‘We’re kind of outsiders’: MA students as peer mentors on a pre-sessional internship programme

This paper describes and analyses the role of peer mentoring in a pilot internship programme that took place in summer 2023. A team of five international MA student-interns participated in a summer pre-sessional programme, acting as communication partners and facilitators. The aim of the study was to investigate the benefits of being peer mentors for international postgraduate (PG) students, and it was conducted during a pre-sessional course. Feedback collected through a questionnaire, reflective diaries and a focus group revealed that the student-interns adopted the role of peer mentor to these new students, using their own experiences and knowledge to help the pre-sessional students prepare for their degrees. They also supported the students with non-academic aspects of studying and living abroad. The study concludes that introducing a mentoring aspect to the taught PG experience merits further research as a possible way to develop the mentors’ academic knowledge, awareness and skills.