Recent improvements to the AuthorAID online mentoring system - Login and update your account to try out the new functionality
Hi everyone,
We are always looking to improve our online mentoring and collaboration system, to make it easier for researchers to connect and work with each other. Here are some of the recent changes we have made:
Digital badges for task completion
Every time you complete a mentoring or collaboration task you will receive a digital badge that displays on your profile, so other researchers can see how active you have been. Take a look at one of our most active members, Matt Hodgkinson. To receive these badges, make sure you mark your finished tasks as ‘complete’ in the AuthorAID website, to let us know if they were successful or not. We will be improving and upgrading these badges in the future.
Improved ‘find a researcher’ page with filtering
It can be difficult finding a mentor who has the specific skills you need – for example, if you are looking for a mentor with subject knowledge of Agriculture, with skills in data analysis and study design.
Our new improved search page allows you to search and filter by subject discipline, type of mentoring, skills, country and keyword. Keywords are also highlighted so you can see the relevance to your search. http://www.authoraid.info/en/mentoring/search/
Automatic matching for mentors and mentees
Don’t have time to search? Let our website find a mentor or mentee for you. Simply log in to your dashboard and see your suggested matches in the right hand column.
Please note that the automatic matching is based on the information you provide us, so you will need to make sure you have provided information on whether you are a mentor or a mentee, your subject specialisms, and the skills do you need help with, or can offer. Update your account for the best results.
5 requests a day limit to prevent spamming
There is now a limit of five contact requests per day that you can send to other users on the website. This was designed to prevent new users from sending too many requests to other users at once. Each time you contact another AuthorAID member look under the ‘send message’ button to see how many contact requests you are allowed that day.
We would advise you to be selective when sending requests to mentors, and only approach 1 or 2 mentors in the first instance who have the best skills and experience to match your needs.
Do you have any other ideas for improvement of the AuthorAID website? How can we make it easier for you to connect with others and get the support you need? Send us an email or comment below.