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“The influence of the mentor is key to the success of academic research projects.”
A mentor is an important figure who contributes to the academic training and intellectual maturity of students. Mentors guide students throughout their learning process. One of the biggest challenges we face to become the country we want is conducting scientific work in Mexico. How can we generate innovative solutions that sustainably integrate research methodologies, tools, and technologies to benefit the environment? Here is where research becomes especially relevant as it is a fundamental part of student learning and the development of our society.
Universities are committed to direct learning towards unsolved problems, training students to transform their environments; however, initiating these change processes requires delving into new fields of knowledge, experimentation, and other research activities. Mentoring is key to the success of academic research projects as it enables the student to develop skills through purposeful practice. Mentoring shortens the learning curve and opens up new possibilities for the progress of humanity in all areas, including the economy, health, social, cultural, and business sectors. Today, the uncertainty of the postmodern world has intensified, so it is vital to involve students in effective research to prepare them as future chemical, medical, or engineering professionals who are leaders in their fields and communities.
“A mentor is a person who generates in students a feeling of security to continue with their research and promotes a shorter learning curve in all the processes involved.”
The role of the mentor in scientific research
Being a mentor in scientific research involves various educational functions, such as collaboration, coordination, supervision, and guidance of students in all their research activities. Mentees have better levels of self-management, develop skills faster, are more motivated, and learn different investigation methodologies (Huergo-Revuelta, 2017). Likewise, the mentor is a person who generates in the students a feeling of security to continue with their research, resulting in a shorter learning curve in all the processes involved. Mentoring also inspires and arouses students’ interest in research activities, entrepreneurship, and community contributions.
In general, students respond to mentoring with openness and curiosity, including a moderately positive attitude towards research (El Achi et al., 2020). In a similar study with university students from different programs, 90% of respondents considered that research training would contribute to their professional lives (Carrasco, Toledo, and Hensen, 2018). Another study with nursing students found that 58% had moderately favorable attitudes towards research (Chara-Saavedra and Olortegui-Luna, 2018).
The benefits of participating in research are numerous. It has been associated, for example, with developing superior cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving (Barrios and Ulises, 2020). These skills apply to other professional contexts, such as developing new products by entrepreneurs or improving clinical care by health professionals. In addition, people who participate in research projects incorporate innovation, creativity, and frustration tolerance as strengths in their professional lives.
Barriers to Students Conducting Scientific Research
In our experience as teachers, we have perceived the following barriers that students face in conducting research: 1) the lack of previous training to help them carry out a study, 2) the few opportunities they have to be part of a formal research team, and 3) the lack of supervision or mentoring. Each of these points is explained in detail below:
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Lack of previous training to carry out a scientific study.
Having high expectations without a global view of what research work entails is a direct path to frustration. A research project includes designing the research and selecting the methodology, fieldwork, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, and dissemination of results either by writing a scientific article or presenting it in different forums. Prior training in applying the scientific method is fundamental. It is also necessary to consider all the stages that comprise a research work, the times in which each stage will be developed, and the unforeseen events that may arise. With the guidance of an experienced researcher, these activities can be done efficiently, anticipating the eventualities that may arise.
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There are few opportunities to be part of a research team.
There is an abysmal difference between theoretical classroom training in research methodologies and processes and experiencing the activities conducted in a research laboratory. For example, when preparing solutions or cell cultures in a specific medium, having a log or preparing reports for fund management and discussing the findings with the research team is not part of traditional teaching. For this experience, it is necessary to generate adequate spaces where students participate in community-of-practice projects that initiate them into a professional environment, where learning and good practices are shared.
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Lack of supervision or mentoring.
Delving into a new task without clarity on carrying it out involves significant risk (El Achi et al., 2020). Pragmatically, the risk is related to the efficiency or effectiveness of the experiment. The researchers’ confidence, the motivation that drives them to move forward, and their satisfaction with the research work being conducted are even more pertinent. Having the guidance and advice of other researchers is a scaffolding in which the apprentices acquire independence and experience little by little. While acquiring these, they also gain responsibility and autonomy.
Participating in the training of students is part of the academic work of any researcher. However, not all teachers assume this task voluntarily or consciously for many reasons. For some researchers, investigations involve an extra workload to maintain their scientific production. For others, the teacher/researcher’s lack of stimuli and job opportunities forces them to take on additional responsibilities in industry or consultancies to fund their research, reducing the time they have available to finish an article or complete a project report.
Virtuous mentoring relationships
A true mentor in research transfers knowledge to develop skills technically and ethically in their work. In an honest mentoring relationship, mentors become catalysts for students to become highly capable and help them navigate historical limitations, expectations, or assumptions (AACP, 2021).
