Supplementary Data 10: Impact on Mentor Case Study - Perspective from Mentor in Mid/Senior Career Stage

Since 2020, Dr Hans-Rudolf Hotz has contributed to four Open Seeds programs (OLS-2, OLS-3, OLS-4, and OLS-6). As an experienced bioinformatician, academic researcher and advocate for open science, Dr Hotz mentored individuals leading projects in India and Europe. As an engaged member in OLS, he shared best practices for mentorship with other mentors and contributed to the improvement of the program itself.

He found his participation in OLS mutually rewarding and summarized his mentorship experience as “engaging with open science at multiple levels.” Since the mentees were matched with his professional and personal experience, he was able to provide technical support alongside clarifying general concepts and practices. As he guided his mentees through the program, he identified that a common issue for most mentees was not lack of motivation but lack of time in their day-to-day work to practice open science. Usually, mentees in Open Seeds participated with projects that were their side projects, with only minor overlap with the projects in their day job. Rather than trying to complete a project, which was often impossible for some participants, Dr Hotz supported his mentees to set priorities where they can reflect on open science practices learned through cohort calls.

Since the Open Seeds’ initial cohorts took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Hotz commended the online format and the opportunity to be in regular contact with new and familiar colleagues via the program. He remains excited about returning as a mentor in the future cohorts.