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Mindshift - ITN

Overview

The MINDSHIFT Innovative Training Network (ITN) was an ambitious and transformative programme under the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie initiative. Running from 2021 to 2024, it united six universities and seven industry partners to train 15 Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) in multi-disciplinary approaches to hypertension research.

As a social enterprise promoting personal, role and organisation change and development, The Recess College was invited to join the consortium as a partner to deliver a personal and professional development track alongside the science research.


The Research

Central to the overall mission was the pioneering involvement of a personal-professional development track. This played a pivotal role within MINDSHIFT of jointly fostering mentorship dynamics and amplifying the developmental and relational aspects of the ITN.

The programme’s focus extended beyond research outcomes, aiming to establish a sustainable network, bridge academia- industry divides, and refine the mentor-mentee relationship.

The Recess College remit in the grant proposal application was to facilitate new organisational learning on three crucial aspects.

In this Report, the RC authors research and review :

1. The mentor-mentee relationship and its developmental stages towards self- motivation and initiative

2. The inter-dependent relationship between academia and industry

3. Building a sustainable research network.

Mindshift Report

Title: The relationship dynamics of supervision in science: a social research case study from MINDSHIFT-ITN

Full report version : October 24, 2025

Lead Author: Elisabeth Henderson, Founder and Director of The Recess College, with huge support from Willem Moolenburgh, and editorial support by Maninee Karnik.

With gratitude to the team of interviewers & Action Learning facilitators of The Recess College who gave dedicated time, beyond the call of duty, to ensure the quality of interviews with students and supervisors and subsequent write-ups: Cheryl Brooker, Willem Moolenburgh, Erik Faber, Maninee Karnik, Marco de Graaff, Dame Perdita Hunt, Blanche Schroen & Mark Preston. Also, to Cecile Schut and Erik Faber for their expertise in the blind modelling from the interview data.

A special thanks to Prof. Will Mandy of University College London for his early, encouraging suggestions to follow a qualitative and thematic analysis approach.

Please fill out the form to download the Report.

Available download

Mindshift Report The Recess College Full Version 24 October 2025