The Global Mentorship Program

Alva Jansson and Fanny Söderling were able to go to Zimbabwe for their master thesis field work, thanks to the Gobal Mentorship Program.

From 2020 Chalmers has a mentorship program with focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalization in low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa and South America. The Global Mentorship Program creates unique opportunities to practice international work and to build your networks in preparation for your future career.

Background

The aim of the mentorship program is to create opportunities for students to gain unique experiences from their master’s theses, covering internationally interesting and sustainable solutions for global challenges. In addition to the academic supervisor and/or examiner the students will have a mentor in Sweden and a local mentor in the country where the data collection for the master’s thesis is conducted.

Thanks to the Kullman family, Chalmers will also be able to support students financially to write their thesis abroad. A grant of maximum 50 000 SEK is therefore connected to a spot in the mentorship program.

The mentorship program

The mentorship program starts at the end of the year with a kick-off where mentors and mentees meet for the first time. The program ends by the end of November and runs in total for approximately a year. Students are expected to travel during the spring for at least 8 weeks. The master’s thesis should follow Chalmers guidelines which means it should be finished in 20 weeks. During the fall there is a different focus of the mentorship program when the students are on their way to start their careers.

There are approximately 10 spots in the program per year and the selection of admitted applicants will be based on the submitted application. If necessary, applicants will be asked to come for a short interview. Admission to the mentorship program will be announced as soon as possible after the deadline for applications.

Participating in the mentorship program was incredibly rewarding for my professional and personal development.

Simon Rustas.

Criteria for the master's thesis

You are a student enrolled at Chalmers
Data collection in low and lower-middle income countries in Asia, Africa and South America (time in the field should be at least 8 weeks). Approved countries are listed at The World Bank
Connection to innovation and entrepreneurship*
Following Chalmers guidelines

*Specify how your work will contribute and create something that will benefit an external actor such as society, group of people, nature, organisation or similar. Who is the receiver of your result? Please describe what the benefit will be and how you will accomplish it. How do you envision the long term perspective of your project, beyond your master’s thesis?

Application

There are around 12 spots in the mentorship program per year. The admissions are based on the sent in applications. If necessary, the applicant may be contacted for a short interview.

Link to digital application form Will be displayed here when the application period is open.

To include in the application:

A short project plan (that you have discussed with your academic supervisor and/or examiner) including a short description of what you hope to accomplish with your work, a preliminary plan for how you will accomplish this, i.e. the method and how the work is connected to innovation and entrepreneurship.
A budget specifying what the scholarship will be used for. It’s possible to include costs for material related to the master’s thesis but all costs need to relate to the travelling. Please include relevant sources for your estimated budget to show that costs for travelling, accommodation, vaccines etcetera are reasonable. The budget should be of maximum 50 000 SEK.
- If you have applied for or received other scholarships
A short recommendation letter from your supervisor at Chalmers, including a confirmation that the field study is relevant for the Master’s thesis
A letter of intent from the contact person that you will work with abroad, including contact details to the organization/company
A motivation letter including why you are interested in the mentorship program and why you are a suitable candidate, a half to one page
Curriculum vitae, maximum one page.
Ladok transcript including grades.

Preparatory course

Chalmers is offering a 2-day crash course to help prepare students who are interested in doing a Field-Study in their coursework or thesis. Topics in the course are; poverty and ethics, aid, partnership, safety, culture, preparations, and norms and laws. The course has been developed for students interested in applying for Chalmers' Global Mentorship Program (GMP) scholarships.

The course is open to all students, and mandatory for applicants to The Global Mentorship Program. There are no course credits associated with this course but you need to sign up.

Sign up for the course
Last day to sign up is in mid October 2025.

The first session is in October, 2025, and the second session will be in January, 2026. The course will be held in the SB building, check Canvas page after registration for exact room location.

Please contact Mikael Mangold, mikael.mangold@ri.se for questions regarding the course.

Important dates

The application form for 2026 will open later during the spring.

October: sign up for the mandatory preparatory course.
Mid October: Preparatory course for field work in low- and middle income countries. Open for all students at Chalmers, mandatory for students applying for The Global Mentorship Program.
9th of November: deadline for applications.
End of November: Decision information will be sent out.

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