Student Mentorship & Membership Grant

Student Mentorship & Membership Grant

We are thrilled to announced Icon’s new Student Mentorship & Membership Grant. This will provide 25 individuals access to a dedicated mentor along with a year-long Icon student membership.

As an entry-level conservator, the professional road ahead can often seem overwhelming. Inspired by the success of Cardiff University’s Lockdown Conservation Mentoring scheme, the grant will enable key mentor support for individuals who – particularly during lockdown – might have found it difficult to develop their professional skills.

This grant will go some way to allow participants to network with peers, build their people skills, jumpstart their career planning, and identify opportunities with experienced professionals.

As a student member, you’ll receive:

• Free 1 year membership (worth £57).
• 1:1 mentor support.
• Access to Icon’s specialist groups and professional networks, who all run their own special events.
• Regular email notifications of upcoming events, courses, news, and workshops.
• A weekly Iconnect Jobs bulletin detailing new conservation vacancies across the UK.
• Discounted admission to all Icon events (as well as many group and partner events).
• Access to Icon’s online member portal.
• Access to our peer-reviewed ‘Journal of the Institute of Conservation’, and the option to have Icon’s bi-monthly magazine ‘Icon News’ sent straight to your door.
• Voting rights in Icon’s Annual General Meetings, a say in electing new trustees, and the chance to take part in internal consultations and surveys on the state of the profession.

Please note that existing student members that demonstrate they fit the criteria can also apply – a one-year extension will be added to their current membership. 

Working with a Mentor

All participants in the scheme will be allocated a dedicated mentor to support you in professional development. Each will be matched according to participants’ skills, expertise, and ambitions.

Mentors are there to help you reflect on your own personal plans and share their own experiences of developing a career in conservation. Areas where mentors will be able to help include:

• Helping you to reflect on your professional practice and to identify areas for development.
• Help you think about the skills and knowledge you need to be able to demonstrate when applying for jobs and internships. 
• Challenge you to think about what you are doing to ensure you are properly reflecting on your plans and goals.

Eligibility

• Be a current student at a UK University, or registered on a training programme (e.g., as an apprentice, intern, or trainee.)
• Be able to demonstrate you meet the criteria that support Icon’s equality, diversity and inclusion aims. (The specific criteria can be found in the application form below.)

Download Application Form here

This programme is currently closed to new applicants. Please check back for further announcements.