviser and approximately 10 other students also allocated to the same academic adviser (approximately 60 minutes)
- Year 2 - First and Second Semester: 2 x one-on-one sessions with your academic adviser. One session in each semester (approximately 30 minutes each)
- Year 3 - First Semester: A one-on-one session (approximately 30 minutes)
We encourage you to connect with your academic adviser outside of the scheduled sessions to build that connection and get the support that you need.
Note: If you are a first-time university student commencing mid-year, you will follow the same structure as above. For example, if you commence Semester 2, 2020 your group meeting will be in Semester 1, 2021 (as this is technically your second semester of your first year).
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How do I get involved?
You don't need to do anything! You will automatically be allocated to an academic adviser and notified who they are towards the end of August (for students commencing their 2nd semester in Semester 2, 2020). You can get it touch with us if you have not heard anything by the 31st of August.
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What are the benefits?
Academic advisers are experienced members of our community who can help you adjust to study and life at University. Your academic adviser will take an active interest in your progress, success and challenges. Using their extensive networks, they can help you to connect with your faculty and the broader University community, as well as external professionals and industry representatives.
The sessions provide a space to think, share ideas, talk about your goals and explore opportunities with an academic member of our (University) community
Making sure you are prepared before each meeting and arriving on time can help build a good rapport with your academic adviser. Over time, your academic adviser will be a friendly face on campus, someone you can call on for advice, or even ask for a reference at the end of your degree.
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I want more information
You can find more information about Academic Advising at Melbourne here.
If you still have questions, please feel free to contact us.
How can mentors work to create a strong, supportive, and thriving relationship with their mentees? What are the most important traits for a mentor to have? Our Academic Advisors discuss their top tips for becoming an effective advisor and a great mentor
Contact Us
In Person:
Brownless Biomedical Library - Level 1 (Upstairs) - Health Hub
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Phone:
+61 3 8344 5890
Submit an enquiry:
my.uniLife app
health-hub@unimelb.edu.au