A NEOLAiA programme brings University of Tours PhD student to her mentor at UNIC

The NEOLAiA Early Stage Researcher (ESR) Mentorship Programme is an 18-month structured initiative for Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), from across the NEOLAiA university alliance. The programme’s main objectives are to enhance participants’ networking skills and to provide expert guidance on career development within and outside academia. The first edition of the ESR Mentorship Programme (ESR MP I) commenced in January 2025 and concluded in June 2026.

During the programme, each ESR was matched with an experienced mentor at a partner university, took part in tailored online workshops and joined a peer network of mentees from across other partner universities. One of the selected mentees of ESR MP I was Ms. Caroline Bonnetier, a PhD student at the University of Tours, France. Ms. Bonnetier, was matched with Prof. Haritini Tsangari, Professor at the School of Business, University of Nicosia. In addition to the online mentor-mentee meetings, Ms. Bonnetier had the opportunity to visit her mentor, Prof. Tsangari, from 24 May to 5 June 2026, at the University of Nicosia, as part of the international mobility within the ESR MP I.

During her meetings with Prof. Tsangari, Caroline discussed the statistical analysis of her thesis data and gained hands-on experience in data analysis using computer software. This enabled her to advance her research in an international setting, contributing to the diversification and robustness of her findings. She also discussed possible future research directions and collaborations on projects of mutual interest with her mentor. As Caroline mentioned, “Of course, we talked about much more. The programme is also designed to help doctoral students prepare for their future careers, and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to discuss topics such as academic publishing or maintaining a healthy work-life balance”. Caroline also attended some of the workshops of the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) on “Blockchain, Web 3.0 and the Metaverse”, that was offered at the University of Nicosia during the first days of her visit. This experience helped her deepen her understanding of emerging digital technologies and their implications for organisations and society. She, naturally, also had the opportunity to discover Cyprus and its culture. Reflecting on her mobility experience, Caroline said that “One of the most rewarding aspects of this experience was meeting students, doctoral candidates, and researchers from across the NEOLAiA Alliance. These interactions allowed me to discover different research cultures and forge connections that may lead to future collaborations. Being immersed in a different academic environment motivated me tremendously. I would like to sincerely thank the NEOLAiA Alliance, the University of Nicosia and Professor Haritini Tsangari, for making this experience possible”.

The second edition of the ESR Mentorship Programme (ESR MP II) has now launched, with a new group of selected mentees. Prof. Tsangari contributes to the development of ESR MP II and will also offer a workshop to all ESR mentees in September 2026, titled “Engaging with Society as a Researcher”.