Throughout history, we can find great examples of mentors in research who played a fundamental role in advancing humanity. For example, the Banting-Best duo is credited with discovering insulin to treat people with diabetes. Still an undergraduate student, Charles Best interned for a summer internship on a rese
arch project mentored by Frederick Banting. In that season, they made notable advances using animal subjects; subsequently, they extended their experiment to the first human patients. This achievement led the discoverers to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which recognizes exceptional contributions by people to the medical sciences (Kolata and Specia, 2019). Best’s career continued a path in the sciences. He became director of the research department at the University of Toronto and collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) to advise the medical research committee.
The mentor’s influence on students is key to developing new professionals who integrate theories, practices, and implementations to advance the sciences. To achieve this as mentors, we need to go beyond only teaching research methodologies and integrate active methodological practices in a more structured curriculum. Universities can undertake the following specific strategies to engage students in research:
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Train researchers to be more comprehensive, resulting in people who see the value of research in the social development of their communities.
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Develop programs aimed at training mentors in research.
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Identify quickly the barriers that exist for students to participate in research within the institution and remove them.
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Promote the dissemination of knowledge among students through scientific events such as seminars, meetings, and congresses.
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Facilitate early interest so that students can consider research as a viable alternative when choosing their areas of professional practice.
Regardless of the specific strategy that universities choose, at heart, there has to be a fundamental statement that training the next generation of researchers is a priority. It is how committed students and mentors can obtain the necessary resources and support for scientific work.
Reflection
For students, delving into a problem and exploring the limits of “the known” provide the environment conducive to becoming scientists. Becoming a researcher, particularly one who participates as a mentor, gives front-row views of how another person finds an area that impassions them to use all their knowledge and skills to challenge the established. It allows observing how they cease to be novices in a field and become generators of knowledge to solve the great questions of humanity, transcending and reaching their life’s purpose.
Through this article, we share as academicians the call to be the mentor our students need, even though we may have lacked this figure in our formation. We must assume this fundamental role with the aim that it is replicative and virtuous. Being a mentor can be transcendental so that our students become mentors who help other students in the not-so-distant future. If we assume this role with the reverence and awareness it demands, these professionals will transmit to future students the same security and motivation for research they experienced.
About the Authors
Mildred López (mildredlopez@tec.mx) is Director of Innovation and Educational Research at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Innovation and is a Level I Researcher in the National System of Researchers (SNI). She is the author of 3 books, more than 40 articles, and 11 book chapters on educational innovation in health.
Gabriela González (dra.gabrielaglzl@gmail.com) is a dentistry intern, currently participating in the research area at Tecnologico de Monterrey. She is interested in the area of oral rehabilitation and in becoming a professional committed to integral dentistry.
Jorge E. Valdez-Garcia (jorge.valdez@tec.mx) is Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (EMCS), having 25 years of professional and postgraduate teaching experience. Researcher (SNI 1) in health sciences. Author of 3 books, ten chapters, and more than 80 research articles. Full Member of the Mexican Academy of Surgery. Founding member of the National Academy of Medical Education.
References
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy [AACP]. (2021). Research Mentor Role Description. https://www.aacp.org/article/research-mentor-role-description
Barrios, E., & Ulises, D. (2020). Diseño y validación del cuestionario Actitud hacia la investigación en estudiantes universitarios. Revista Innova Educación, 2(2), 280-302.
Carrasco, R. J. O., Toledo, R. D. V., y Hansen, O. S. (2018). Percepción y actitudes hacia la investigación científica. Academo, 5(2), 101-109.
Chara-Saavedra, P., & Olortegui-Luna, A. (2018). Factores asociados a la actitud hacia la investigación en estudiantes universitarios de enfermería. CASUS: Revista de Investigación y Casos en Salud, 3(2), 83-88.
El Achi, D., Al Hakim, L., Makki, M., Mokaddem, M., Abi Khalil, P., Kaafarani, B. R., & Tamim, H. (2020). Perception, attitude, practice, and barriers towards medical research among undergraduate students. BMC medical education, 20(1), 1-11.
Guston, D. H. (1993). Mentorship and the research training experience. Responsible Science, 2, 50-65.
Huergo-Revuelta, F. A. (2017). Diseño e implantación de un sistema de mentoreo desde el marco del desarrollo humano en una organización con fines de lucro.
Kolata, G., Specia, M. (2019, October 11). Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/health/nobel-prize-medicine.html
Edited by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Observatory of Educational Innovation.
Translation by Daniel Wetta.
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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