Research or evaluation projects may be able to be performed by matched mentors and mentees, and these might be identified by the mentees themselves or external ‘commissioners’.

Research helps mentees nurture their potential and achieve goals by taking advantage of various opportunities. This can mean securing employment, being awarded scholarships or grants, securing project funding. There is a large gap between master’s and doctoral levels, and even the professional doctorate requires a detailed thesis as a major component.

This suggests that there is a real need for a practice-based intermediate award between the master’s and doctoral levels, which does not fit into the traditional university award structure.