[Editor’s note June 2022 – we’ve updated the hyperlinks in this article to the new event resources for Mendeley Advisors]

Mendeley’s Advisor program boasts over 5,500 active Advisors in 130 countries around the world. From small agricultural colleges to major international universities, Advisors are enthusiastic “subject-matter experts” on Mendeley’s reference management solutions and are devoted to sharing good research skills with students and researchers in their regions. Mendeley training “events” are the most common way Mendeley Advisors share Mendeley know-how.

So how do you create a successful training event? Here are the key things to know when your organize your first (or 50^th) event – plus helpful links and answers to the most frequently asked event questions we receive from Advisors.

Make a plan

Know your audience and their needs.

• Who will be attending your Mendeley training? The best people to offer Mendeley training to are those in your own department, lab, school, or institution, who are doing academic research and writing theses or articles.
• What are you going to be sharing in your training? Mendeley offers teaching materials and guides you can share with your attendees. But also listen to your event feedback – are your attendees interested in a specific topic?
• When will you host your training? Understand your audience and their schedules. Are they full-time students? Do they work? Make sure you pick a time that most of your audience can attend. Offer them enough notice to make a plan.
• Where will your event be held? Virtual trainings are a flexible option for people who cannot commute or be physically in the same room as you. In-person events require enough space and resources (like electrical outlets, chairs, a projector screen). Hybrid events (virtual and in-person) require attention to detail and possibly an assistant to monitor the virtual event while you address your physical audience.
• Why does someone need Mendeley training? Maybe they are first-time users or need to know the newest feature updates.
• How will they benefit from training? Will training help them with their research or to become more organized? Is the training also serving as a networking opportunity?

View our Mendeley training lesson plan

Promote your event

Fist, be sure to register your event on our special Advisor’s event platform. Include all the details that will prepare your audience like what to bring, helpful resources, and what to expect to learn. Also consider including a link to an attendee signup form (using resources like Microsoft Forms or EventBrite). This allows you to learn more about your attendees’ interests before the event. You can also collect contact details to build your outreach list for future events. The event platform does a lot of work for you – sending automatic reminders and generating personalized certificates of attendance for registered participants.

Download an event poster

Request merchandise. After your event is approved you can request free Mendeley giveaways to offer your attendees (please allow 4 weeks’ notice). If your event is virtual, or a hybrid (virtual and in-person), you can request merchandise for all participants or only those you’ll see in-person. (Note that a few countries’ import regulations limit what you can receive without paying an import tax. We’ll contact you in advance if we know this about your location).

Promote your event on social media by sharing the unique link provided in your event confirmation email.

Create a promotional image with our template

Prepare (practice, practice, practice)

Review the available Mendeley teaching materials and familiarize yourself with the content. You can edit the presentations for your local needs. Set aside time to practice giving your presentation.

Present and teach

Wear some Mendeley gear – a button or a t-shirt will make you feel smarter, we swear – and give yourself enough time to make sure the space is set up well before people start to arrive.

Perk up your virtual classroom with optional Mendeley backgrounds!

• For Advisors: Advisor Zoom background digital pack (32.5 MB download)
• For all Mendeley users: Mendeley branded Zoom background (312 KB download)

Conclude and share

Take the opportunity at the end of your event to ask for feedback about what people have learned and create a way for them to stay engaged. Some ideas:

• Send a follow up email to your participants thanking them for attending. Ask them how Mendeley is helping them so far, and what else they want to learn
• Create an advanced workshop that addresses specific kinds of research or writing
• Create a social media group where people can ask you questions or collaborate
• Host regular Mendeley “office hours” where anyone with questions can come in for guidance and one-on-one help

Take a photo with your group! Tell everyone in your network about your successful training with a photograph of you presenting, or a group photo with all your participants.

Be sure to share it with us too at community@mendeley.com. It really helps inspire the team behind Mendeley. A photo is a great way to connect everyone in the Mendeley world.

Interested in becoming a Mendeley Advisor and hosting your own training event? Sign up to become an Advisor.