What is SMDP? 
The one year career mentoring program pairs diverse students (Baccalaureate, Master or Ph.D.) and early career researchers with industry mentors who work at companies in the medical technology, biotechnology and consumer healthcare companies.

With their mentors, Scholars attend a 5-day training session to learn about career opportunities in industry and receive career development coaching. They also attend a major industry conference. 

What are the benefits of mentoring with SMDP?

• Enhance your coaching and mentoring skills
  
  
• Improve skills at identifying high-potential talent
  
  
• Greater support of organization's diversity and inclusion activities
  
  
• Stronger awareness of work place diversity
  
  
• Share your knowledge, experience and professional expertise
  
  
• Gain new knowledge from SMDP Scholars
  
  
• Receive complementary registration for the SMDP training session and for a major industry conference (travel and lodging not provided).
  
  
• Expand your professional network and build relationships with your peers and executives in the biotechnology, medical technology and/or consumer healthcare industries
  
  
• Enjoy the personal fulfillment of helping a top-quality student or post-doc transition to a career in industry
  
  
• Receive professional career training relevant to industry
  
  
• Learn how to design and carry out a career mentoring plan
  
  
• Receive one year of professional and technical support from ICPD staff
  
  
• Gain access to the SMDP Mentoring Portal

What experience is required to become a mentor?

• Mentors must be currently employed in a leadership position at a company
  
  
• To become a mentor, you should be nominated by a human resource representative from your company or a member of your company's executive staff

How do companies select staff as mentors?
Mentors are generally senior executives nominated by sponsor companies. They usually lead the technical aspects of their companies, such as research and development, however this is not a requirement.  Mentors have also come from other business units such as regulatory affairs, human resources, commercial and medical affairs.

Once mentors have been identified, ICPD provides the mentors with additional orientation information and prepares them for the mentoring experience.  ICPD also provides ongoing support for mentors as part of the program.

Mentors can be any ethnicity and can identify as any gender.

What committments are mentors making?

• Attend an orientation call prior to the SMDP training session

• Meet in person with your mentee and attend the entire SMDP training session (see program dates and locations using the links at the top of this page)

• Communicate with your mentee by phone, in person or through email.  The frequency is suited to your mentor and mentee relationship and typically requires no more than 1-3 hours monthly.

• Mentoring continues for one year after the SMDP training session

• Provide communication or updates to ICPD for the continued improvement of the program

How do SMDP Scholars receive mentoring?
With their mentors, SMDP Scholars develop a Personalized Mentoring Plan which includes goals and action items designed to prepare the SMDP Scholars for careers in the medical technology, biotechnology or consumer healthcare industries.

Mentor-mentee teams carry out their mentoring plans for a year following the SMDP training session. They communicate monthly once a month by phone, email and virtually, aided by ICPD staff and the SMDP Mentoring Portal, a web-based tool that supports mentor-mentee collaboration and communication. 

Want to become a SMDP Mentor?
Contact Scott May at:
smay@icpdprograms.org
or call us at 951 599-4956