Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers

This study describes the design and evaluation of a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) digital mentor tailored for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Despite the proven benefits of mentorships for ECRs, access to effective mentorship remains limited due to constraints on experienced researche...

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Main Author: Linus Tan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CERN 2024-12-01
Series:CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CIJ/article/view/1576
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author Linus Tan
author_facet Linus Tan
author_sort Linus Tan
collection DOAJ
description This study describes the design and evaluation of a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) digital mentor tailored for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Despite the proven benefits of mentorships for ECRs, access to effective mentorship remains limited due to constraints on experienced researchers’ time and their varying mentorship skills. Drawing on Career Construction Theory, research career mentorship, and Design Science methodology, this article documents the creation of a digital mentor and evaluates its assessment accuracy and guidance specificity in responding to career-related queries. The findings indicate that the digital mentor was fast, provided actionable career progression mentoring comments, and made explicit references to the mentee’s experience, skills, and university’s strategy. However, its skills assessment had weak similarity when compared to the mentee’s self-assessment, a peer assessment, and a research leader’s assessment of the mentee’s skills. Nonetheless, ECRs can consider using a digital mentor to obtain fast contextualised comments on developing their career within their university.
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series CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation
spelling doaj-art-cec75b763415485ca4e31353f27c74ae2025-08-20T02:36:23ZengCERNCERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation2413-95052024-12-018310.23726/cij.2024.1576Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career ResearchersLinus Tan0School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Australia This study describes the design and evaluation of a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) digital mentor tailored for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Despite the proven benefits of mentorships for ECRs, access to effective mentorship remains limited due to constraints on experienced researchers’ time and their varying mentorship skills. Drawing on Career Construction Theory, research career mentorship, and Design Science methodology, this article documents the creation of a digital mentor and evaluates its assessment accuracy and guidance specificity in responding to career-related queries. The findings indicate that the digital mentor was fast, provided actionable career progression mentoring comments, and made explicit references to the mentee’s experience, skills, and university’s strategy. However, its skills assessment had weak similarity when compared to the mentee’s self-assessment, a peer assessment, and a research leader’s assessment of the mentee’s skills. Nonetheless, ECRs can consider using a digital mentor to obtain fast contextualised comments on developing their career within their university. https://e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CIJ/article/view/1576Generative artificial intelligenceCareer DevelopmentEarly career researcherMentorship
spellingShingle Linus Tan
Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers
CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation
Generative artificial intelligence
Career Development
Early career researcher
Mentorship
title Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers
title_full Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers
title_fullStr Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers
title_full_unstemmed Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers
title_short Designing an AI Career Mentor for Early Career Researchers
title_sort designing an ai career mentor for early career researchers
topic Generative artificial intelligence
Career Development
Early career researcher
Mentorship
url https://e-publishing.cern.ch/index.php/CIJ/article/view/1576
work_keys_str_mv AT linustan designinganaicareermentorforearlycareerresearchers