We’re excited to announce the 10th round of the WIMIR Mentoring Program, marking a decade of supporting underrepresented voices in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and related fields! As we celebrate this milestone, we invite both returning and new mentees and mentors to join us in this special anniversary year. Whether you’re looking for guidance or wishing to give back, we’d love to have you involved!
The WIMIR group of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (www.ismir.net) organizes this program to connect students and early-stage researchers from underrepresented groups—including women, trans and non-binary individuals, and people from the Global South—with senior researchers and professionals committed to promoting Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) in MIR and related fields. More information about the program can be found here: https://wimir.wordpress.com/mentoring-program/
Mentees will be paired with mentors who will offer guidance on navigating challenges and building successful careers. You are free to define your own agenda together; we only recommend maintaining a regular connection, with at least four remote meetings between January and August 2025. This program is run by volunteers; by signing up, you’ll be joining a vibrant community where members actively support each other. If you have any questions or encounter any issues during the mentoring process, do not hesitate to reach out to us at wimir-mentoring@ismir.net.
Celebrating 10 Years of Mentoring 🎉
This year marks a special milestone as we celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary. What began as a group dedicated to supporting women in MIR has grown into a thriving community committed to fostering inclusion for all minorities. We believe that every junior member should be given the chance to seek guidance, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or background, especially if they feel underrepresented in their field. To better reflect this broader vision, the group has changed its name to Widening Inclusion in Music Information Retrieval (WIMIR).
Help us make this milestone year even more impactful by spreading the word! As more mentees sign up each year, we continue looking for new mentors, particularly from diverse backgrounds—including non-male mentors, individuals located outside Europe and North America, and researchers from “softer” MIR fields (e.g., musicology, pedagogy, psychology, etc.). The time commitment is minimal and you get to make a significant impact on the next generation of researchers while enriching your own experience.
Who is eligible?
- Women, trans, and non-binary undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, early-stage researchers, industry employees, and faculty may sign up as mentees.
- Members of other underrepresented groups may sign up as mentees, pending the availability of mentors. This includes people of any gender who belong to a group that is underrepresented either at large in the ISMIR community (e.g., the Global South) or in the MIR community in your own country (e.g., an ethnic or racial group).
- Graduate students, industry employees, researchers, and faculty of any gender may sign up as mentors.
- Those who meet the criteria for both mentor and mentee roles are welcome to sign up as both.
Sign up to GET a mentor: https://forms.gle/Qwe6vAnT2M6g3Z616
Sign up to BE a mentor: https://forms.gle/FALFNfD5Kc1ERKUL7
Mentor/mentee matches will be announced in February 2025. If you want to join the program after the deadline, please fill out the form or email us.
More information on the program: https://wimir.wordpress.com/mentoring-program/
WiMIR mentoring 2025 organizers:
- Francesca Ronchini
- Yun-Ning (Amy) Hung
- Zafar Rafii
Widening Inclusion in Music Information Retrieval 