Postgraduate and career mentorship
Master's and PhD applications, research proposals and supervisor outreach, interviews, and the move from university into industry. One-to-one and online.
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Schools and organisations we have worked with
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At a glance
Who it is for
Final-year students and graduates applying for Master's or PhD programmes in engineering and the physical sciences, and early-career engineers moving into research or industry.
What we work on
Where to apply, research proposals, first contact with supervisors, interviews, and CVs and statements, with feedback on what you write.
How it works
Online, one to one, planned backwards from your deadlines.
Fees
Agreed on the free introductory call, once we know your plans and your deadlines.
The one rule. Everything you submit is yours. We question, give feedback and help you prepare; we never write your proposal, statement, CV or emails for you.
The shape of a research proposal
Each part is a question a supervisor or a selection panel is likely to ask.
Question
what you want to know
Gap
why it is not known yet
Method
how you will find out
Feasibility
why it fits the time and means
Impact
who it matters to
What we work on
The parts of an application that decide it, and the move that follows.
Where to apply
Programmes, research groups and funding routes that fit your interests, and how to read a group's recent papers before you decide.
The research proposal
The question, the gap, the method, the feasibility and the impact, argued in your own words. You draft; we give feedback; you rewrite.
First contact with supervisors
Whether to write at all (many funded studentships ask you to apply directly), who to contact, what a short first email needs to show, and how to follow up. You write and send it yourself.
Interviews
Mock interviews on your proposal, your past projects and the technical fundamentals of your field, with feedback after each one.
CVs and statements
What each reader looks for, and feedback on the versions you write, until they are clear, specific and true.
Into industry
How research skills translate into engineering roles, how to present your research to an employer, and practice for technical interviews.
Honest about outcomes
No one can promise an offer, a studentship or a job. What mentorship can do is make sure that what reaches the panel is your best work, clearly argued, and that you walk into the interview prepared.
How it works
Intake
You send your CV, your transcript so far, the areas that interest you and any deadlines. All of it is read before the first meeting.
A plan
We list the programmes or roles, their deadlines and what each needs, and plan the sessions backwards from the first deadline.
Drafts and feedback
You write; we read and question; you rewrite. Proposals and statements usually take several rounds.
Outreach
You contact supervisors or employers yourself, with a clear first message and a plan for following up.
Interviews
Mock interviews on your own material and your field's fundamentals, until the likely questions hold few surprises.
Who teaches you
The engineer who runs Mintnib and teaches on it: a mechanical engineer working in aerospace research, in turbine aerothermal performance for future propulsion and power at the Oxford Thermofluids Institute, who came to the Oxford DPhil after an MRes at Cambridge and so knows these UK applications from the applicant's side. The daily work is research: designing experiments, writing software to process data, building models and writing results up so that others can check them, which is what a research panel wants to see you are ready for. More than ten years teaching and mentoring.
- DPhil candidate, Engineering Science, University of Oxford
- MRes, University of Cambridge
- MEng and BEng, First Class Honours, Mechanical Engineering
- Qualified engineer (Italian State Exam, 2020)
- A DBS certificate, shown to any client on request
More on the About page, and the other programmes on the mentorship page.
Formats and fees
Set by your deadlines. The introductory call is free.
Frequency
Weekly, or more often in the weeks before a deadline or an interview.
Mode
Online and one to one. Drafts are shared in a folder you own.
Time zone
The booking page shows the available times in your own time zone.
Fees are agreed on the free introductory call, once we know your plans and your deadlines.
Questions people often ask
Do you write or edit proposals?
No. We give feedback and ask the questions a panel will ask; the writing stays yours, which is also what makes you able to defend it at interview.
Do you introduce students to supervisors?
No. We do not contact supervisors on your behalf. We help you find the right people and write a first message that stands on its own.
Can you help with applications outside the UK?
The UK system is known from the applicant's side. For other countries we work from each programme's published requirements, and we say on the call where that knowledge stops.
Can you guarantee an offer or funding?
No one can. We aim for the strongest honest application you can make.
Should help be declared?
If a programme asks you to declare help received, declare it. Feedback and questions are normal; the words remain yours.
One next step
A strong application shows a question you care about, and that you have the means to answer it.