Induction Programme

We organise an in-person induction event, providing economy travel, hotel accommodation and support with obtaining visas where necessary.

The induction will include input from experts on key aspects of the rapidly changing world of tobacco harm reduction as well as former scholars. This event will also provide you with an opportunity to meet your peers and key members of the THRSP team. We also aim to introduce you the Mentor identified to support your progress.

After the induction event is completed, we also provide ongoing support and development in the form of a number of online modules which will help develop your knowledge and understanding, alongside a series of monthly, expert led, seminars.

THR Academy – THRSP Learning Platform

The COVID-19 pandemic meant that we had to quickly develop an online platform to support our scholars. This proved to be such a success that it now forms an integral part of our scholarship programme, comprising interactive, in-depth and multimedia resources. Selected sections of the learning platform are open only to Scholars, K•A•C personnel and Mentors.

The Learning Platform is divided into two streams. One focuses on the Scholarship process itself, introducing Scholars to each other and providing frameworks to support their 12-month projects. The second stream takes a deeper dive into some of the more complex aspects of the field. Each stream consists of videos and conference presentations, academic articles, news reports and questionnaires, against which Scholars and Mentors can measure their learning and progress.

In addition, this part of the website contains:

• a noticeboard for news and announcements;
• a feature enabling Scholars to talk to each other to provide mutual support, help and guidance;
• a resource library of key tobacco harm reduction research papers;
• a help desk.

Mentor Scheme

Where possible, the Mentor Scheme aims to match each of our Scholars with an acknowledged expert from their area of study. Each Scholar is assigned a Mentor early in their Programme. The role of our Mentors is to help the Scholar to achieve their aims and objectives by providing support and guidance where necessary

The scheme itself is very flexible to ensure that every Scholar’s needs are best met and that the project is well served. For example, one of our Scholars who undertook a demonstration project supplying safer nicotine products to homeless smokers worked with two Mentors. One was a social scientist who assisted with the more academic aspects of the project. The other was an experienced consumer of safer nicotine products who ensured the equipment used in the project was robust enough to be of use to the homeless population in question. This example illustrates the breadth of knowledge and experience required from our Mentor cohort.

But with such a wide-ranging Programme, it is neither possible nor useful to prescribe exactly how the Mentor process should be approached to meet the diverse needs of our Scholars. The onus is therefore placed on the Scholar to utilise their Mentors as required and this approach has proved successful during to date of the Programme.

To ensure a sustainable workload and maximise support for each individual, we aim to have no more than three Scholars supported by a single Mentor.

We conduct a follow up survey with all scholars who have completed the programme, and all have reported that their relationships with Mentors have been useful and fruitful. In some case Mentors have been able to assist with employment opportunities once the scholarship has been completed. Many of our Scholars have gone on to become Mentors themselves.